“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3-5).
“Having a heart for God” means choosing to acquiesce to the will of God, not the dictums of the world. Anyone else who proposes a better set of rules to live by than God’s is an imposter and is of their father, the devil. God is love, but His heart was broken by the people He created.
The book of Genesis tells us that when God looked down into a world full of carnal people munching on forbidden fruit He was grieved. Humankind had chosen to become unfaithful and independent. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “The Great Divorce had happened and God was the injured party.” Men and women chose to love the world more than God who made it, chose to worship the creature rather than the Creator of all creatures! “Their foolish hearts were darkened;” they had ceased to be wise and had in fact become fools (Rom. 1:21-22).
Inclining one’s thoughts toward “only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5) means having a basic mindset of self-interest rather than God-interest, buying into the wisdom and ways of the world. This could be described as spiritual adultery.
When we place anything or anyone above God, we have committed spiritual adultery. What things in your life are you putting before God—loving more than Him? Do business with God today and ask Him to refocus your heart to love and keep Him first.
PRAYER
Lord, my heart is broken to realize that I have been unfaithful to You, but I have. Forgive me for grieving Your heart in the ways that I have followed the world and my carnal self instead of You. Oh how I desire to bring joy and pleasure to Your heart. Strip away the things in my life that have taken the place of You. Give me eyes to see those things and the strength to remove them so You can take first place again. Refocus my heart and may Your Spirit help me to guard the affections of my heart. Amen.
