Putting God first, gives us peace.
Yesterday, our sermon was on the Ten Commandments. It was given by our Associate Pastor. I haven’t heard a sermon on the Ten Commandments in a long time. Before she began, she reminded us that our God is a God of law and order.
We are given rules to keep us safe. She used the example of driving a car. If we all got in our cars and drove in any direction, using any rules that we choose, disaster would surely follow. Good point.
She pointed out that rules are not optional and then she covered each one of the Ten.
When she got to having no idols, I found myself squirming a little. Sure, I’m not going to bow down to any kind of man-made image, but not being ruled by anything earthly, is more of a challenge. Things like seeking success, dream chasing and security don’t look bad on paper. But, when they become our focus above everything else, including our worship of the one true God, they become an idol.
She also threw something else into the mix I had never considered, fear. She said if we are living in fear of anything, losing a job, a medical diagnosis, ending a relationship, financial worries or even fear for our country, we are allowing fear to become and idol.
If we allow our fear to take the place of our faith and trust in God, then it’s an idol.
I thought about her point all afternoon. I thought about how it applies in my own life as well as those people around me. There seems to be a lot of fear these days. There are a lot of worried people and certainly a lot of chaos. Fear is sneaky. It can take over very quickly if we aren’t vigilant.
Could it be that the fear simply comes from taking our eyes off of God? Could it be that if we return our focus to God, first as individuals, then as families and then as a nation, that the fear would disappear? Would it then be replaced by peace?
Peace seems to be something that people desperately seek these days and it also seems to be so elusive. Could it be that a simple return to the basics, putting God first, could change all of that? Could it be that God knew that truth all of those years ago when He gave the Ten Commandments to His people through Moses?
As Christians, isn’t that what we claim to believe, that God is sovereign, that He loves us and He has a plan?
Yesterday’s sermon reminded me to watch out for idols, especially the sneaky ones. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂