Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.
I Kings 18: 21
There are some things we find difficult to decide. Should I take that new job? What university should I go to? These things are difficult because we think they are big life changing decisions. Other things are difficult simply because we are not good at making decisions. What colour should I paint my bedroom? Will I get an iPhone or an Android? To be honest most of these problems are first world problems.
Often when it comes to our worship often, we live as though we can’t decide who or what to worship. We would never say such a thing out loud. We would never imagine that our worship was directed towards anyone or anything other than God. Yet I wonder if we were asked to give up something precious to us as part of that worship how would we feel?
The truth is that all to often our worship is the same as deciding, we shift our affection from one to the other we become like Sheldon trying to make our minds up. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his letter, ‘…the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind… such a person in double minded and unstable in all they do.’ (James 1:6 & 8)
When we read the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel (read here) we are reading a story that teaches us we cannot take this double minded approach to worshiping God. ‘If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’
To understand God is to understand God is a jealous God, he cannot be worshiped alongside anyone or anything else. In fact, to think we can worship God along with someone or something else is the same as saying we are choosing not to worship God.
The question we are left with is who is the Lord? If he is God then will we worship him alone, putting him before all things. To do anything else is to say that Baal is God…
Prayer Father today I declare you to be God. I understand you to be the creator God, the law-giving God, the only God worthy of my worship. I declare you to be above all things and before all things. Father God today I echo Paul’s words to the Philippians, and I bow the knee, in worship and submission. In obedience to you. Help me, Lord, to live my life serving you only. Amen