what are you placing above God?

today, sadly, it’s common that we put so many things above church and God. “we don’t mean to do it; we just forget.” I saw this happen so often in my own life and the lives of those around me. though it’s common, it’s time to break the trend. it’s time for us to understand why it’s hard for us to put Him first and work to change that.

when we choose to place other things over God, we are unintentionally allowing them to become idols. idolatry has been a thing ever since Exodus with the golden calf, Ex 3:1-6. the people of this story got tired of waiting for Moses to return from Mount Sinai, so they decided to allow their WORLDLY desires to take over and turned to something else. they put the calf ABOVE God. now, this is a CLEAR indication of idolatry, but what about the hidden indicators in our own lives?

“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”

Exodus 3:1-6

how many times have you prioritized a boyfriend/girlfriend or your bad sleep schedule over going to church, “having a busy day” over reading your bible, and SO MANY OTHER EXCUSES?? my guess is quite a few times. so how do we fix it? well, the first thing we can do is admit to God and ourselves that we do it! then, we must ask for His forgiveness and guidance as we work to place Him first in our lives! we can worship Him in all we do, read our Bibles daily, attend church and small groups, and more! God will guide you to HOW you can do it, but it’s up to YOU to WANT to put in the effort! you have to WANT a relationship with Him; He will NEVER force it.

here’s the thing… we cannot expect to hear God clearly when we’re constantly putting relationships, friendships, social media, school, work, etc. above Him. next time you think of prioritizing or idolizing things over God, think about what you read here. think about how good God is, how loving and forgiving He is. think about how He sent Jesus to SAVE YOU so that you do not have to perish but have everlasting life! why would you put anything above Him?

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things,”

Colossians 3:2