my graven image

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…” Ex 20:4 is probably not a verse a lot of us have been dwelling on lately. Idolatry, as far as sins go, is kind of out. We are more into things like, loving ourselves more than others, and gossiping… or maybe that is all the same thing.

In the exodus from Egypt, there was a real problem with the people of God worshiping an image of a calf. In that day and time it was not uncommon for people to have carved idols in their homes to worship. These little gods gave them some comfort. These days I still see little statues of Buddha, but interestingly enough that isn't “idolatry” that’s more of a trend – because Asia is cool, and Buddha has a cute gut?  

The truth is we are still worshiping idols today. I am not suggesting that we are purchasing tiny statues and worshiping them in our homes. Instead we are purchasing mirrors and worshiping ourselves. As believers, especially women, we have an image to protect. All of the “good” Christians are serving in some ministry, hosting people from their church in their home, in some fitness group, and a multitude of other things that would make wonder woman feel inadequate. Our multi-tasking life and trying to protect our own image can be quite exhausting!

 I am definitely not saying that it isn't important to be credible. After all, credible people are the most influential. There is a difference in credibility and perfection. We can only seek one, the other is made up of our own, true actions.

I left my house this morning and thought, “I can’t believe I didn't take the time to do the dishes last night” quickly followed up by the thought, “well, at least no one is going to be over to see them”. As if the only thing that really matters is whether or not people think that I made time to do the dishes last night… (PS. I didn't). I usually probably would not even notice myself thinking like this, but this morning God had me thinking about the images we worship today. One of mine is other people’s image of me. Interestingly enough, that is something I cannot control at all. We try! Social media gives us a great opportunity to try to manipulate what other people think about us. We spend a lot of time carving out our own image to dwell on. Perhaps the image we spend all our time protecting is the one we are worshiping.

In Ezekial 14:3 God says, “These men have set up idols in their hearts”

Not physical idols, but idols in their hearts. These might be the kind of idols we are walking around worshiping today. No one can see the unfaithfulness of it, so at least we look good on the outside.

The lyrics to a convicting Ross King song come to mind, “anything we can’t stop thinking of is an idol” – how much time do we spend thinking of ourselves and what other people will/might/are thinking of us?

Setting our minds on things above, as scripture tells us, keeps us from worshiping ourselves. Fixing our eyes on what is unseen, and dwelling on things above helps us to see ourselves as God intended. He is I AM, we are I AM NOT. 

“We must not worship something that`s not even worth it.
Clear the stage and make some space for the One who deserves it.”