That Seems Avoidable

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 1 Chronicles 16:26

If you’re unfamiliar with Minnesota winters, it’s common to see vehicles driving on our frozen lakes. Every year then, out of the thousands of drivers, there are a few cars that go through the ice. Recently, I witnessed a towing crew pull a car out of the water well beyond the thin ice markers. On our local lake, there’s an inlet of running water that keeps the nearby water open all winter and, surrounding this, the authorities have put up “Thin Ice” signs. I don’t know the story, but whoever was driving this car drove right past those thin ice signs. This seems like an avoidable disaster. Don’t drive past the thin ice signs. What did you think would happen?

I hear stories not unlike this one in jail frequently. When asked why someone is back in jail after being released, it’s common to hear that they were in a vehicle that got pulled over and in which a bunch of drugs were found. The drug stash wasn’t theirs, but they had the criminal record, and they got sent back to jail. Like the thin ice disaster, this calamity seems avoidable. If you’re on probation, don’t hang out with drug dealers. What did you think would happen?

Ignoring obvious truths leads to predictable disasters. This is the lesson of today’s passage. In it, King David declared something that everyone knew – Idols are cheap and fake. God is creator of the universe and as such, we must put our faith in him alone. The Israelites knew this. They knew God forbade idol worship. Yet they almost continually struggled with turning to idols. I don’t get it. I don’t see the attraction. It seems like such an easy problem to avoid. Stop worshipping stupid idols. Follow God. What did you think would happen?

We’re in a similar predicament though. Our idols aren’t little stone gods, but rather, ours are made of plastic and microprocessors. We don’t see it this way, but we’ve made idols of our phones, of porn, of status, of money, and of chemicals. When stressed we turn to food, sex, or drugs to find relief, release, and comfort. Though we should be turning to God – we know these idols are worthless – we still try to find our joy in the artificial.

You know these idols won’t truly satisfy. What did you think would happen? If we truly desire to know the joy and peace that God wants for us, then daily, we must do whatever it takes to put down our worthless idols and turn to him. God created us to find joy in him and only in him can we become the people we were made to be. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.