In Joshua 23-24, Joshua gives his final appeal to Israel. I will quote quite a bit today, just to highlight the progression of this address and their response.

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.” (23:14-16)

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (24:14-15)

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.” (24:16-18)

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” (24:19-20)

But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. (24:21-22)

“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.” (24:23-24)

Now, reading through this, notice that Joshua has two commands he repeats: serve the Lord, and throw away the foreign gods. The people are very clear that they intend to serve the Lord… did they ever say anything about throwing away the gods they have with them? There is a deafening silence in their response. They want God and His blessings, but will just keep holding onto these other ones for extra insurance, thanks.

In their polytheistic mindset, they wanted to just add God to the pantheon of other gods that they worshipped. He wouldn’t mind, right? They’re still serving Him too, so why would it matter? Maybe He could even be the “chief” God of the pantheon! Serving Him sounds like a great idea, especially in light of the promised blessings. Purging their lives of the other ones… that would be too extreme.

This speaks to me loudly about our postmodern culture today. God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible and it’s “inspiration,” messages of hope and peace; maybe even going to church, doing community service… those all sound like good things! But, if you start making claims about the exclusivity of serving God – that you cannot serve Him and the other gods we worship – then you are being extreme. Unreasonable. Intolerant.

Unfortunately, I am not just pointing the finger at those “out there” outside the realm of the Church. Christians are becoming more and more comfortable with an extremely split dualistic mindset. I am a Christian, and I am also… [a mother, a teacher, a journalist, a counselor, a businessman, an accountant, etc.] Rather than being compelled by the all-encompassing Truth of who God is in each and every aspect of our lives, we live our lives and occasionally briefly pause to give God his due – a brief prayer, a 10 minute Bible reading, weekly church attendance, whatever. Sometimes we even dress it up and talk about “integrating” our faith into our lives.

Really knowing and serving God is all consuming. You cannot add Him to the pantheon of gods that the rest of the culture embraces – money, success, busyness, entertainment, security…

Rather than discussing the integration of faith and life, we should be talking about the character, nature, and plan of God – ask not how He fits into our lives, but ask how our lives fit into His will.

God’s Word clearly presents Truth. And to fully embrace it means that it will radically change my daily life. Should I recycle? How should I interact with my husband and other men in my life? What activities should I involve my children in? What is the goal of educating them? What should I read? How should I spend my money? Why do I have money? What should I say on my facebook status?

Living in accordance with Truth is so much more than “spiritual activity.” Truly being a follower of Christ is intensely practical. If we think that we are “good Christians” because we had our short quiet time today or went to church on Sunday and now can continue on our merry way, we’re in the same boat as the Israelites. We cannot add God to our pantheon – He wants our complete allegiance.

Here is my life Lord – every aspect, from the large life-changing questions down to the nitty-gritty of the way I waste or utilize my time while my children nap. I choose You. Show me those gods I’ve carried into my life from the surrounding culture – give me the determination to throw them away and cling only to You.

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:14-15