“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image, in the form of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath, or in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” // Exodus 20: 3-6
Today, we think of an idol or a god as a large statue to whom we bow down. We drop to our hands and knees, and we worship this “big piece of plastic." But, in reality, that “big piece of plastic” can be a small square with a touch screen, that sends text messages and makes phone calls. (Okay, just to be clear, I am referring to a cell phone here.)
That ”big piece of plastic” doesn’t have to be a cell phone, though. It can be a book series, one's school, a TV series on Netflix, sports, friends, food, lust, social media, alcohol, naps, boyfriends, girlfriends, and for many girls, hair and makeup. The list can go on and on and on.
An idol is something that someone relies too much on for personal identity, meaning, and security. It’s what their attention is drawn to, always. People think about their idol throughout the day, even when they're busy, and certainly when they're alone. The scary part? We don’t even notice that we are doing it. We don’t even notice that our idols consume our minds and our lives.
No one sets out with the intention of worshipping these things.
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them” // verse 5
Let’s be real. I highly doubt that you literally bow down and worship your phone, makeup, sport, or whatever TV series you are watching on Netflix. But, because of the amount of time we devote to these things, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies. When that happens, we are “worshipping” this idol/god, this "big piece of plastic."
On a personal level, I will tell you what my “big piece of plastic” is. Recently I’ve started to notice that I am constantly on my phone throughout my day. I am constantly checking for a text message, twitter updates, Instagram likes/followers, Snapchat notifications. The first thing I do when I wake up is look at my phone, and the last thing I do before I fall asleep is look at my phone. But today, I stopped to thinkas I was walking to class: how much deeper would my love be for Christ, how much more would I be in awe of how great our God is, if I gave Him the same attention that I give to my phone? Thinking about it for long enough, I realized that I would be radically changed if in place of picking up my phone I picked up the bible. If, while walking to class in the morning, I read my bible on my phone rather than check twitter or snapchat, I would be completely different.
Again, this applies to me on a personal level. Your phone may not be your idol, but think long and hard: what consumes your mind throughout the day? What is your “big piece of plastic”?
Now, I am most definitely not physically bowing down or worshipping my phone, (I doubt you are either), but through my actions, I worship it. Most of my energy goes to my phone rather than to the one who deserves ALL my energy, focus, and time.
How do I stop these things from becoming gods in my life? Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.
Our God is a jealous God. He wants all of our attention, all of our focus, all of our time. He is a God “who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods” {verse 5}. He wants all of you, not just part of you. He wants you to surrender that “big piece of plastic” that grabs your attention, focus, and time. He wants you to hand it over to Him so He can be first in your life, and you can worship Him all throughout your day — not just Sunday or Wednesday, but everyday, all day.
Shouldn’t God be deserving of our attention? Shouldn’t God deserve to be the ONLY God in our life?
Shouldn’t God be deserving of all I am? All we are?
Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for me and for you. He stood willingly in our place and bore our sins, endured the grave, and rose again on the third day so that we could have eternal life. So yes, He is 100 percent deserving of everything I am… of everything we are.
What is it? What consumes your mind throughout the day? What is your “big piece of plastic"?
What is hindering you from giving all of your attention, focus, and time to the Lord?
What is holding you back from saying “You are deserving of all I am, Father. Consume my mind with You. Be the central place in my life. Be my everything, Lord. I surrender __________ to you.”
Blessings.
