No Other Gods

What does it mean when God says, “Do not worship any other gods besides me”? It means that we are not to allow anything or anyone to takes the place of God in our lives. That god could be a career. It could be a possession. It could be a relationship. It could be so many things. But the Bible tells us, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (1 John 5:21).

Scripture also warns us about idols that include objects or carved images. Before we dismiss this as an issue from the Old Testament period, let’s consider how many religious icons and images we have in our culture today. While I’m not saying all of these are necessarily wrong, I am saying that we don’t need them to worship God. Sometimes people say, “I need these things to remind me of God.” But a person who knows God, loves Him, and is living in fellowship with Him does not need an image or a representation of God to worship Him. A dependence on such things indicates the absence of an inner spiritual life. Jesus said, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (1 John 4:23–24).

We don’t need images. We don’t need icons. We don’t need symbols. God tells us, “Do not make idols of any kind.” Give Him your undivided love.