The way we learned it was like this: You shall have no other gods. And then there was the question: What does this mean for us? We are to fear, love, and trust God above anything else. Thus the Small Catechism and Dr. Martin Luther.
But there is more for us to consider. We have the “letter” of the law from the words we learned (and memorized) from the Small Catechism. Still, it might do us some good to go into this a little deeper.
It’s all about IDOLS, isn’t it? And idols are that thing you think is serving you but is really enslaving you.
In other words, imagine “being you” without your career, or your money, or your good health, or your
success, or your stamp collection, or your alcohol. An idol is anything we love or put our trust in. In Bible
days people worshiped gods of fertility cults and the golden calf. Today? Money, sex, sports, self-esteem. We imagine we control these things, but often it is the opposite.
But the true God shows power in this–when these things let us down, God is there in the depths of our
lows – never abandoning us, saving us from false gods.