I am the Lord thy God: thou shall not have strange Gods before me, Part One

Well, we are almost there.  Tonight, we begin our reflection on the very 1^st Commandment,

I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

This is the traditional Catechetical formula.  If you look at the entire passage from Scripture from which this formula was derived, you will see God “backing up” the legitimacy of this demand, so to speak, with evidence of his power and generosity.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven 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,  (Exodus 20:2-5)

God is perfectly good, just and merciful.  But you know what else he is?  He is perfectly jealous.   He wants attention on him, and no other imagined deity.  This might sound like God is selfish.  However, considering how God created us, and how much he loves us, and does so much for us, is it really unjust for him to want to be loved above all?   No, it is perfectly reasonable.  Also, it is good for us to honor God first because only in him can all our needs and desires be met.  So, his being jealous is not just for his sake, but for ours.

The discussion of this Commandment will be separated into three posts:

Part 1 I am the Lord your God (from an individual perspective)

Part 2 I am the Lord your God (from a social perspective)

Part 3 you shall not have strange Gods before me

Accepting and worshiping God entails the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and love. Through faith, we accept his words and authority. Through hope, we place our trust in him to do what he will to take care, and lead us to our ends.  Through love, we respond to the enormous goodness and love of God.

I have listed in a previous post sins against these virtues, which are also sins against this Commandment.  I will list them again here:

Against faith

1) Voluntary doubt refusal to hold true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief (i.e. refusing to believe what the Church teaches about the Real Presence.)
2) Involuntary doubt  hesitation in believing, difficulty or anxiety in the face of objections to the faith  (i.e. doubting Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist because it seems to fly in the face of the perceived senses, and so many Christians do not believe that.)
3) Incredulity neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it (i.e. thinking it preposterous that that small wafer is the Body and Blood of Christ.)
4) Heresy post-Baptismal denial of some truth of the Faith, or obstinate doubt concerning the same (i.e.  teaching that the Eucharist is merely a symbol of Christ, and not His Real Presence)
5) Apostasy total repudiation of the Christian faith
6) Schism refusal to submit to the authority of the Holy Father

Against hope

7) Despair  not believing one can be saved
8) Presumption believing we can save ourselves, or that God will save us no matter what we do or believe

Against charity

9) Indifference  neglect or refusal to consider the goodness and power of God's love
10) Ingratitude refusal to acknowledge and return God's love
11) Lukewarmness  hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love
12) Acedia  refusal of the joy that comes from God
13) Hatred of God  the opposite of love of God, as a result of pride

For a little bit more reflection on these sins, as well as the virtues themselves,  read my posts on them:

http://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/faith-hope-and-love.html

http://jimscatholicblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/sins-against-theological-virtues.html

Through these supernatural virtues, we are able to give to god what is justly is.  We are able to accept and worship him as he deserves.  On our own, we could not do that: only through faith, hope, and charity can we. These virtues give us the power to accept and worship him. But just how do we do so?  How do we give him what is just, by the power of the theological virtues?   We do so through adoration, prayer, sacrifice, and fulfilling promises and vows,

In adoration, we acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love…acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the "nothingness of the creature" who would not exist but for God. To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is his name (Catechism, #2096-97) 

Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.  

The Catechism (#2099) has some beautiful words on sacrifice: It is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."

A promise to God is something done in many of our lives.  The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Matrimony involve making promises.   One may also make promises to God in personal devotion.   A vow is a more formal type of promise in which we offer ourselves to God for the sake of a better good.   Fulfilling promises and vows is a way of fulfilling this 1^st Commandment.

In the next post, we will move beyond the individual’s relationship to God, and look at this aspect of the Commandment from a more social, communal perspective.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.