Thoughts for the Day

O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens....

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

What is an idol? We know what idols were in the Hebrew Scriptures - they were items made by human hands from clay, pottery, or silver, or something else, which people worshipped as gods. We may laugh at such things now, but idols still exist. An idol is anything that we put before God, and most of us have plenty of them. Let's look at just a few:

Self: We see everything through our own eyes. eg How do I feel about this new person I've met? How will they affect me? How do I appear to them? We spend so much time concerned with ourselves, making an idol of ourselves, that we forget to worship God.

Success: When we meet someone new we immediately want to know about their job. Either we feel great because we've one step up the ladder, or we feel insecure because our job (or wasn't?) so impressive. Success in life has become an idol. God does not need us to be successful, only faithful.

Health: We make every effort to become healthier; we walk the dog three times a day to get fitter; we take up running; or we cut out all unhealthy foods. But eventually none of these will succeed, for we all succumb to illness or old-age. Staying healthy is good, but when it takes the joy out of life and when we make time for it in our day, but no time for God, then this is an idol.

There are plenty of idols around. All we can do is turn to God, re-evaluate our lives, and ask for God's forgiveness.

Heavenly Father,
giver of all good things,
You call us into relationship with You
and yet we put idols in Your place.
Forgive us our mistakes,
both unconscious and deliberate,
and teach us to put away all things
that lead us astray.
Then help us to listen for Your voice
that constantly call us back to You.
Amen.