BHow do we know if we have other gods before God? Many people who have had other gods before Him do not recognize it and would not believe it if someone told them so – so how can we know if we have other gods before God?
First, it is not solely our responsibility to know that. Leading us towards Himself is God’s job; as long as our hearts are open to His voice, we have nothing to fear. The very fact that we may be concerned about having other gods before Him revealed that we are concerned about His place in our lives and that our desire is to keep Him first. If God does not show us other things in our lives, we do not need to be paranoid about it. Having no gods before Him is a state that He Himself will keep us in as we abide in Him, not something to fret and fear about.
Second, consider this question:
Would you rather lose [fill in the blank], or would you rather lose God?
In reality, it is a bit difficult to lose God unless we choose to, since God is everywhere – and He is within us – but if we choose to, we can, in a sense, “lose God.” Thus, if asking yourself this question reveals that you would rather lose whatever you filled in the blank with than lose God, He is still first place in your life.
If not, you may have other gods before God.
What if you did lose what you filled that blank with? Undoubtedly, it would be difficult, painful, and so on. However, you would still have Father. He would be enough to get you through losing [fill in the blank]. Yes, it would be a terrible loss, but we know that He is enough. He is God.
On the other hand, suppose you lost God. Who or what would be enough for you then? Who or what could get you through that loss? What could compensate the horrible enormity of that unimaginable loss? Could [fill in the blank] ever possibly be anywhere near enough to compensate for losing God? If the answer is no, then most likely [fill in the blank] is not a “god before God” in your life.
This puts life in perspective in a certain sense. The apostle Paul said, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my LORD, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him…” (Philippians 3). He had no gods before God. He suffered the loss of all things – and found that God was enough. And God is enough – in my life and in yours.
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