The Most Important Priority (The First Commandment) Series

Trueblood reminds us that while it’s important to not murder and not steal, but it’s far more important that we have some central conviction that gives us the courage to refuse to murder and steal, even when a dictator commands us to (16). That’s what the confessing Christians in Germany had, the first commandment. Whenever any political ideology—whether it’s fascism, socialism, capitalism, communism or whatever takes the central place in a person’s life, that person is bowing to the god of society. Whenever any government demands exclusive loyalty, that government has become the god of society.There’s also the god of pleasure. The Greek sex goddess Aphrodite and the Greek partying god Dionysus are ancient examples of the god of pleasure. Perhaps more smoke has gone up to the god of pleasure in the 20th century than any other false god. The annals of Rock and Roll history are littered with the broken lives of men and women who pursued this god until it destroyed them. Names like Janis Joplan, Jimmy Hendrix, Kirt Cobain and Queen’s Freddy Mercury are just a few. Idols of drug abuse, alcohol addiction, and sexual promiscuity have left countless lives ruined. Even though I was an atheist for many years, this was the god I worshipped the most before I came to know Jesus Christ. Whenever I’m on a ride-along as a police chaplain with our local police department and I go into our city’s dance clubs, I immediately realize that the worship of Aphrodite and Dionysus is alive and well.Finally, there’s the god of self. The origin of this kind of worship goes all the way back to the third chapter of Genesis, when the serpent whispered, "You shall be as gods yourselves." Perhaps the Greek god Narcissus is an example of the god of self. Narcissus the god who fell in love with his own image, and sat starting at his own reflection. It’s no accident that sociologist Christopher Lasch has dubbed American culture a culture of narcissism. We see this in many people’s obsession to have a perfect body, to make their bodies somehow immortal by working out and—if that doesn’t work—by cosmetic surgery. We see this god worshipped whenever someone picks up a gun and takes someone else’s life, because by doing that they declare themselves to have the power of life and death, a power reserved for the true God. We see it when people consult psychic friends and crystal balls to know the future. We see it when New Age proponents like Shirley MacLaine say that the most tragic event of our generation is the fact that we’ve forgotten that we are all gods.

Suddenly the claim that 3 out of 4 Americans are "completely true to the first commandment" sounds ridiculously hollow and drips with self-deception. We’re not true to the one God, but we’ve simply lost the ability to identify the false gods in our lives. Friends everyone has a god, whether it goes by old traditional names like Zeus and Dionysus, or more modern names like climbing the corporate ladder and "finding myself," everyone has a god.