Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.” vss. 8-9
Psalm 81:6-10
When the people of Israel gathered for worship they were regularly admonished by their leaders to avoid worshiping foreign gods. This was a particular problem for the Hebrews because the Lord, their god, was invisible! There was no statue that could be erected, no drawing to be made. And since they were living among people who had every kind of physical representation for their gods, the Israelites were frequently drawn to their holy places. It’s just a lot easier to worship what you can see than what you can’t see! Those charged with passing on the faith among us, parents and teachers, have the same challenge. Our young are much more interested in attaching themselves to what they can see and experience than they are to a God whose very existence is subject to debate. We can teach our creeds and commandments until we are blue in the face, and as soon as they are on their own they migrate to one or another of the everywhere-present cultural gods and their attractive and seductive representations. But just as with Israel, not all fall away! Some love the God they experience in Jesus and know that true peace comes with humbly walking in his way! In them the faith will continue to be seen and heard.
Thought for the Day: What cultural gods do I find most appealing?
0 Comments