However I Am Led

11.12.12

1 Corinthians 12.2 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. NASB

Idolatry is as old as mankind – it is the worship of anything other than God. Some idolatry is obvious and wicked; some is insidious and clever; some idolatry looks good, it feels good and has some characteristics that are acceptable. But in the end, whether a fruit on a tree or a supposed deity of some kind, idolatry is unacceptable to God.

When God created man, He intended for man to be His friend and for there to be deep and lasting relationship between man and Himself. All of creation may speak of the glory of God but God made all of creation for man to enjoy. But one thing crept in: idolatry crept in because man loved the creation he saw more than the God he didn’t; man made the created things his gods and left God out of the picture. That is the nature of idolatry – it leaves God out.

You can see how idolatry is so appealing though: it feels good and makes someone feel good. It gives people a focus, something to be interested in and put their time, energy, and resources into. But for all its appeal, idolatry is empty first because it is devoid of God and second because it is the creation of mankind.

God took a risk in creating us – He made this world so wonderful there was a risk in our becoming enamored with it and forgetting about Him. God took a risk in befriending man with a completely free will. Man was never constrained to love God. Man wasn’t compelled to love God back.

God didn’t stop the man and the woman from eating the fruit. God didn’t stop the serpent from deceiving the woman and the man about the fruit. God didn’t run to the rescue and slap the fruit from their hands as they put it to their mouths to take the first bite. God let all that happen. God didn’t stop the man and the woman from making the fruit their idol. That, to me, is the marvelous mystery of God who let the whole thing go down and still said, I will be their Friend, and they will be Mine. God never stopped loving them.

And He never stopped loving the Corinthian Church that’d gotten all confused on a number of different issues and needed His help. And He hasn’t stopped loving us as we look for truth in all the wrong places. Idolatry is the worship of anything other than God. Worship is the giving of our time, talents, and treasures to anything that takes our attention away from God – even in a part-time manner. We get led away from truth to follow idols because idols are so appealing.

When I think of the things that have captured my attention and my heart, I have to assess them in the presence of God and be courageous enough to call them what they are and deal with them appropriately. Anything that I worship by giving my time, talents, and treasures to – can be my idol. I can be led astray by them. It may not be overtly evil or wicked, but it takes away from serving my God as He leads me through this life to the place He desires I reside: His heart, His Kingdom, His presence. However I am led, I must be careful that my freedoms don’t become my idols and keep me from the Prize: the presence and heart of God for all eternity.