What keeps you awake at night? Are you worried about what you should have done today; or what you must do tomorrow? Do you have a broken relationship that you can’t seem to get out of your mind? Do you constantly worry about what people might think of you? How do you finish the statements, “If only I had…” “I would be happy if…”
What do you think about most of the time? What do you love? Martin Luther said, “Whatever man loves, that is his god. For he carries it in his heart; he goes about with it night and day; he sleeps and wakes with it, be it what it may – wealth or self, pleasure or renown.” https://www.azquotes.com/author/9142-Martin_Luther/tag/sleep
God says that He is jealous, wanting us to have only Him as our god – the thing we love the most. In the First Commandment, He says,
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20: 2,5,6 (NIV)
Luther’s Small Catechism gives as the meaning for the First Commandment, “We are to fear, love, and trust God above anything else.”
I ask myself: Am I loving something more than God? Am I relying on someone or something to fill my needs? Perhaps it is my reputation, and what people think of me. Perhaps it is my body and keeping it beautiful and healthy. Or perhaps I am greedy, loving food, pleasure, and material possessions too much. Perhaps it is my work, and I get all my identity and value from what I do. Perhaps it is my comfort and entertainment. Perhaps it is my wealth, and what I must accrue to be able to live comfortably. Perhaps it is my achievements, and the accolades I earn. Perhaps it is my family, and what I expect from them.
I have been guilty of breaking the First Commandment many times, and continue to do so in the present. It is so easy to excuse this sin. After all, doesn’t God expect us to look after ourselves? Doesn’t God say He wants to give us good things? Surely I’m OK as long as I thank Him for His blessings every now and then? After all, surely God knows I deserve a good life? Surely God knows I’m not half as bad as everyone else?
It is impossible for me to keep any of the Commandments. Thank God that Jesus kept them for me. Then, on the cross, Jesus paid the price for my failure to keep them. Thank God that He forgives me because of Jesus.
Prayer: Dear God, I am guilty of loving myself more than You. Please forgive me. I am guilty of loving your creation more than You. Please forgive me. I am guilty of trusting in other people and other things more than You. Please forgive me. Remind me that You are the source of everything, not me. You are source of my life, my breath, and everything that I have. I cannot obey your commandments. Fill me with your Holy Spirit to desire to love you and to obey you in all things. Thank you that Jesus has fulfilled your commandments on my behalf, and therefore that you forgive me. Amen.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are there things that keep you awake at night? How do you finish the statement – “I would be happy if…” What do I fear, love and trust the most?
Annalyn