First Things First
I had a friend on Facebook recently put up a rather controversial question. He asked, "What's the right order - sock, sock, shoe, shoe - OR sock, shoe, sock, shoe?" The order doesn't really matter unless you try 'shoe, shoe, sock, sock' - then there might be a problem. But we do know there are some things in which the proper order does matter greatly.
And it seems there's a lot of things 'out of order' in our world today. Things that God clearly prohibits in His Word are now 'celebrated' and many things that God declares good and right are now condemned and mocked.
I think that's because many people are simply unaware of God's Ten Commandments. And then many others who do know them, either reject them or don't give all of them the same weight they deserve. Many have missed the significance of the very first of God's Ten Commandments - "You shall have no other gods before me." If we don't recognize God as THE authority; if you don't see God as having the absolute right to make the rules – you probably won't follow His rules. That's why God gave the Nation of Israel the first commandment…
I. Put God first
And let's jump right in and look at what God told them from Exodus 20:1-7 (NIV)...
And God spoke all these words: (2) I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (3) You shall have no other gods before me. (4) You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. (5) You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
(6) but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (7) You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
God was establishing His authority and commanding His people to make sure they had the right priorities – there is One God and nothing else should ever take His place.
Several University professors asked their students to put the Ten Commandments in order of the most important to the least important. "90% of the students reversed their order, putting the commandments about how we are to treat our fellow man first and the commandments about how we should relate to God last."
Why is that? - Because in our society, mankind has become the center of our own universe. We look at how everything affects us as highest priority; we don't want people stealing our things or lying to us. When it comes to how we treat God, for many 'religion' has become something that gets in the way of what we want to do or believe. Even unbelievers gladly promote love of others but completely neglect any love of God.
That's not the way God intended our relationship with Him to be. In fact, God is the one who initiated the relationship in the first place. He is the one who made an offer of peace to us. When we choose to accept or reject commandments in a 'buffet style' religion based on our particular wants or desires, we completely reject the very first commandments. God established Himself as God, as THE ultimate authority in the first commandment.
If we don't give God complete authority, first and foremost, why would any of the other commands matter? If God is not 'God' – what gives Him the right to tell us how to live? If we don't accept the first commands first - then we become the ones to decide what commands are relevant and which are not.
If God does not have first place in our lives, all the other commandments will have no lasting effect on our lives. When we take seriously the command to put God first and have no other things before Him - that's when we start to live differently.
I find it interesting that when we look at God's first words in this passage, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." - It's an introduction of sorts. It's God revealing Himself to His people. In order for us to understand God's authority, we first need to know who He is.
The first part of our purpose for doing what we do here is to KNOW God, to Know Jesus. The reason many people don't follow God's commands is because they really don't know God or recognize His authority.
God wants to have a relationship with us. Throughout the Old and New Testaments the stories are accounts of God explaining things about Himself to His creation. We'll never completely understand God, but we can know some things for certain by reading His word. And knowing God's revealed characteristics is vital in understanding His character.
One characteristic I've talked about frequently is that God is…
A. Unchanging
I'm not the same person I was 40 years ago, when I was a 15 year old kid. I didn't have the same priorities or values. I've changed, I've grown. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't change according to culture, or circumstances or time. We see this in Exodus 3:13-14 (NIV)...
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (14) God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
The very name that God revealed to Moses, 'I AM', communicates God's unchanging nature. God is completely faithful! What He says He will do – He will do. His plans, purposes, and what He values - they do not change.
You may be aware of the current fight over what qualifies as graphic or pornographic books in our school libraries. Some of what is in those books couldn't even be read out loud on TV - but many think not only is it okay, but it's actually good. Over the years the Courts have attempted to write laws regarding 'obscenity'. Basically, what the laws end up saying is that if a local community decides that something is obscene – it is. If the community agrees that something is not obscene – it isn't. The problem with this thinking is that it relies on the values of people. People's values and attitudes change.
Today, we're exposed to TV, movies, literature, advertisements – all of which would have been considered completely inappropriate and even obscene just 20 years ago. If it was wrong then, why isn't it now? Has the content changed or have the values - of those deciding whether it's obscene or not – have the values changed?
To understand the absolute nature of the Ten Commandments, we have to understand the unchanging nature of the One who wrote them. God is still "I Am". God is the constant, unchanging moral center from which all decisions must be made.
God wants to be known, and another characteristic that needs to be understood is that God is a…
B. Personal deliverer
He is The One who delivers us, or redeems us. That first part, 'personal', meaning - when God said "I am the LORD your God", there's something important here. Rather than saying "I am the national God of Israel", He chose to say "your God". The implication is that God wanted to be known by each Israelite personally, and He also wants to be personally known by you.
This facet of God's character can be best illustrated by the fact that God came down from Heaven in the form of a man, Jesus - in order to live with mankind and to be known. God doesn't want you to obey Him because He is a far away, aloof dictator who has no idea what your life circumstances are. He desires that you obey Him because He is a personal, loving God who wants a relationship with you and wants the best for your life.
We've probably all heard someone who says something like, "I can't worship a God who sends people to Hell." That's not how it works! He's the only thing saving you from Hell - from separation from Him for eternity!
God told the Israelites "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Only three months before, they had been in slavery in Egypt – because of Him, they had been delivered from it. And He didn't want them to ever forget that about Him!
God commands that He be followed because of who He is – the unchanging God. God commands that he be followed because of where He is – a close, personal God. And God commands that he be followed because of what He does – He delivers. Paul says this in Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV)...
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, (14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
God is unchanging, He is personal and He is the only One who can save us! Does your life demonstrate that you understand those facts and accept those facts and are committed to those facts? In order to answer that for yourself, it's helpful to take…
II. A Quiz
In your life, who is first? 'Well, God, of course - that's why I'm here...' And I appreciate that - but is He always first...? Is He always first in my life? And this quiz is really just between you and God. So let's look at this acronym of the word 'FIRST" on your outline. And this is not original to me - I saw this idea in a book and wanted to incorporate it here. But this first letter stands for…
Focus
How can you tell what's first in your life? Where's your focus? When you're at home, at work, running errands, shopping, just alone with your thoughts – what is it that you think about a lot? How far into your day can you get without having that first thought about God? God says this in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV)...
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. (7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Do you take the time to discuss spiritual things with your family? I'm not talking about using 'religious speak' all the time; I'm talking about genuine conversations to focus your - and your family's thoughts, on God. And another thing that can help you to see if God is in first place in your life is your…
Income
I've previously encouraged you to look at your checkbook register to see where your priorities may lie. How do you spend your money? Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:21 (NIV)...
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Why is it that the God of the universe - who owns everything - asks for you to give back to Him? - To a certain extent, to see if you're willing to part with it for Him. Is your money, or things, material possessions in first place, or is God? You can also check out your…
Relationships
If we say that God has first place in our life, but then treat people around us poorly – we might just be fooling ourselves.
1 John 4:20 (NIV)
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
How you treat a server in a restaurant or a janitor where you work says a lot about who really has first place in your heart. How you treat your spouse or family that has been given to you by God – it can certainly indicate to you whether you've given God first place. The next indicator…
Security
Where are you placing your trust? Is it in money, or people, or even politicians and government? The last time you went through a really difficult stretch – where did your thoughts turn first? Are you a person who goes straight to God, or do you use prayer as a last resort?
Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (32) For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (33) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
And lastly, examine how you spend your…
Time
How do you spend your time? Yes, the fact that you are here this morning says something about your priorities. However, Sunday is just 'one day'. If I told my wife Erin, "Honey, today is your day. I'll focus on you and be faithful – today, I promise. The rest of the week, well – all bets are off." How do you think she'd feel about that?
Do you spend time with God more than just for a few hours on Sunday? Do you pray on a very regular basis? Do you spend time reading the Bible on a regular basis? Do you give God more time all throughout the week?
If God is not first - you need to make some adjustments. And as I wrote all this - I was reminded again that I need to make some adjustments...
So What?
Magnetic deviation is the 'error induced in a compass by local magnetic fields.' It was first observed by explorer Joao de Castro in 1538 when his compass was 'misdirected' by the iron guns on his ship.
"Before the days of modern navigational aids, ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean used two separate compasses. One was fixed to the deck where the steerman could see it and keep the ship on course. The other compass was fastened at the top of one of the masts.
A story is told that someone asked the ship's captain, "Why do you have two compasses?" The captain replied, "The compass on the deck is often affected by its surroundings. That's not the case with the compass on the masthead; that one is above the influence of what's around us. We steer by the compass above because it's more reliable."
We are frequently affected by our surroundings and culture. God alone is the unchangeable, sure and reliable moral center by which right and wrong are determined. We must learn to put God first.
If, in thinking through that little quiz, you perhaps saw some areas of your life where you've let something else come before God – fix it. Don't pass it off as 'no big deal'. That's breaking the very first commandment – it will affect everything else in your life. Pray about it, and fix it. God is God! Give Him first place in your life!