Both adults and children often think that the Ten Commandments are just a list of dos and don’ts. They are seldom seen as more than specific (and very rigid) rules. However, God also intended them to be used guidelines that can help Christians make decisions about things that appear to be outside the intention of the explicit command and therefore useful for every step and decision in their lives. As a result, it is important that Christians learn the Ten Commandments, the principals they reflect, and how they apply to every situation in life.
The First Commandment
The first law from God in Exodus 20 is “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Christians often think of ‘other gods’ as being gods found in other religions or old-fashioned idols. However, God’s intentions are deeper than preventing His people from following another religion. He wants Christians to put Him first all of the time. Not because He is an egotistical, self-centered bully but because He loves His People so much that He wants them to love Him in the same way. He knows that the only way His children are fulfilled is through His love.
It is easy to think that believing in God and having no idols is enough. But God wants His children completely in every part of their day and life. If Christians are not completely focused on Him, they are in danger of worshiping whatever has taken His place as the focus in their life. If Christians always find their spare moments filled with thoughts of another person or activity, one that is not concerned with God, there is a possibility that they have created an idol for themselves
This is a hard law for adults to understand and obey. How do Christians teach their children to focus on God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength so that no idol slips in to take His place? How do adults help children learn to put God first? One way is to use an example of baby ducks and how they imprint.
How Baby Ducks Imprint
When baby ducks hatch, they don’t know they are ducks. When a duckling hatches the first thing it should see is either its mother or a brother or sister. So God created baby ducks to think that if something moves and stays near by, it must be its mother. It doesn’t matter if it is a duck, a dog, a cow, or a person. Baby ducks think it is their mother and they believe that they are its baby. If a duckling imprints on a dog, it will grow up thinking it is a dog.
Ducklings look to the creature they imprinted on to provide them with warmth, protection, food, and to teach them how to live. Baby ducks who are kept as pets and who are separated from their mother will never lead normal duck lives. If duckling’s owner gets bored with it and decides to return it to the wild, the poor baby duck thinks that its mother is abandoning him and becomes frantic. The lost duckling will approach any human that comes near to him hoping that he will find his mother. The creature that a duckling imprints on is always the first thing the duckling thinks about and the duckling believes that the most important creature in the world is their ‘mother.’
Imprinting on God
Christians need to learn to think like ducks. If Christians imprint on God they will look to Him to provide warmth, daily needs, protection, and to teach how to live. When a Christian is imprinted on God, their first response to getting lost is to become frantic and go back to God. If a child’s life is imprinted on God, parents will not have to worry about their children messing up and worshiping idols because the child will have no room in his mind for other gods because the true God is always the first thing he thinks about.
Fortunately, baby ducks are born with instincts. They know how to swim without a Mother to teach them. But even with instincts, they will never completely live the normal duck lives they were intended for if they do not have a proper mother to teach them. Christians are like ducks. If God’s people do not imprint on God, they can live normal lives according to the world’s standards. But they will never live the life of fulfillment that God intends for them. The only way to experience what God intends is to be fully imprinted on him.
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