Part of my Bible reading this morning had me focusing on The Ten Commandments. While the book I’m reading has a parenting focus and wanted us to pay special attention to the Fifth Commandment: “Honor Your Mother and Father” (Exodus 20:12), I couldn’t help but notice something after the main text.

Once all the commandments were listed, verse 23 then says again, “Do not make any gods to be alongside me”. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my relatively short time of studying the Bible, it’s this: When God repeats Himself, you better listen!

Essentially, I took this to mean one thing: Nothing in our lives should ever come in the way of God – not our families, not our comfort, not our money, etc. A “god” can take the shape of any of those things – even positive things can become idols in our lives if we allow them too much focus and attention.

Instead, I keep coming back to one verse that really should drive our focus, Matthew 6:33:
“seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”