We’re All Religious in Some Way

And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 2 Kings 16:2-3

I grew up in a family that others would have considered quite religious. My father was a pastor, and we went to church twice on Sundays and once on Wednesday nights. The Bible was a fixture in our home, which we read from regularly. Our faith impacted on our lives in a way that anyone watching could observe. My family believed in something that profoundly impacted how we lived.

Later in life, in my drug addiction, I displayed a similar commitment to the drug. I didn’t consider it to be a religious exercise, but I’d say that the drug became my god as I followed it above all. I thought about the drug when I went to sleep and when I awoke. I spent a tremendous amount of time seeking and using the drug. I even sacrificed my relationships with my wife and children for the drug, loving it above all else. Again, I didn’t use religious language to describe my drug use, but my behavior would have revealed that it was the most important thing in my life. I was devoutly religious, just with the drug as my god.

We all follow something religiously, even if that something isn’t God. Today’s passage illustrates this, telling of King Ahaz, who didn’t follow God but rather followed false idols so passionately that he even sacrificed his son to them. He was devoutly religious, but his life was focused not on God, but on false gods. King Ahaz chose his god poorly.

As I said, we’re all religious in some way. We all have our gods and we all follow something. It may be that we follow money, success, beauty, or we may simply follow our own appetite as I did in my addiction. Whatever it is, we all have our own gods, which direct the course of our lives. The question we should ask ourselves is this – Is that thing that we follow worthy of being followed? Can it give us joy, purpose, and meaning? We may not think ourselves to be religious, but we all live for something. That thing directs the course of our lives and so, it deserves some thought as to whether it is worthy of being followed.