October 23, 2025 Devo

What will you take for your God? What would you take to be willing to walk away from Him? How about a better job? A job with more money, more prestige, and more power. Would you be willing to compromise your character to have it? Would you be willing to treat people like commodities to have it? Would you give up spending time with God to work all the necessary hours it takes to have that job? People do it all the time. Their job takes the most sacred place in their lives. They’ll do anything to get it, and they’ll do anything to keep it. It’s not a gold-plated bull, but it’s their “god” just the same. And they trade their “glorious God” for it.
Would you take belonging to a particular group for your God? Would you hide your faith or the fact that you’re a Christ-follower if it helps your acceptance in the crowd you want to be a part of? Are you willing to compromise your values, compromise your commitments, or compromise your self-worth to be with them? Some people do. For some of us, acceptance by a certain “in-crowd” is everything to us. We’re willing to become what they want us to be and let go of what we think God wants us to be. We’re willing to follow their lead rather than seek His direction. All of us want to be liked. But some of us let the group become our “golden bull.” And we trade our “glorious God” for it.
Usually, we don’t trade God all at once. We trade Him a little bit at a time. We take a step away from Him to take a step towards where we think we’d like to be. We don’t throw away everything we believe in with one big decision. We just let go of it bit by bit and piece by piece. When the Israelites made their golden bull, they gathered up jewelry and earrings, and whatever else they could get from people. Some gave up a little of this, and others gave up a little of that. What they didn’t realize was that they were actually giving up their SOULS.
Don’t make the same mistake. Hold the line. Stay true to who you know God’s called you to be. Don’t forfeit your identity in Christ for a job, a crowd, or anything else this world wants to trade you. Those “golden bulls” aren’t going to save you when you find yourself in over your head one day. And they’ll never take the place of spending just one moment in the presence of your Glorious God. That’s God’s Word for you today.