When I was a kid, I thought the 10 commandments were stupid. They were so simplistic as to insult to my 7-year old intelligence. Obviously it was wrong to kill, lie, steal, and disrespect your parents. I would never kill anyone. I didn’t break the others very often. (I always respected my parents unless they were unreasonable.)

The first commandment was the dumbest by far.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

As as 7-year old, I was certain this command was unnecessary. Modern people didn’t worship false gods anymore. Modern people talked on phones and drove cars around. We had Pong ™! We were too smart for superstitious idolatry. At least, I was too smart for idolatry. I was enlightened and not about to worship statues, birds, or the Sun.

I’m in complete agreement with anyone who rejects idolatry – even atheists! I’ll cheer the godless goons while they denounce those who violate the first commandment. I asked an atheist to list reasons he’s heard for believing in God and he replied:

My 7-year-old self would agree that seeing Jesus face in a piece of toast is shallow theology. We don’t have any photographs of Jesus so it’s impossible to know if he’s making appearances in baked goods. That could be anybody’s face on your tortilla! What if that’s actually a postman from Des Moines? You turned your life upside down because you saw the likeness of a postal employee on a pancake! You’re putting something else in front of God. It’s not a good idea to build your faith on a foundation of idolatry.

It’s also not a good idea to reject God because some people believe for stupid reasons:

Yes. I understand. You’re proudly professing the faith I outgrew in 2nd grade.

That you “can’t remember every reason ever presented” is no surprise. You’re “remembering” only the stupid reasons. There are many reasons for believing in God that don’t involve finding keys or seeing Jesus in toast. Your smug atheism would crumble to ashes the instant you acknowledge just one of the grown-up reasons for faith. You ignore the strongest arguments for the existence of God and declare your “reason” victorious over “religion”. You’re a fool. But you’re not alone.

The church is full of fools just like you! Their faith is controlled by their mood. They love Jesus during worship service when the music is pumping and the pastor is preaching “love”. They believe in God when they “feel His presence”. They’ll happily “follow Jesus” as long as He’s going where they want to go. They break the first commandment and fall prostrate before the god of emotionalism. Just like atheists!

Now that I’m a grown-up, I understand that the Creator of the Universe might have some opinions about how the Universe should operate. Sometimes, His opinions are different from mine. Sometimes, God doesn’t find my keys for me. Sometimes, I don’t feel God’s presence. Sometimes, He doesn’t obey my commands. God isn’t an idolater. He doesn’t have any other gods before Himself.

Any god thinks exactly like you do – is not God. When you understand everything about your god – your god is not God. When you’re certain there is no god – you need to

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14