The first of the Ten Commandments is Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 10:3). What does that mean?
Jesus explained by reiterating Deuteronomy 6:5 in Matthew 22:35-40.
35. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38. This is the first and great commandment.
39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-21 He had this to say.
19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The Apostle Paul gives us this exhortation in Colossians 3:1-3.
1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
In 1 John 2:15-17 John spells it out this way.
15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
How can you and I set our affections in the right place?
If you want to love someone more, you spend time with that person, right? You talk. You do things together.
So it is with God. The only way to get to know Him better is to read His word. You’ll feel His prompting to talk to God through prayer.
Get acquainted with one man’s love for God’s word in Psalm 119.
Spending time with our Lord will result in loving Him more. And that is as it should be.
We will also have a greater appreciation for our need of God’s grace and the renewing of His Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:23-24 says,
23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Titus 3:4-7 says,
4. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6. Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Lord, help me to know you more and love you better from your precious, enlightening word. Draw my heart to You.