Today’s scripture: Psalm 115 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Linda Bernabie):
In Psalms 115 the psalmist is advising us to glorify the Lord, not ourselves or idols. To do so is idolatry.
When I think of idolatry, I envision Moses (looking like Charlton Heston) who, after 40 days and 40 nights, is descending Mt. Sinai carrying two stone tablets carved with the Ten Commandments. When Moses nears the bottom of the mountain, he hears sounds of celebration. Then, to his horror, he sees a golden calf being venerated by his chosen people. These were the same people God freed from the bondage of Egyptian slavery.
The Israelites had become impatient and believed that God had abandoned them. To replace their God of Abraham, they crafted a golden calf for prayer, glorification, and cerebration. At the sight of this idolatry, Moses was filled with rage and took the stone tablets, throwing them to the ground and they shattered.
This epic film, The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, was only a semi-accurate version of the actual story in the Old Testament (Exodus 32). It does, however, provide a accurate picture of the human frailty of excluding God when things are happening in God’s time, not ours.
When we hear the word idolatry, we may think of the golden calf, but the idols of the 21st century have changed. The new idols are stuff, stuff we place ahead of God, stuff that revolves around ourselves.
21st century idols are empty pleasures, an insatiable drive to reach the top of the corporate ladder, aggressively pursued goals, addictions, possessions, and greed — anything that fills our heart and doesn’t leave room for God. The overly intense pursuit of stuff becomes idolatry if we exclude God when we are struggling for them, or if we replace God with them.
Idolatry is not just venerating a statue, carving, or painting; idolatry occurs when we begin to value stuff more than we value God. If we spend more time worshiping sports heroes than God, then that’s idolatry. If our every thought is about the latest curved screen television or our personal appearance, that’s idolatry.
God is the One whom we glorify and adore, and God should come before anything and everything else in our lives!
Thought for the Day: “Technology presents us with a unique spiritual challenge. Because it is meant to serve us in fulfilling our created purpose, because it makes our lives easier, longer, and more comfortable, we are prone to assign to it something of a godlike status. We easily rely on technology to give our lives meaning, and we trust technology to provide an ultimate answer to the frustration of life in a fallen world. Because of this, technology is uniquely susceptible to becoming an idol, raising itself to the place of God in our lives.” (Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion)
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.