Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Listen to the Word

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

There are some questions you can ask yourself to determine whether you have other gods before the LORD. One good diagnostic question: how do you use your time? Does your relationship with God set the priorities for how you use your time, and does your relationship with God get quality time? Or does God just get the leftovers, when you have no better offer. A good look at your calendar and your to-do list will help you determine what it is that you really worship.

Another good diagnostic question: how do you spend your money? Jesus said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So your budget and your bank statement could help you identify what is most important to you.

A final question for identifying what you worship: where do you find your security? Does your hope for the future come from the fact that God goes with you, or are you counting on your family or a steady job or a nice retirement account?

Live the Word

Choose one of the three questions above, and ask God to use it to help you identify something that may be competing for his rightful place in your life.