Placing God First

Exodus 34:14 (NLT)
You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

God was establishing a covenant with Moses and his people. The covenants or Ten Commandments were chiseled onto stone for the people to read and adhere to. In verse 14 God stated the people must not worship any other form of god for the living God is jealous about his relationship with us.

From Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? (Baker Books, 2011, pg 35) he says, “The Bible frequently describes God as a jealous lover. In his book titled Is God a Moral Monster? Paul Copan asks the question, "When can jealousy be a good thing?" Here's part of his answer: In God's case, it's when we're rummaging around the garbage piles of life and avoiding the source of satisfaction. It reminds me of a comic strip I once saw of a dog who had been drinking out of a toilet bowl. With water dripping from his snout, Fido looks up to tell us, "It doesn't get any better than this!" Instead of enjoying fresh spring water, we look for stagnant, crummy substitutes that inevitably fail us.”

Are you trying to fill a need in your life with something other than God and Christ? If you think the only way to achieve happiness is to have something specific you may just be doing that. For instance if you think you could not exist without your spouse, then you are saying no one else can meet my needs, not even God. Or maybe you think unless you have a wealthy job position you just could not be happy. In that case money has become your idol and God is no longer your reassurance and comfort. Examine your life and ask what is it I must have to be happy? Then really look to see how true that answer really is.