Daily Devotional, Aug 18, 2023 Who is your number one?
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:24
One of the first wedding songs I have heard as a child was “Ngayon at Kailanman” and back then, I was struck with the line “Bakit labis kitang mahal, pangalawa sa Maykapal? higit sa aking buhay?” which translates to “why do I love you so? Second to God, more than my life.” Growing up, I loved my parents above all. No one told me that the Lord should be my number one. I don’t know if I wasn’t just listening to the teachers in my Catholic school, but I never felt that I was violating a commandment if God wasn’t the one I loved the most.
Fast forward decades later, when I got to know more about the Lord, I learned that when the Bible says you shall worship the Lord your God with all your heart and that you should have no idols (Exodus 2-:3-4), it meant that God should be the first and foremost priority in your life. Not your career, not your children, not your spouse, not your parents, and most certainly not yourself.
One of the preachers that I admire said that Idols do not only mean carved images. IDOLS of today, according to Him are persons, things or ideas that take up all our effort, time, and emotions. For us moms, it can mean our children. While they cannot survive without our love and care, we should not put them on the pedestal alongside our Lord Jesus Christ. We should not lose time for the Lord just because we are moms and we are responsible for little human beings.
When we idolize our children we become monster moms, helicopter moms, and even beast moms that sometimes smother too much love to the point that the children may suffocate. We also tend to forego our own prayer time, neglect bible reading, and even skip church because something came up with the kids or we are just too tired.
When the children are sick, we are too restless and forget that there is a God who can help our children get better. When the children have problems, we take the matter into our own hands, and forget that we can pray to know the will of our Savior so that we can resolve whatever issues our children may have. When the kids are old enough to hurt our feelings, we end up broken. When the time comes for them to leave the nest, we fall into depression.
Instead of creating idols, we should above all prioritize that one relationship that will remain constant in our lives no matter what. We can do this by having daily intentional prayer time, bible reading and reflection, and non-negotiable Sundays of community worship.
Let us remember that our relationship with God and His love for us will not fade away unlike the beauty that we see in the mirror, or the love of our spouse. He will not leave us alone like our children once they start living their own lives. God’s love will not suddenly go downhill like what could happen to our careers, or financial investments. It will not disappear like the comfort and convenience which could be taken away from us anytime. Our connection to the Lord will never be severed as long as we tether ourselves to Him.
Making God our greatest love is not just an act of worship, it is our way of thanking Him for giving up His only son for us (John 3:16). It does not hinder us from loving our children more, instead it encourages us to be a better parent by following Jesus’ example of lovingkindness, gentleness and generosity. It prompts us to get everyone together to follow the Lord and live His will in our lives as a family.
In our home, my kids know that Mama’s number one love is Jesus, and I tell them that I am okay to be in second place too in their little hearts.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read Exodus 20:3-6 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Is God your number one? If He is not, how do you plan to make him the first priority in your life?
Conversation with the Lord: Dear Lord, I praise and thank you for allowing me to seek you today. Please cleanse me of my idols so that I can fully commit my life to you. I plan to do your will for me as a mother, so I pray to you to give me the strength of heart and mind to follow your example as our kind, merciful, generous, and caring Heavenly Father. Amen.