On idols

I've done this topic before, yes, but I think, as in most cases, a reminder is necessary.

When looking through the history of Israel, from it's God-led Exodus from Egypt to it's exile in Babylon, a clear trend emerges. It is most easily viewed in the Book of Judges, but it arguably began with the golden calf worship at Mount Sinai (Exodus 32). That trend, or pattern, is that the nation would fall into apostasy, falling away from the True God to worship false gods. Today, while I was reading, the ridiculously quick fall from directly hearing God Himself to worshiping an idol in opposition to the very instructions God had given - and to which the people had agreed to - inspired me to facepalm.

It shouldn't have. It's not like I haven't read this plenty of times before, nor the rest of the books dedicated to Israel and her history (by which I mainly refer to Genesis through 2 Chronicles, this stretch of the Bible being that which I've probably read the most). And, frankly, while we may ask ourselves, "How stupid did they have to be to worship false gods even after the real God told them not to?" among various similar questions, it's easy to forget the troubles and temptations we face in our own lives while doing so.

While we do not - generally - fall down and worship statues of gods, we do fall down and worship video games, sports, guns (and gun rights), cars, governments, trophies, records, books, writers, historical events; the list goes on and on and on. While we obviously don't burn incense to these things, we do spiritually fall away from God when we give too much attention to the temporal, physical things of this world (or to heavenly entities, such as angels and saints) rather than God. In that, we often - I would dare to say, "usually" - fare no better than the Israelites. The things of this world are major temptations, even for those saved by Christ Jesus; they can. and often do, reduce our witness to the world while keeping us away from performing those things God has sent us to do.

That's not to say that any of the things I've mentioned are necessarily - necessarily being a key word - evil in and of themselves. Sometimes God does allow us to have enjoyable things, and it would be a waste to not enjoy them, especially given that rest in our lives is sometimes needed. But we do need to be very careful regarding these things, especially those we know for a fact can (and perhaps have already) lead us down an ungodly path. We certainly shouldn't hold any of these things, or anything else, above God.

Desiring things for oneself is nothing new, nor is sin itself. Christ died so that those who accept Him and His sacrifice on the cross could be forgiven. The justice and wrath of God against the unrepentant is great; so are his love and mercy to the truly repentant. While some may believe otherwise, I believe God wants to forgive us, and will, if we return whole-heartedly to Him. To be sure, this never makes any sin of any kind okay; we should strive to not repeat our sins and to turn away from them. However, so long as a person lives on this earth, the door to forgiveness and salvation remains open for them.

I would ask, however much we enjoy what we were given this Christmas - or at any time of year - that we remember the God who made us and gives us all the good things we have more than any of these temporal items.

Thank you for reading. May Christ Jesus save you all.