It’s always better when the only thing we worship isn’t a thing at all but instead the God of creation.
Our lives will be far more likely to avoid the minefields of sin.
I want to be a parent who worships God, not stuff.
I want to be a husband who embraces my wife with spiritual and emotional integrity.
I want to be a pastor who never sends mixed signals to my flock regarding my priorities.
I want to be child who honors my father and who encourages my siblings in wholesome ways.
As I live out Christ’s words in Matthew 6:33, I will be more successful in all of the above.
For as I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, I will follow the path that more frequently intersects with the blessings from above.
It’s a terrible shame that many leaders in Jerusalem didn’t have this same philosophy in the years before that city’s 586 B.C. destruction. It wasn’t from the lack of warning, that’s for sure.
Many prophets were sent over many years to guide the people back to the path of faith.
But the national leaders didn’t want to hear it.
So they didn’t listen.
Here is a diagnosis given by God to the prophet Ezekial before Jerusalem’s destruction:
“Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin.” (Ezekial 14:3)
Our call as believers is to keep our hearts free of idols. I’m not talking about the stone figurines or metal castings or crystal pyramids.
Instead, I’m talking about anything that gets in the way of our church attendance, of our generosity to someone in need, of our dedication to DAILY devotions, of our tithing, of our being willing to forgive those who offend us, etc..
The list could go on, of course, but you get the point.
When the Holy Spirit is stirring us to act of speak in a way that serves God, yet we increasingly choose to invest time or money into something else, aren’t we trying to slide an idol onto the throne of our hearts?
God wants us to fall at His feet in worship, not fall on our faces in sin.
Let’s make sure that the throne of our hearts only has room for God.
We’ll be better off in all of our relationships that way.
As always, I love you
Martin
