In All We Do – The Second Commandment

In All We Do

Exodus 20:4, 5

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…”

We will serve that which commands our attention and captures our affections. We will serve what we think about and desire most earnestly.

If our minds are filled with thoughts and plans and ideas about work or diversions, that’s where our desires will concentrate, and that’s what we’ll serve. If we allow our thoughts to linger on lust, power, or wealth, we will soon enough bend our practices to obey those longings. Our best strength and effort will go to things that can’t last, and we will end up before the judgment throne of Christ trying to justify a life of idolatry.

Don’t get me wrong: things like work and diversions–even sex and wealth–all have their place in the divine economy. It’s a matter of how we approach them and what we’re seeking to accomplish through them. These may not be “carved idols,” but they can serve the same purpose; in all we do we must guard against these or anything that becomes more important than the Name that has been bestowed upon us by grace through faith.

Ultimately, we must all study and pray and plan and prepare in such a way as to ensure that, in all we do, we worship and serve the Lord Who has redeemed us, and Him only.

How do you plan and prepare for your weekly activities? What is your approach to making sure all you do is in line with what God requires of you as His servant?

I know I’m serving You, Lord, when…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.