Colossians 2: 8 NKJV
What is it that you find important in life? What are those things you turn to in order to get through your day. Is it money? Possessions? How much more you know than other people. We all have those things we hold dear to us in our daily life. For me it was my financial freedom, not having to want for most things. If I needed something, I would buy it. It was also my daily schedule. I would go to work and then after that I would go to the gym. I became accustomed to my daily life. Well, in the wake of recent events, that life has been turned on its head. No longer am I able to conduct my life as I had been. We are, indeed, in challenging times. Our schedules, as well as our daily lives, are being disrupted. The COVID 19 virus might not have affected us physically, but it has in other ways. We may still have the freedom to go about our daily life, but to what end? We may decide to go shopping, only to find bare shelves once we arrive at the store. We might fancy a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, only to find the coffee house we once frequented is now closed. I was reminded of the importance of this the other day in a conversation with a friend who still chooses to remain nameless. The conversation turned from Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler we find in Matthew 19. In his attempt to gain life, the young man was dismayed when Jesus told him to sell all of his possessions. In his mind, Jesus was asking him to put aside all he valued in life. Not even the promise of life was worth that price so it seems. The question then arose, what is it that we find important? What are those things that we value so much that we would give up life with Jesus for? Most of us have heard the scriptures concerning idol worship, yet walked away thinking "that's not me." Really? We might do well to think that way, but our actions tell a different story. I was free of idols as well, so I thought.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4: 1 NKJV
I suppose that the reason I believe that I was free from idolatry was because of the example given in the bible. Yes, I was free from worshiping golden idols and images of God. However, what I was engaging in were things in my life that, at times, drew my attention away from Jesus. I don't know the circumstances of most people, but I would wager that most everyone has those things in their lives that can momentarily take their focus off of Christ. It might be your job, a favorite tv show or a much anticipated vacation. Whatever it is, there are often those things in our lives which draw our attention away from what is most important. For the young ruler who came to Jesus, it was his own wealth. I believe that our definition of a idol has been misunderstood. A idol does not need to be a golden image of God in order to have the same devastating effect. All a idol needs to be is something which draws our attention away from Jesus. I admit, I've had more than a few idols in my own life. Pornography, money, success all, for a brief time, took my eyes off of Christ. While wealth and success were never provided to us to be idols, they all too often competed with Jesus for our attentions. It's not as if Jesus is removed from our own daily lives, either. Paul assures us of this in Galatians. It is Christ who lives through us {Galatians 2:20}. I can't think of anything in my life that could ever compete with the love of Christ Jesus. In times such as these, we need the realization of the truth of Jesus more than ever. We're not here simply waiting for Jesus to return to make everything better. On the contrary, Jesus is already here and working through us.
~Scott~
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