² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; 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, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

God told the Israelites not to have any god before him. This was hard for them because they had just come from Egypt where it was common to worship many idols. If they did not learn that God was the only true God, they could not be his people. This was no matter if they kept the other nine commandments. This was God’s first commandment. Do you allow things to become a god to you? It is money, fame, work, or hobbies that come first for you? We do not set out to put things first. Put God first so that your thoughts and energies are of him first. Let God have the central place in your life.