What's with all the gods?

"Why does the Second of the Ten Commandments say, 'You shall have no other gods before Me.' Isn’t there only one God?"

There is only one Creator, but there are billions of "gods." Eastern religions have millions of images that they call "gods." Primitive people-groups have their own gods. These are obvious "idols,"--images made of wood and stone to which people bow and give homage.

However, there are other very common and more subtle idols. The average idolater in America creates a god in their mind that they find pleasing. He is a god that would never create Hell or become angry at sin. These images of what they think God is like are shaped by the human imagination, and usually conform to the sins of the idolater. Idolatry is very convenient because (in our minds) it gets rid of our moral accountability to God.

There is also the "god" of the atheist. He creates an image of what he thinks God is like, then he dismisses it because it lacks credibility. Perhaps it’s an old man in the sky, reaching out to touch fingers with Adam. He's right to dismiss such silliness. Or perhaps he creates an "image" of a monster. He does this by taking the harsh judgments of the Old Testament, and creating a god that has no mercy or kindness. Then he says that he would never worship such a tyrant. And rightly so, because his god is a monster. It’s also a figment of his sinful imagination. Idolatry is the root cause of sexual sin (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-14).

There is only one Creator, and He revealed Himself the Moses when He gave the Ten Commandments--the First two of which forbid idolatry. Then He gave us the Scriptures so that we could further understand the nature of His holiness and His requirements for humanity.