Idolatry

What is it that you hold in such high regard that you would give anything not to have it taken from you? 

Each one of us has idolized something in our life.  Whether it is money, food, drugs, a sport or music celebrity, or an item such as a car or article of clothing, I think most would be telling a story if they did not admit to “worshiping” someone else or something in their life other than the Lord.

This article would be way too long if I took the time to bore you with all the things in my life I have “loved to death” but here are two.

I started smoking when I was 16 years old.  I picked this habit up when I was sent away to a private girls’ school.  In fact, that is where I also learned to drink.  I took up these vices and was an “expert” at both.  These were just two of my idols that I kept near and dear to my heart for the next 33 years.  There was not one day in all those years I did not do both unless I was too hung over-my abstinence only lasted a day, though and then I was hard at it once again. If it had not been for the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus, I would not be here today.  It is because of his enormous capacity for love and forgiveness of a sinful nature from day one that I did not end up dying or being carted off to some rehab facility, recovering from a stroke brought on by my idolatry.

 I always swore that I would not go anywhere I could not enjoy at least those two things.  I would not go to a wedding reception that did not serve alcohol; I would not go to someone’s house where you were not allowed to smoke.  I would avoid people who did not enjoy at least one of these habits.  Heaven forbid; what could those people have been thinking!  Who would want to hang around people who did not get drunk, high, or smoke cigs?  What dull people, I thought.  What was wrong with them for Pete’s sake? Why were these people considered unexciting and blasé?  Selfishness is the answer to my way of thinking. 

Today, as in all time past, many have their eyes set on one thing only-themselves.  What a dangerous thing we do.  We lose perspective when we look to satisfy our pleasure-seeking, self-absorbed behavior. While we may receive and maintain satisfaction for a while, it is a false sense of “good” that we receive.  Our idol worship will bring us down in the end.

What have we learned?  Our behavior today is no different from Biblical days.  Americans are obsessed with power, money (no wonder we are in the economic turmoil we are in today), food, etc.  We are a narcissistic bunch who have lost sight or never had sight of the only One we should worship.  If you keep up with what is going on in our world today, don’t you think God is trying to get our attention back on Him?  It did not go well for the Israelites when they turned away from God and they have paid dearly for it through the ages.  Are we reaping what we have sown now as well?  What will have to happen for us to cause God to get so angry with us that He says enough is enough?  I do not want to incur the wrath of God, do you?

The first of the Ten Commandments addresses the fact that we should have no other gods before God.

What golden calf do you bow down to?

Katie