Everyone has a God, whom they worship. Some have many gods and some have only one God. Even the atheists have a god and that would be themselves. They may be in denial about worshipping themselves, but they certainly do. Pride is the root cause of atheist and pride worships nothing but themselves.

The truth is that, there is only one God and His name is Jesus Christ. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:2-3). Some Christians say they believe in Jesus and He is their only God, but at times this is far from reality. There are things that tend to occupy your time, money and affection more that God, and that becomes your god, which is known as idolatry.

TV with textIs God really first place in your life? Where you spend most of your time and money, will determine the priority of your life. Your constant thought, will determine where your mind is focused on. Where do you seek affection from: people, money, status, entertainment etc.? Who do you constantly try to impress: your spouse, your children, your parents, your boss etc.?

You may think you are doing the right thing by trying to; impress your boss, earning hard for a living, loving your wife and children and so on. Well, these are not wrong, if God is the first place in your life, but it will be wrong, if these, and not God, are the first place in your life. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33).

You have God first place in your life, when you ponder on His words, day and night. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).

You have God first place in your life, when everything you do, gives glory to God. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Do your thoughts and feelings become your God? Are you obsessed with thoughts of people whom you love and admire, more than God? Or perhaps you are constantly troubled with thoughts of people that have hurt you and caused you pain? Does your offender have a dominant place in your mind? If you repetitively think about the wrongs people have done to you and their words instead of God’s word, then they have become an idol in your life.

Are your circumstances causing you to worry? Do you dread your future? If these thoughts are foremost in your mind, then they have become your gods, your idols, which you need to replace with the one living God, Jesus Christ.

You have God first place in your life, when you walk in righteousness and in complete obedience to Him. There will be times, when you many not want to forgive someone, you may not want to humble yourself, or you may have a problem with selfishness. Having God first means to do His will and not your will, developing a habit of submitting to God continually and renewing your mind with His words.

At times, serving in a Christian ministry too can be an idol in your life, if you are not careful. When you place your worth and value in what you are doing, rather than who you are in Christ Jesus then that can become idolatry. If you are in a worship ministry and instead of leading others to worshipping God, you focus on your performance and not genuinely worshipping Him, than that is idolatry.

If you are a silent Christian, who loves God, but is afraid to profess boldly, you are living in idolatry, since the opinions of others govern and rule your life. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.” But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33).

Is there anything at all in your life that is more important to you than God? Do you love anything more than God? Is there any particular sin that has become idolatry? Make it your priority in life, to love God and to have Him take the first place in your life and give Him glory in everything you do.

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