December 8, 2010

Idols.

I am listening to Norah Jones...and it is nothing short of wonderful.
Anyway, this mornings' lectures were about idols. Growing up with the words, "don't worship idols" dug into my ears, I had always brushed it off. I did this only because the word to me represented a tall, golden statue that somebody would bow down to in their backyard. And I knew with full confidence that I would rather do many, many, many others things than worship a statue. In other words, you will never ever see me worshipping a statue! Now that we've gotten that outta the way...haha...I would just like to share with you what an idol REALLY is. And idol is something that takes the place of Jesus in our hearts. It can be anything from money, your family, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your husband/wife, popularity, or fame. Ask yourselves the following questions, and answer them to yourselves honestly. The first things that come to your mind are your idols...

Where do I give my best effort?
Where do I go to first when I am in need?
What makes me angry or jealous if I don't get it?
What do I think of or talk about the most?
What is my life beginning to look like? (This question is important, since after time we begin to look and act like our idols)
What is the one thing I cannot let go of?
And last but not least...has this idol really even brought me satisfaction?

Answering these questions for myself, I know exactly what my idols are. Exactly...and I hate to admit it. I wish I could say that yes, I give my best effort to Jesus, I go to Jesus first when I am in need, I think about Jesus all the time, my life looks like Jesus' life, Jesus is the one thing I cannot let go of, and Jesus has indeed satisfied me.
The idols I hold onto so dearly are nothing but unhealthy and they bring me nothing but dissappointment. My idols are certain things, people, ideas, moments, memories, and desires; all of these things I wish I could just let go of. And I know that with constant prayer it will be possible!

An idol I would be willing to share with you guys is my obsession with music. When I am feeling sad, angry, lonely, or homesick, the first thing I do is avoid all contact with human beings, crawl into bed and cuddle up to my ipod. My sad feelings correlate with sad music, and my angry feelings correlate with angry music. Now, can anybody tell me how this can possibly help a person feel any better about their emotions? How could a sad song ever make a sad person feel better? Sigh sigh sigh. As I said before, with prayer and getting my priorities in order, I can overcome this idol, and all of the other idols I hold to me.

Jesus should be enough for us, just listen to this promise:
"Don't fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will never leave us or desert us." (Hebrews 13:5)

1 comment:

  1. Love it! and the verse.. definitely true in this season of my life.

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