Idols
I have been thinking a lot lately about idols. No doubt, somewhat because of reading about the Israelites and others in the Old Testament. So easy to dismiss those discussions out of hand. I mean, I've not bowed down lately to a golden calf.
Or have I?
Our idols today are so much more respectable. Honourable even. Worthy. But they subtly steal our hearts, our time, our passion. They are what we arrange and re-arrange our lives around.
Our gods? For us in North America, I quickly came up with three : the god of entertainment and leisure, the god of security and the god of our children.
Harsh, you say? I'm not so sure.
Think about how many times we make important life decisions based on those things. And sometimes never taking into account the opinion of the God of the universe, our God. The gods take precedence. They are the determining factor as to what we do, where we go and how we spend our time and money. We have become idol worshipers.
Hannah in the Old Testament longed for a child and suffered persecution and ridicule because of her infertility in ways that are particularly poignant because of her cultural context. Nothing wrong with wanting a child and praying to God for one. But when God gives her what she asked for - that gift of her own child Samuel - what does she do? She gives him away, she gives him back to God. Can you imagine how excruciatingly heartbreaking that act must have been? To willingly give up the one she had longed for, prayed and wept for? Hannah loved her son yet loved the God who had given him to her even more.
I love my kids and I love my grandsons. I love the safety and ease of Canadian life. I love to relax sometimes, put my feet up. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I can't help wondering how to love the gifts and the graces well yet still love my God of gift and grace even more, much more. And for me, the Congo helps me do that...remembering that this life, my life, is not about me and mine but ultimately about Him. I prefer to offer myself on an altar to God than to sacrifice all on the altars of handmade gods.
(Check out this : Gods at War by Kyle Idleman) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-HXMnzowXs
Or have I?
Our idols today are so much more respectable. Honourable even. Worthy. But they subtly steal our hearts, our time, our passion. They are what we arrange and re-arrange our lives around.
Our gods? For us in North America, I quickly came up with three : the god of entertainment and leisure, the god of security and the god of our children.
Harsh, you say? I'm not so sure.
Think about how many times we make important life decisions based on those things. And sometimes never taking into account the opinion of the God of the universe, our God. The gods take precedence. They are the determining factor as to what we do, where we go and how we spend our time and money. We have become idol worshipers.
Hannah in the Old Testament longed for a child and suffered persecution and ridicule because of her infertility in ways that are particularly poignant because of her cultural context. Nothing wrong with wanting a child and praying to God for one. But when God gives her what she asked for - that gift of her own child Samuel - what does she do? She gives him away, she gives him back to God. Can you imagine how excruciatingly heartbreaking that act must have been? To willingly give up the one she had longed for, prayed and wept for? Hannah loved her son yet loved the God who had given him to her even more.
I love my kids and I love my grandsons. I love the safety and ease of Canadian life. I love to relax sometimes, put my feet up. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I can't help wondering how to love the gifts and the graces well yet still love my God of gift and grace even more, much more. And for me, the Congo helps me do that...remembering that this life, my life, is not about me and mine but ultimately about Him. I prefer to offer myself on an altar to God than to sacrifice all on the altars of handmade gods.
(Check out this : Gods at War by Kyle Idleman) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-HXMnzowXs
Very thought provoking. Thanks Brenda. Thinking about you today. Praying that God will encourage you. Love Tess
ReplyDeleteThanks Tess. I think I haven't even begun to understand how "torn" I am between wanting God and wanting everything else. Thanks for your prayers - always in need of those! Trust that you are experiencing Christ in all His fullness today.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Brenda
We do have idols. I agree with those you have mentioned and I would also suggest rights and safety. I think it is the New English Bible that translates Col.1: 18 as H e is, moreover, the head of the body, the church. He is its origin, the first to return from the dead, to be in all things alone supreme.
ReplyDeleteEunice