2 I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of that place of slavery. 3 You shall not have other gods instead of me. 4 You shall not make idols or any image of things that are in the heavens above or that are upon the earth or that are in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow before them nor shall you serve them. (Exodus 20:2-5)
The First Commandment reminds us that there is only one God, and that worship and honor belongs to Him alone. “Strange gods” refers, first, to idols, which are false gods; for instance, the Israelites created an idol of a golden calf (a “graven thing”), which they worshiped as a god while waiting for Moses to return from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.
But “strange gods” also has a broader meaning. We worship strange gods when we place anything in our lives before God, whether that thing is a person, or money, or entertainment, or personal honor and glory. All good things come from God; if we come to love or desire those things in themselves, however, and not because they are gifts from God that can help lead us to God, we place them above God.
Idolatry & 1st Commandment (9:29)
Here are the Catholic Ten Commandments:
- I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
