- “Then God spoke all these words: 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. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.”, Exodus 20:1-6, NRSVCE
- “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. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.”, Deuteronomy 5: 6-10, NRSVCE
- “He said to him, ‘”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”‘ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'” (Matthew 22:37-40), NRSVCE
When you were young you may have heard about, and maybe even studied, the Ten Commandments. You may have heard the stories from the Bible about Moses bringing down the stone tablets from Mount Sinai. As an adult, you may think they’re pretty basic and easy to follow. Maybe you consider them more as suggestions or think they’re not really applicable in today’s world. Nothing could be further from the truth!
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT – THE FOUNDATION
The Ten Commandments at their essence seem pretty simple to understand however when you consider their full applicability, it’s a bit more complex. The full meaning of the commandments appears to have been lost in today’s world. This seems most apparent with the First Commandment which some have referred to as the foundational commandment from which all the other commandments flow.
The first part of this commandment identifies who God is and His authority. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you… out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” “Other gods” can be anything— material things, relationships, desires, goals, or even people—that we treat as more important than God. When we put anything ahead of God, we are creating an idol (or another god) in our hearts. What other gods are in your life? Is God first in your life? Your #1 priority? Do you make time for God each day or is it only when it’s convenient? What would it look like to put God first in your life, your family and business?
The commandment goes on to say, “You shall not make for yourself an idol…”. This is further emphasizing that no one and nothing should be put ahead of God. When you put someone or something ahead of God, this is idolatry (a mortal sin) and breaking the First Commandment. When you put yourself ahead of God, this is pride (also a mortal sin) and breaking the First Commandment. Pride is often referred to as the mother of all mortal sins because many of the other mortal sins can stem from pride. In other words, by following this commandment we can avoid several mortal sins.
This first commandment sets the tone for the first three commandments which call us to a right relationship with God. The first three commandments were summarized by Jesus in the first greatest commandment, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38 NRSVCE). The last seven commandments call us to a right relationship with others. These last seven commandments were summarized by Jesus in the second greatest commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39 NRSVCE). On a day-to-day basis, how can we live our life in a way that we put God first and love Him with all our heart, soul and mind?
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
Jesus provided several examples of putting God first. After fasting for 40 days, He responded to Satan’s temptation by saying, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NRSVCE; quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3).
When Satan tried to tempt Jesus by offering him all the kingdoms of the world immediately if Jesus would “fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). Jesus replied, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” (Matthew 4:10 NRSVCE; quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13).
Jesus also pointed out that we can’t serve God and serve the god of materialism. In Matthew 6:24, He said, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” He said our focus and priority must be to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
COMMON VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
There are many common temptations that lead us to disobey the first commandment. This commandment is not just about mythical gods and false religions. Anything that we put as a higher priority than the one, true God causes us to sin.
Pride, as mentioned earlier, breaks this command by putting self above God. Idolatry breaks this command by putting others or things above God.
We need God’s help to see things from His perspective and do the right thing instead of taking our own selfish perspective of what we want to do. Our commitment to put God first is tested often. Satan is always looking for a wedge to get into your life. Just as character is shown in times of trouble, how we respond when we’re challenged shows God whether we will put Him first even when it’s hard to do (which is often when it counts the most).
PUT GOD FIRST IN ALL AREAS (FAITH, FAMILY, & BUSINESS)
If we are putting God first and He gave us Ten Commandments, it’s probably pretty important to get to know them and learn their full meaning. Then determine how they apply to your life and work to live in accordance with the Commandments every day. When you mess up (and you will mess up), acknowledge you messed up, repent, and seek forgiveness by acknowledging you messed up to yourself and anyone you hurt, repent by committing to make up for the hurt you caused, and go to confession to receive forgiveness from God.
Examination of conscience: For yourself, how do you put God first each day? Do you set aside time to pray, read the Bible, daily mass? When faced with questions and challenges, do you seek direction from God?
For your family, how do you demonstrate putting God first? What would your kids say is your #1 priority? Are you an example of humility and repentance?
How about in your business? Is your core mission for your business consistent with God’s plan for you? If Jesus was in your shoes, how would He advise you to lead the business? Do you pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you in making decisions?
Your most precious commodity is your time. What kind of offering of your time are you giving to God? There are things that you need to do in life (eat, sleep, work), but make time for God. Turn to God. Talk to God. Go to Church. Pray every day. When tempted, flip the temptation into an offering to God. When you get thoughts of temptation, say a quick prayer to offer it to God and ask for His help to avoid the temptation. When we get those thoughts, that is the Devil trying to find a way in. To avoid letting the Devil wedge his way into your mind, say a quick prayer to offer it to God, “Praise you Lord Jesus!” or “Lord Jesus, I put all my trust in thee.”
When challenged, when facing the big questions in your life, family or business, turn to God first to answer the questions as to what to do, how to do it, when to do it?
In other words, we should always be asking God for discernment, especially for the big questions and when we’re not sure what to do. We can also look to see how the Bible could inform this decision. We also have the church and the examples of the Holy Family, the Apostles, and all the Saints to help inform our decisions. As a parent, you can discuss this with your children so when faced with questions or challenges, they can utilize the same problem-solving analysis.
Put God first and demonstrate your love by committing your heart, your soul and your mind to Him. God wants you to be happy, to be able to pursue your passions and live a more fulfilling life than you can imagine however in order for that to happen you must put Him first.
Take care and God bless. I’m praying for you. Please pray for me.
ADDITIONAL WISDOM FROM THE BIBLE
- “Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”, Exodus 34:13-14, NRSVCE
- “do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.”, Jeremiah 25:6, NRSVCE
- “For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome”, 1 John 5:3, NRSVCE
- “The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law”, Romans 13:9-10, NRSVCE