One Is All I Need

One God and Father of all,

who is above all,

and through all,

and in you all.

Ephesians 4:6

A few years ago, I was talking with a lovely lady who had been born and raised in India. In her teens, she accepted Jesus as her Savior. She explained how difficult it was being ostracized from friends and family alike because of her decision. (Later, both parents and a sibling accepted Jesus probably because of her witness before them.)

She explained to me the confusion of her Hindu religion even though she grew up in the thick of it. They would have special times of “worship” where her entire family would gather. The men would sit in a huge circle in the courtyard with legs crossed and would spend hour after hour praying to their gods of which I understand there are thousands.

This woman couldn't believe the difference in paying homage to so many gods with so many expectations compared to worshiping God, His Son and Spirit...our God Who is three in one. She had never felt any kind of personal attachment to the old ways but with Jesus as her Savior, she felt safe, secure and loved beyond anything she could ever have imagined.

Idol worship has been a huge problem not just in our day but in our spiritual heritage that goes back through the Old Testament. It was such a problem early on, that when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, right in the beginning can be found “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” God will not tolerate idol worship nor anything people put in a position of more importance than Himself. There is a holy jealousy in God with regard to His children. He wants to be the one and only in our lives....NO ONE more important to us than Him.

The interesting thing is that we can easily be critical of people who are members of cults and false religions, but there's something that disturbs me as I observe members of such religions. If you want to compare the depth of dedication between believers in false religions and our Christianity, I'm afraid very often we would find those involved in cults and false religions have we Christians beat all to pieces.

I can't speak for everyone but Christianity in America has become so watered down with the things of the world that many Christians wouldn't stand for Christ if someone held a gun to their heads. With the climate in our country regarding the radical Muslim religion, I wonder when the last time was that I prayed five times a day...every day...without fail. I saw a young lady in the grocery story the other day in her Muslim attire. It takes a great deal of bravery to walk grocery store aisles in that attire with many people looking down their noses at her. That young woman stepped out in her special attire into our world who is skeptical and even scared of such a religious statement.

Because we don't bow before idols such as is with some religions, we might tend to be critical of folks from other countries who do. In fact even they are often more dedicated and worshipful toward their gods than we are to our Lord Jesus. Because we don't bow before an image, picture or statue of some kind, we tend to dismiss the thought of having any kind of idol worship in our lives. I believe we have them, but we just haven't given such things a title. An idol is going to be anything that we have in place that comes between God and ourselves. It can be something very simple, but something that takes up a great deal of our time or thinking. I have often asked myself, as I have spent time with a crochet hook in my hand, how much time I have spent that day in Bible reading and prayer compared to the time I spent crocheting. I'm not saying we can never have a hobby, times of creativity or just casual blocks of time that are refreshing where we may be doing nothing at all. It comes down to balance.

You might be able to add to the list but let me suggest some practical things whether good or bad that can get out of control, where God is asked to take a back seat. For some folks, there might be a problem with some of the following:

TV – Probably all of us have at least one in our house, perhaps in each bedroom as well as living room and/or den. If that has become something we just HAVE to watch incessantly, it could be a problem. There are some good things on TV but not much. Even some spiritual programming may be good but even with it, one has to be discrete.

Car – Remember getting a new car and wanting to wipe off every speck of dust everyday? For some folks, that is on going and a car can take up ones time by the hour. Is there anything wrong with a car and wanting to keep it looking nice? Not as long as it's kept in reasonable balance.

Clothes closet – I've known women and men alike whose attire is their all in all. I know one lady that I attended church with that I doubt if I saw her in the same outfit two times on Sunday mornings. Honestly, I'm not jealous. I hate shopping anytime for clothes and can't imagine being so involved in the shopping syndrome that I would have to have a new outfit every Sunday morning. Some folks might as well bow before their closets.

Money – This can take any form whether it be excessive time spent in the earning or spending of it.

Education – I knew someone several years ago who received his college degree. He went on to get a masters and than on to a doctorate then on to another masters and another masters. He was what we would call a “career student.” In reality, education wasn't just his life...education was his whole life...perhaps, his god.

Recreation – Come spring and summer, many folks dessert church for those months. They may enjoy boating, fishing or heading for the family cabin. There's nothing wrong with those activities but with the attitude that they'll be absent from church most of that time, what place does that give God in their lives.

Let's not even talk about electronics. We might complain about children with their computer games and cell phones. Within reason, there's nothing wrong with those activities as long as they are God honoring. Adults spend hours as well playing with their electronic toys. They have to have the very latest in whatever devices they crave.

I'm not saying any of the above are bad things. For all of us, there needs to be a balance. God should never have to play second fiddle in our lives. If He's taking a back seat, we can be sure there's something between Him and us and it will be of our own doing. I've said before that He's a gentleman and won't force a spiritual relationship on us. He wants first place in our lives at all times...He's the one and only God and will settle for nothing less.

Nothing between my soul and the Savior

So that His blessed face may be seen.

Nothing preventing the least of His favor.

Keep the way clear! Let nothing between.

--C.A. Tindley

Dear Lord Jesus...I love You but often I'm so weak. I don't want there to be anything between You and me. May it be so knowing I rely on Your empowering to be all You want me to be. Amen