NOTES for Exo 20:3
"You shall have no other gods besides Me" - what does this mean? And is it easy to avoid paganism for us, living in a country that presents itself partly as Orthodox, partly as Islamic, but certainly not as pagan? At first glance, everything is simple. Pagan cults like those that filled the ancient world and still permeate the life of some pagan countries are exotic for our country. Therefore, it would seem, there is no problem.
There probably really would be no problem if pagan worship necessarily required outward expression. But it, like every kind of worship, is born first of all in the soul, not in the stone, wood, or metal from which images of pagan gods are made. And the soul does not tolerate emptiness: abstaining from participation in pagan religious rites and ceremonies is not enough. An empty soul will still find an object of worship for itself, and that object will become its god. The only way to avoid this is to fill the soul, not with theology, morality, or even religion, but with that direct and immediate communion with God for which God intended it. Only then will there be no place for paganism in our life.