“And God spoke all these words, saying, “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. - Exodus 20:1-3
There’s only one first. God is first in all Creation, in Power, in Love, and in all things. And He must have His rightful place in our lives if we are to truly flourish in life. We were created to worship Him in all things, however, our sin leads us to worship other things apart from Him and other gods before Him. As theists, and certainly as Christians, we want God to be “in the mix”, and even first, but functionally we place other things and people ahead of Him. Idolatry is (usually) the act of making good things God things. We often take the good things He’s given us, and we turn them into best things. We give them a place in our lives that they do not warrant and cannot fulfill. And Jesus taught us that whatever is first in our lives (whatever we “treasure” or value most) will drive our hearts- which will drive our actions. What we worship drives our lives.
