The first commandment (v3) is saying there is only one God who we should worship, serve and obey. God is to have no competitors in our lives. When the commandments were given the Israelites would have been familiar with the many false gods of Egypt and the other nations around them. The temptation was to yes, worship the true God, but also to hold on to some of these false gods as well.

God makes it clear that He alone is to have our worship, trust and obedience. This commandment is totally uncompromising. We are to be totally sold out to God. The rich young ruler (Mark 10 v21-22) learnt that he could not worship and serve money and also worship and serve the true God.

We are to be wholeheartedly devoted to the worship and the service of God, because of the glorious God who He is and the wonderful things He has done for His people. Anything or anyone else we love and serve in life, is to be done out of our devotion to the Lord and not in competition to it.

One way we can test the level of our commitment to the Lord is by asking what we spend most of our spare time on, what do we spend our money on and what do we think most about?