Exodus 20:1-3 - The Fist Notch on our Spiritual Measuring Stick

Exodus 20:1-3 “And God spoke all these words: 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

We are re-evaluating our lives this year, and to do that, one must look at their life as compared some system of measurement. We know that Christ is to be our model in everything we do (As Sheldon's Novel “In His Steps” so poignantly asks) and we know that as believers what flows out of our lives is a direct result of Christ flowing into our lives. But there is more, we also know that it is going to be the Law that was given to Moses that will be what we are compared to before the throne of God when we are judged.  So then we are taking a look at the basic tenants of the Law of Moses - the 10 Commandments and how they apply in our lives and and actions.

The first commandment is that we are to have no other gods before (or instead) of God Almighty, Jehovah, the Great I AM. What exactly does that mean though?  Essentially it means that there is to be nothing that is more important than Him. No aspect of our lives should have more influence, and that there is no higher authority than Him. In a nutshell, it seems pretty easy. However, when we really look at our lives are we really following this? Lip-service is easy to this. There are outwardly very few things that can prevent us from following this commandment, after all we don't worship Baal or Ashtorah or anything like that. What, though, does our time expenditures say about us?  How often do we watch television as compared to read our Bible or pray?  Is there any one thing (or more than one) in our lives which takes more time out of our schedule than God?

I was recently reading a book where the author makes the claim that for a healthy relationship with one's “significant other”, one must be spending at least 15 hours per week in intimate activities such as dinner, conversation and games. Things like watching movies were explicitly condemned because they gave the appearance of  such activities, but substantially were not because the focus is not on the other person, but rather on the film.  If then, this author is correct, that a minimum 15 hours must be spent with your spouse, then what about the time demand for a healthy relationship with our Lord, Saviour, and God? Should it too not be at least 15 hours per week (and more than we would spend with our significant other?) Our time shows whats important in our lives.

Our money also shows whats important. If you were to look at my finances and saw that I spend $200-$300 more a month on eating out than anything else, you would rightly think that I enjoy fine dining. If instead you saw that I spend that same $200-300 on video games, you would again rightly think that I love playing video games. Now if you saw that $200-$300 were donated to the church and spent on church activities, then what would you think was important in my life?

This week, then, lets re-evaluate our habits and find where we are. Lets do our best to draw closer to God. After all if a regular relationship cannot survive without time, effort, and money why should we think that a relationship with God is any different?

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.
                                   ^{Thomas B. Pollock, 1889.}