“Yahweh our God, lords other than You have ruled over us, but we remember Your name alone.” Isaiah 26:13 HCSB

What lords have ruled over us? Money, possessions, work, Bushes, Obamas, and Trumps. No matter what lord it has been, we remember God’s name. We submit to leadership, those who are over us, and we submit to God. Because when we do God gets the praise. When we don’t either leadership or the devil get our praise. It is ok to have a lords; bosses and authority, as long as you keep the Lord as #1. 

It is not ok to to have any idols because they draw our praise away from God. When we forget God our lords become our idols. An idol is anything that takes the #1 place of God. It can be money, possessions, work, or anything else.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides Me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.”

Exodus 20:2-6 HCSB

https://www.bible.com/72/exo.20.2-6.hcsb

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides Me. Do not make an idol for yourself in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.”

Deuteronomy 5:6-10 HCSB

https://www.bible.com/72/deu.5.6-10.hcsb

 Our desire is for God’s name and his renown, reputation and not to lift anything above His name. 

““If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple.”

Luke 14:26-27, 33 HCSB

https://www.bible.com/72/luk.14.26-27,33.hcsb

Compared to our love for God our love for anything else should look like hate. We are to love, respect, honor, serve, or obey our fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, children, brothers and sisters. But we are to love God with all our heart (emotions), soul (faith), mind (thoughts), and strength (actions). We are to love him with all our body, soul, and spirit. We love Him by obeying what we tells us to do (John 14:19-26). By our love for Him, the world will see how good He is and will want to know him too. By our love love for other christians, the world will see our devotion to God and will want Him for themselves. By our love for our enemies  they will not be able to say a bad thing about us but will have a burning reminder how much God loves them.

““I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””

John 13:34-35 HCSB

https://www.bible.com/72/jhn.13.34-35.hcsb

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

Proverbs 25:21-22 HCSB

https://www.bible.com/72/pro.25.21-22.hcsb