Priorities and Our Jealous God

The Ten Commandments begin with strong warnings not to worship other gods: 

"I, the LORD your God, am a jealous* God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods" (Exodus 20:5).

Typically, we think of "other gods" as pagan deities, but genuine Christians can violate this commandment through wrong priorities as well as pagan influences.

We definitely make God jealous when we prioritize things like "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:15-17).

But we can also place good things above God's purposes. For example, we can get so focused on our family, our job, or our ministry that we neglect spending time with God in prayer and Bible study and seeking His will for our lives.

I know that I need to evaluate my priorities from time to time, and I encourage you to do the same. Let's never forget that "we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

God is jealous for our undivided love. Let's give it to Him.

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*Jealous is usually a negative word, but not when used by God. He is appropriately jealous like a husband would be jealous if his wife had an affair with another man. For more, see Our Jealous God

When we make Jesus our #1 priority, all other priorities fall into place. For more on this, see Rolling Right.

Click the image below to find out more about Wisdom for Life, a hardcover devotional priced lower than most paperbacks.

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