Counterfeits EP2 - Family First or God First

In our faith journey, we often struggle with competing priorities, particularly between family devotion and commitment to God. While family provides love, security, and purpose, it can become a counterfeit when we expect it to give what only God can provide. Jesus challenges this thinking in Luke 8:19-21, redefining family beyond blood relations to include all who hear God's word and do it. This spiritual kinship transcends cultural, economic, and biological boundaries, connecting believers worldwide through Christ. Scripture clearly teaches we should care for our biological families, as Paul states in 1 Timothy 5:8. However, Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 10:37 that our love for Him must come first. When we make family our ultimate priority, we develop unrealistic expectations, create unbearable pressure on relationships, foster unhealthy codependence, and may even resist spiritual growth. Conversely, when God is our first priority, we're liberated from these expectations, can love without needing completion from others, serve without expecting reciprocation, and gain an expanded spiritual family. Practical ways to put God first while honoring family include praying for them, forgiving hurts, serving sacrificially, speaking truth in love, modeling Christ's character, and including family in your spiritual journey rather than compartmentalizing faith.