Worthless Idols

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"Those who cling to worthless idols,forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

I love this verse. It's clear. It's direct. It's a warning. A bright yellow light swirling round and round in our minds to help us resist the draw of worshipping worthless idols so we can instead participate in divine grace.

It was Jonah who prayed these words - while in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:8). In his day, the idols were statues and figurines. Unable to speak, relate, or act, they were completely without value or use (except that which the worshipper ascribed to them.) In our North American world today, most of us don't bow to gods carved out of stone or wood but we still can cling to worthless idols. An idol is anything that we worship other than God. It can be another person, money, status, emotional security, a hobby, or (you fill in the blank). Whatever we depend on for our ultimate joy and peace, whatever we turn to for deliverance when we are in trouble, whatever consumes our thoughts and desires pushing God out of the place of honor and authority, these are idols. They may even be very important and valuable things but they are still worthless as gods. They are insufficient replacements. The job of being God is just too big for anything or anyone else to fill. And when we cling to idols, we hurt ourselves and those around us because we can't grasp the grace of God. Our lives are too full to have room for what we need most. We forfeit the unmerited favor that God desires to pour out on us because our hearts and minds and life are already full of another (god, activity, goal, etc).

Having been in small group with all of you, I know that you are women who desire to encounter and experience the grace of God. You don't want to cling to worthless idols. I don't want to either. That's why I've been meditating on this verse and pondering idols I'm tempted to worship: the vestige of perfectionism from my family, the opinions of certain people, and my own emotions to name a few. One day, I asked the Lord, "What worthless idols am I clinging to?" and a surprising answer came: "the ideal schedule". For most of my life I've obsessed about trying to figure out the ideal daily, weekly, and monthly schedules for my life. But how could that be an idol? It's just a time table of actitivies. Then it hit me: I'm looking to my schedule to bring me peace, keep me from going off track in my life, and satisfy my desire for accomplishment apart from having to depend on God. That is why it is an idol. Currently I'm in the process of repenting of this idolatry and trusting God to lead me into a humble and wise schedule. I'm looking forward to the grace He will give me!

Why don't you ask God that same question......

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