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You shall have no other gods before me. -Exodus 20:3 (NIV)

When we think of idols, the obvious first thought is of the golden calf that Aaron and others smelted and worshiped while Moses was on Mount Sinai.

But we have many, many idols that may not be so conspicuous in our eyes, but also distract us from God. Some of us slavishly follow celebrities, or money, or cars, or jobs, or even other people in our lives. Maybe it’s harboring grudges, or anger, or telling gossip. And some of us, without knowing it, may idolize ourselves, inflating ourselves in our minds.

When we do that, and then worship God, are we totally focused on Him?

Nothing and no one should usurp God’s first place in our hearts. When we take away everything and everyone else from your life, God is the only constant. Jesus is our rock, the living Word that lights our path so we know how to live and where to step.

When I start going down a rabbit hole of obsessing over anything but my thirst for God and how to make Him known, I’m already straying. I have to stop and go back to basics: it’s all about Jesus. When I do that, He puts everything else in its proper perspective, and those other things and people I was worrying about dissolve away.

It’s all about you, Jesus!

Today’s soundtrack

Matt Redman’s “Heart of Worship” takes us back to basics.