“You Shall Have No Other God’s Before Me”
Exodus 20:1-3
Rev. Clark Lynn Callender, 9/12/10
Once upon a time, so the story goes, a young man walked into a photography studio with a framed picture of his girlfriend. He wanted the picture duplicated. This involved removing it from the frame. In doing so, the studio owner noticed an inscription on the back of the photograph – it read: “My dearest Tom, I love you all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours alone for all eternity.” It was signed “Diane” and it contained a postscript: “P.S. – If we ever break up, I want this picture back.”
A little problem with COMMITMENT. Well, this is something of what I’d like to talk about this morning: Commitment. Specifically, our COMMITMENT TO GOD – GOD’S PLACE IN OUR LIVES.
Today we begin a new sermon series exploring the TEN COMMANDMENTS. The Ten Commandments have been called “the most influential document in all of Western Culture”: The civil law of many lands is rooted in this covenant law given at Sinai; for Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Jews, this is the only formulation of religious principles held in common; in many churches, knowledge of these laws is a requirement for membership... As the great Protestant Reformer Martin Luther said, “Anyone who knows the Ten Commandments perfectly knows the entire Scriptures.”
Whoa! So important, so familiar; but do we really know them? This is what we will consider over the weeks ahead, one commandment at a time: What do they really mean? How does one truly live them? A couple of things to note (before we begin with the first commandment) regarding the commandments in general:
i.
First of all, why are they so UNIQUELY IMPORTANT? A whole bunch of law is given by God at Mount Sinai – it fills the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – what’s so special about these ten?
Well, according to the text, only these ten are SPOKEN DIRECTLY by God to the people – all the rest are mediated through Moses. So, the text would seem to imply, these ten are especially important TO GOD. And as we’ll see, they are FOUNDATIONAL - everything else is merely derived from these!
And remember also, as in Genesis, whenever God SPEAKS God CREATES. So God CREATES in the Ten Commandments – creates a world. And whenever we give ourselves to them we open ourselves to that world.
ii.
In this, in our study we will observe that the Ten Commandments deal with EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE: self to God, self to other, self to self, self to creation. Nothing is left out. God here makes the point that, if we wish to be truly healthy and happy and whole, none of these aspects of life can be neglected. It’s holistic.
iii.
Out of which we will also observe that these laws are unique in that they are ABSOLUTE, rather than CONDITIONAL. Most law is conditional: “If you do this, then I will do this...” And while the Ten Commandments do contain some mention of possible consequences of disobedience; the commandments themselves are absolute and unconditional. It’s NOT “if/then”; but rather, “I am God. Do this.” No room is left for picking and choosing or for incompletion. It’s a “package deal” – all or nothing.
iv.
From this we will then also observe that 8 out of 10 of the commandments are stated NEGATIVELY – that is, “You SHALL NOT...” And this is one of the most common complaints leveled at organized religion. Particularly a charge historically leveled at Christianity (and not without merit): That it’s all negative and restrictive. Just a bunch of rules about what you can’t do, not about what you can; how you’re wrong not right. Much like the old joke about marriage: “You say ‘I do’ once, and then you spend the rest of your life saying, ‘I don’t.’”
Being a Christian often seems like this. We Methodists, of course, being traditionally most notorious for this. You know, all the old, standard Methodist prohibitions against drinking and smoking and gambling and dancing and card playing... It’s like the old saying: “You can always tell a real Methodist – they’re not allowed to do anything!”
Much like this, the Ten Commandments are commonly viewed as negative and restrictive; yet are they really? Think about it...
In a world full of millions of things to do, which is more restrictive: To be told the 8 things which one may not do; or to be told that there are only 8 things which one may? Even better, remember that many negative things are, in reality, positive. It’s like a STOP SIGN. A stop sign is negative but it does a positive thing: It keeps us safe. It helps not hinders us.
In a similar way, the Ten Commandments are ultimately LIBERATING. That’s the point! As God defines God’s self in the prologue to the Commandments: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. God’s self-definition is that of SAVIOR, DELIVERER, LIBERATOR; therefore we can presume that what follows is FURTHER LIBERATION. That is, God is not saying, “I have freed you so that now, by these laws, I might re-enslave you!”; rather, God is saying, “I am by nature liberating, and here is further liberation – these Ten Commandments!”
And even better, remember also: God’s self-identification is thus also that of one who CARES DEEPLY for the people – who acts on their behalf. That is, the Ten Commandments are FOUNDED upon the principle that WE HUMAN beings are of PROFOUND WORTH. And this is very important because it undergirds the entire law – very much of what is trying to be brought about.
v.
All of which leads us to my final introductory point, namely: the PURPOSE – What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments? Are they just a bunch of arbitrary rules that “good people” must obey?
No, putting this all together, the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to present us with a VISION – a vision of the life God wants for us, life at its best, the life led by the person who (through God’s grace) has joined themselves perfectly to God. They are a vision of the life we can and should live – a gift given by a loving God which, if used properly, can clarify what’s really going on in our lives, and to help us to live better – to be part of creating the life God wants for us. Exactly what we’re going to be about in this series.
So, with all of this in mind, let us then turn to consider the First Commandment...
“You shall have not other gods before me.” It has been said that this first commandment is the one upon which all the others HINGE. Indeed, many argue that, in point of fact, all the others that follow are not separate laws unto themselves; but simply differing ways of EXPRESSING – of “living out” – just this first commandment! This is what it is all about!
And notice where things begin: With GOD. In fact, the first three commandments focus solely on God. In other words, contrary to those naysayers who would argue that “all religions are the same and it doesn’t matter what you believe”; in reality, our THEOLOGY matters greatly – our understanding of, and relationship to, God is of utmost importance. As one scholar observes:
“...The Ten Commandments begin with our relationship to God. We wouldn’t prioritize them that way, of course. Ask the average person for the most important commandment, and he or she will likely choose the one forbidding murder, or adultery, or dishonesty. But these commandments are derivative; they have no point of issue except that we settle the first commandment, the matter of God – God’s place in our lives.
“So the commandments begin with God, not because the commandments are religious; but because we are. They begin with God because what we think about God will eventually determine what we think of ourselves, of one another, and of all life. And this means that all the other commandments rest upon this one.”
The commandments begin with God, and essentially, the question posed by the first commandment is the central one: WHO IS GOD TO US? Or, more specifically: WHAT IS GOD’S PLACE IN OUR LIVES? That is:
To begin things, what is the nature, or the level, of our RELATIONSHIP and COMMITMENT to the Lord? Is it complete, absolute, unrivaled, unchallenged? Nothing between us and God? God first and foremost? Or is it something less? The inference being (as with the “Great Commandment” we studied two weeks ago) that anything less than all and everything falls apart, it all becomes a struggle.
This First Commandment, I believe, seeks to draw to our attention a number of the most common ways our COMMITMENT TO GOD – God’s place in our lives – becomes FLAWED and how this ultimately hinders the vision of life God wants for us (right off the top) – and what we need to do about it...
(I)
First, there is the flaw of the DIVIDED COMMITMENT to God. God says, “You shall have no OTHER gods before me.” The text presumes the existence of other “god’s.” This is the premise of the whole commandment.
Now, many dismiss this as simply being part of an ancient mindset in which every primitive people had their own “gods”: god of the mountain, god of the tree, whatever. But in reality, nothing has changed! Again, Martin Luther once remarked: “Whatever thy heart clings to and relies upon, that is properly thy god.”
We may think we serve only the Lord God, or (for some) that they don’t believe in any kind of God at all; but the truth is that whatever in this world is most important to us, whatever most directs our lives, that is our “god”: be it money or security or popularity or pleasure or food... whatever. That’s our “God”! And we bow down to it every single day, whether we know it or not. As Bob Dylan sang: “Everybody serves somebody.” It’s the nature of humanity, and a fundamental Biblical principle: We cannot choose whether or not we will have a god; we can only choose who that god will be.
And understand: There are millions of “gods” out there to choose from. Some refer to the “unholy trinity” of pleasure, possessions and power. For many modern Christians it’s food, family, and flag. You want to know what most scholars believe is the fastest growing religion, fasted growing “god” in America today? It’s not Christianity, or New Age mysticism, or even Islam (the fastest growing of the world’s major religions.)
It’s SPORTS. Many sociologists now refer to “Religosport” as the primary religion in America today. It has all the trappings of religion: Holy Shrines (stadiums), religious vestments (uniforms), services and Sabbaths (games and events), rituals and teachings (chants and stats), high priests (the players), and loyal disciples (the fans.) If you don’t believe this is true, just think about what happens to church attendance on Superbowl Sunday! The game’s at night but still no one can seem to make it to church in the morning!
Now, why do we do this? Why do we choose “other gods”?
We do it because there’s some NEED within us – some fear or insecurity or desire or pain - that this god seems to meet - to either control and overcome, or enable us to avoid and escape. Like sports – they provide for many basic needs: a sense of order and fairness and community.
So what’s the problem with this – needs are being met?
Well, first of all, the problem is simply that many of the things we worship are not exactly good for us – in fact they ultimately lead us away from what is good. This, of course, is how spot your false god, your “competing god”: The need it promises to meet it never really delivers – in fact, you just wind up worse off, more enslaved not less: You keep making money but it’s never enough; you devour “comfort food” but you never feel any comfort; that alcohol promises to take your pain away but drink after drink the pain only gets worse; you hold on to that grudge hoping to hurt the person that hurt you but they never seem to suffer; you endlessly work to look beautiful but every time you look in the mirror you don’t like what you see!
It’s like Oscar Wilde once sarcastically observed regarding the seeking of praise – he said: “The problem with receiving a compliment is always the nagging sense that the person didn’t say enough.”
It’s never enough! Many of the things we choose to worship are just plain bad. They enslave rather than free! Even more subtly though, the problem often is that many of the things we choose to worship – seem very noble and good: family, friendship, loyalty, patriotism, logic, beauty. All are fine in and of themselves; but none of them has the capacity to ENCOMPASS ALL, each is at best PARTIAL, and thus (when we make these our “gods”) our lives can’t help but be this constant COMPETITION (with the one true God) for our attention, with our lives left in the middle disjointed and counterproductive – missing out on God’s richest blessings. As it has been said: “Sin isn’t only doing bad things; it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things – that finally keeps us from the only true ultimate thing: God.”
Basically, either way, we wind up with this DIVIDED LOYALTY – these “competing gods” in our lives – little gods versus true God. And as Jesus once said: “A slave cannot serve two masters, for they must invariably hate one and love the other.” This is the problem so often in our lives: We allow these “other gods” to stand between us and the Lord. We want God in our lives we just also want all sorts of other things, and they can’t help but compete and leave us defeated.
There’s an old African proverb that puts it this way: “He who tries to walk down two paths ends up with split pants.” This so often is our condition: Split pants. We try for so much that it gives us nothing; rather than aiming only for the one thing that can give us all. False gods devour us, leaving us with nothing; yet we continually fall into their trap by striving only to meet the drives that push us – the loudest voices.
Have you ever heard of the COWBIRD? The cowbird is a type of blackbird that is unique to North America (often found near cattle) and that is particularly noted for the fact that it always lays its eggs in the nest of other birds. Some birds do this occasionally; but the cowbird does it exclusively, and this is quite a problem:
Cowbirds are prodigious egg layers. Each female commonly deposits 20 to 40 eggs in dozens of other bird’s nests each spring. Cowbird eggs hatch more quickly than the other birds’ eggs, and the chicks grow more quickly. Because mother birds tend to feed the loudest of their young first – because they would usually be the healthiest and have the best chance for survival, the host bird spends inordinate time and energy tending to the cowbird not to its own offspring. As a result, the cowbird is pushing certain rare songbirds to extinction.
The lesson? That exactly the same kind of thing happens in our lives spiritually all the time: When the “nest” is crowded, God just one of many, we spend all our time tending to the loud, secondary voices to the extinction of the one voice that’s it’s all about!
This being the first question this commandment asks of us: Is God just one of many concerns; and, more often than not, do these “other concerns” run God or does God (rightly) run everything? What do you most often “feed”? And is it helping or destroying you? What do you need to stop feeding?!
(II)
The first way God’s place in our lives goes wrong and we miss out on God’s vision of life: the DIVIDED COMMITMENT. Which then leads us to the second danger: the HALF-HEARTED COMMITMENT.
Returning to the text, God says, “You shall have no other gods BEFORE me.” That “before” is literally “In my face”. It means: In front of, or MORE IMPORTANT THAN, GREATER THAN.
This is another way we often fail to place God first in our lives: We want God in our lives; but we not only want other things as well, we want these other things MORE, and so we try to maintain this SECONDARY STATUS of God by keeping God to the MINIMUM in our lives.
Much in the same way that we often disdain the RELIGIOUS FANATIC: Don’t those praise-singing, Bible-thumping arm-waving, “born again” everything kind of nuts get on your nerves? We often put them down as somehow being phony and unreal when in reality the problem is that their devotion SHAMES us. We want God; just not so much of it!
What’s the least amount I can do for God and still keep my name in the running “when the roll is called up yonder”? Least attending, least participating, least giving, least witnessing?
It’s like that familiar old, old joke about the family driving home from church one Sunday and the father is complaining about everything in the service: the organist played too loud, the choir was off-key, the sermon was too long, the prayers were dry. Hearing this, the man’s son, who had observed the offering his father had put in the plate, replied, “Yeah, Dad. But it wasn’t a bad show for a nickel!”
Minimalist Christianity! Lets’ face it, most people only come to church at three times: for baptisms, weddings, and funerals. That’s all we want out of this: Hatch ‘em, match ‘em, dispatch ‘em!
So what’s the problem with this? Isn’t a little bit of God in our lives better than none at all?
Well, the problem is, as mentioned at the outset, that this commandment is (as with all the others) ABSOLUTE – there is no halfway, no maybes, no “kindas”. The absolute language of this text tells us that there is no such thing as “minimally Godly”! It’s all or nothing. If we are half-hearted in our commitment to God, we are as good as no-hearted. If we don’t go ALL OUT we GET NOTHING.
I remember once hearing the (supposedly true) story of a great lay person in a famous church of a century ago, who was known for starting every Administrative Council meeting with the following, rather sarcastic, prayer – he’d say: “Gracious and powerful, Lord God Almighty... Use me. Use me. Use me! In some advisory capacity!”
He’d always get a laugh. But isn’t it a little too close to the truth for how we all try to live every day?
The great concert pianist Paderewski was once approached, following a concert, by a woman who said to him, “Maestro, I would give everything to play as well as you do.” To which Paderewski replied, “I did.”
Greatness – and a great life - only comes through giving all – great devotion and zeal. The second question this commandment should cause us to ask regarding God’s place in our lives: Each day, am I trying to do the least for God – keep God to a minimum; or the most? How can I give more?
If you’re having some sort of difficulty in your life, ask yourself this. It may not seem, at first, to directly relate to your situation; but ask yourself this: How badly do I want God in my life? Just a bit? Or all? Many people suffer in their lives primarily because of just this: the sin of simply not wanting God enough – or, of not wanting enough God. A lack of desire to be driven to real action!
(III)
Divided Commitment, Half-hearted Commitment... All of which brings us to the final way God’s place in our life is often flawed: the IMPERSONAL COMMITMENT.
In this commandment (as with all the others) it’s important to note that the “YOU” (as in “YOU shall have no other gods before me”) - this “you” is in second person SINGULAR. In other words, God is speaking to the ENTIRE NATION of Israel; but the conversation is PERSONAL: to each singular INDIVIDUAL.
This is what the commandments are FOUNDED upon: People who have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God. Without this, the commandments are irrelevant. Thus, in our modern world when we read of some “non-believer” somewhere working to remove the Ten Commandments from some civil courtroom; we should not be surprised - it’s logical! The commandments mean nothing to this person! We should not condemn them but rather have compassion for them and reach out to them!
The commandments are founded upon a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God; and within this, a SPECIFIC personal relationship, a specific EXPERIENCE, namely: SALVATION – Having been rescued by God, delivered out of captivity and death. As noted, in the PROLOGUE to the commandments, this is how God identifies himself: As a SAVIOR. This is the people’s primary experience. We modern Christians tend to ignore the prologue and just get to the commandment; but to the original Jewish audience it was (and is) incorrect, and impossible, to separate the two for the prologue DEFINES WHO WILL BE OUR GOD!
To put it another way: The final point of this First Commandment is that this is the GOAL of life: to have a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF GOD’S SALVATION; and from this to make this ALL that your life is about – nothing “before” this. From a Christian perspective, of course, we know the fulfillment of God’s saving work to be the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and thus what it finally means to live this commandment: to put nothing in our lives before this. It means continually asking: What does God see in me? What has Christ done for me? And does my life honor that – lift it up above all other things?
Now for each person, each day, this may be a different thing: It may mean going into that doctor’s office trusting not fearful because you know God will see you through anything. It may mean forgiving that person who has hurt you; knowing that this is what Christ has done for you. It may mean leaving that abusive relationship because you know that this is not the worth God sees in you. It may mean reaching out to someone else who needs saving – risking all for this, know that without this there is nothing.
Whatever, it is the constant question: Does everything I am and do proclaim a SAVING GOD? How can I somehow enact God’s personal salvation of me, today? Author John Roth, in his book A Love Stronger than our Fears, writes:
“Late one evening, while attending a conference in the German city of Hamburg, I boarded a commuter train and headed for an outlying suburb. The train car was completely empty at that late hour, and I dozed sleepily as it rattled past the harbor and then through the industrial district. Some minutes into the trip, an elderly man, dressed in rags and clearly suffering from a mental disability, shuffled into the car, closely followed by four teenagers. The young men, entered the car amid raucous laughter and loud talk. Almost immediately their attention focused on the old man who had seated himself near the center doors.
“The four began to taunt him, shouting obscenities and making humiliating references to his mental condition. Then one of the teens shook up a half-filled can of beer and aimed the foamy spray directly into the old man’s face. Without warning they began kicking his legs with their heavy boots and punching him in the arms and face.
“Seated toward the back of the car, I looked on with a mixture of horror and fear as the terrible scene unfolded before me. I am not a big person; I am not trained in any of the martial arts; I have never considered myself particularly brave. Yet as a professing Christian I knew with absolute certainty that I could not simply sit back and watch this helpless old man be mercilessly beaten.
“I whispered a deep prayer: ‘God, calm my fear. Show me the right thing to do. Make me an instrument of your love.’ And then, without really giving my next actions any careful thought, I got out of my seat and walked purposefully toward the old man and his attackers. ‘Hans!’ I called out in my best German, ‘Hans, how are you? It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other!’ And then, slipping between two of the surprised men, I embraced him, helped him to his feet and said, ‘Come sit with me, Hans. We have so much to catch up on.’
“The old man followed me toward the rear of the car and slid into the window seat. The teens looked on, not sure how they should respond. For a time they talked among themselves. But when the train pulled into the next stop, they got out. And at the following stop, ‘Hans’ left as well, mumbling a word of thanks.
“I have never felt more alive in the Lord. All of my own troubles washed away. I lived salvation.”
Many years ago, General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked what was the secret to his tremendously powerful faith. He replied simply, “I told the Lord that he could have all there is of William Booth.”
Not divided, not half-hearted, not impersonal; but TOTAL COMMITMENT to God – the first step on the path to true life.
“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.’”
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