Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Today's Passage: Exodus 32-33

I have a confession. I have seen The Ten Commandments countless times. For some reason, I LOVED watching it when I was growing up. My brother was already a proficient movie-quoter at the age of 4 and The Ten Commandments was definitely in his repertoire. He didn't just say goodbye to people, he declared, "Farewell, my one-time brother." When our mom or dad or a teacher would give instructions or go over rules, he would justify their statement with, "So let it be written, so let it be done." All in a dead-on Yul Brynner (Pharaoh) by the way.

So any time I read these chapters, I picture Charlton Heston coming off the mountain to the wild and even eerie scene of the Israelites dancing around the golden calf as they worship it. I never understood it. It always seemed so silly to me that people would WORSHIP something that they knew they had made themselves...especially after they had eye-witnessed the truth and power of the one, true God. Because this scene is so outlandish and obviously crazy, I often misunderstood what an idol was. I would hear a message on having idols and think, "No worshiping golden statues...check."

Well, one day, I learned that an idol can be anything that I allow to become more important than God. Once I understood that, God began to show me a list of things that I had allowed to become idols in my life: relationships, school, worry, work, appearance, even money. I'd never considered these things to be idols and yet I knew that they consumed my thoughts! I've even heard various speakers and writers confess that their children had become idols. This teaches us that idols can even be seemingly GOOD things (i.e. work, church, service)...but if they become more important to us than God, they are idols nonetheless. Today's passage has challenged me to take a step back and consider what I have possibly allowed to become an idol in my life now. I encourage you to do the same. Gauging my thoughts and intentionally turning my focus to God can only be good for my relationship with Him...and all the other things will go much more smoothly if I keep God first.