By: Pastor Greg Laurie

The golden calf was the Israelites’ second idol. Moses was their first.

Yes, the people bowed before a golden calf while Moses was away. But they had made an idol out of Moses as well. It wasn’t his fault, however. Moses simply was a godly example.

Exodus 14 tells us, “Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and His servant Moses” (verse 31 NKJV).

Later when Moses left for a time to receive the 10 Commandments, he put his brother, Aaron, in charge. But after a while, the people said, “As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:23 NKJV).

Hold on. It was God who brought them out of Egypt. But in a way, they had put Moses in the place of God.

This happens today. For instance, maybe a wife is more motivated spiritually than her husband, who seems to be just going along for the ride. His relationship with God, so to speak, depends on his wife’s relationship with God.

Now let’s just say, for the sake of illustration, that his wife loses interest in spiritual things. It won’t be long before he loses interest as well.

Or maybe there’s a pastor that people will flock to hear, but then one day he says or does something that they don’t like. So they say, “That’s it! I’m leaving my faith and walking away from the church.”

Don’t build your faith in God on the foundation of another person. Each of us needs our own relationship with Him, one that doesn’t depend on a spouse, parents, or anyone else. The Lord needs to be number one in your life.

This article originally appeared on Harvest.org and has been used with permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 USA

More from Pastor Greg Laurie