Old Testament

I love the Old Testament. I love the stories, the lessons, the morals and the love that God has for His children. After reading the scriptures this morning, I thought about the ten commandments. I've seen some billboards with "They are not the ten suggestions.", which has given me pause for thought.
We've been given the gift of agency to choose, but we've been given 'commandments' which gives no room for choice - that is if you want to obey God's commandments.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) Sounds obvious, doesn't it? I guess it depends on who or what you worship. The money god, the football god, the party god, false prophets, the 'feel good' god, are the immediate gods that we choose to worship.
Whenever the children of Israel strayed from following God's lead they got into trouble. Whenever they worshipped a god besides the true God, they got into trouble.
Personally, I have enough issues trying to choose correctly. I will worship only God the Father. No other God's.
When Moses brought the commandments down, the children of Israel needed basic rules to follow. They had been in captivity for generations and had learned the ways of idol worship. I believe that some of us still need the basic rules to follow because the world today teaches idol worship - money, beauty, belongings, power. Not that any of those things are bad in and of themselves, but they become evil when placed above the teachings of God. They become evil when placed above family.
These commandments are so basic that I believe we must ponder them and their meanings - above and beyond the simplicity of the words in the scriptures.