I went in to kiss Chloe good night. She put one of her little hands on each side of my face, leaned in close and said, "You are the cutest, cutest, cutest man. I love you so much because you are my favorite daddy. I was very happy when God made you on the earth."

Obviously, I loved that she said that to me. I love hearing that I’m cute, and I’m very happy God made me on the earth, too. I’m even happier that he’s allowed me the privilege of being Chloe and Cole’s Daddy.

What caused me pause, however, was what she said about me being her favorite daddy.

Her favorite daddy?

Is there another daddy — daddies? — I’m not aware of? If so, how many other daddies are there? What’s the criteria she’s using to determine which of us is her favorite?

The knowledge that there could be (or is; she has neither confirmed, nor denied) another daddy or daddies out there somewhere has me a little worried.

Have I now been drawn into some sort of competition, where my every word and action will be rated against the words and actions of another, with the coveted “favorite” position hanging in the balance?

How could she do that to me? I love her with all my heart; how could her love for me be so divided?

I guess kind of like how our love for God can be divided. In Luke 16:13 Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other.”

Although in this passage Jesus was talking about serving both God and wealth, it applies to many other areas of our lives. Serving God and self. Serving God and sin. Serving God and anything else that competes with God for the No. 1 position in our lives.

Make no mistake. That place belongs to God. At least, it should. If He doesn’t already occupy that position, what are you going to do about removing whatever it is that’s in that spot and putting God in His rightful place?

Here’s a good way to start. Paraphrasing Chloe’s statement to me, you could tell your heavenly Father: “You are an awesome, awesome, awesome God. I love You so much because you are my ONLY master and king. I’m so glad You saved me and gave me a home in heaven.”

Now, I think I’ll let you take it from there.

Parrish Myers is a local minister. His column appears biweekly in Sunday Life and at gainesvilletimes.com/life.