Idols

I've been looking through my notes jotted down over the past two months - notes of all of the things I wanted to blog about. I think I waited too long. It's amazing how something that made such perfect sense at one point now doesn't even ring a bell!

But, a few of my notes do still make sense to me. One of those notes was written after I read Jer 10:1-16. Rereading that passage, the thoughts don't jump out at me quite as they did that morning, but I can remember what I was thinking that day.

I was reading about the idols of the people, and my first thought was, "Wow, how can you think something made of gold, silver, or wood could hold a candle to the living God?!"

Just a little lesson I've learned over the years - don't ask how someone else could do something that shows such ignorance unless you're willing to look at your own life.

And, look at my own life is exactly what I had to do. And, the thought that occurred to me was, "What are the things that I chase after? What do I desire?"

You see, I have a lot of desires.

I would like to live in a better house. And, I would like to have the knack that some people do of making a house look like it's been put together well, even with very little to work with. You can take one look at my house and know that's just not me.

I would like to live near my dear, precious friends who are scattered all over the country - no, actually, they're all over the world.

Occasionally I'd like to have the convenience that comes from owning a second vehicle. And, if I were to be really honest, I'd like a specific vehicle. Saturn Outlooks sure are nice!

It would be great to have the schoolroom organizational knack that some of my other homeschool friends have.

I would love to have more time to blog - to get back to the point where I actually get to take my thoughts straight from my crazy brain to the computer to sort them out. That way I wouldn't be staring at scrawled notes that make no sense. Even if no one else read those blog posts, at least I'd be able to go back and read what had hit me so profoundly that day!

There is nothing wrong with these desires - and the many, many more that I carry. What is wrong is when my desires guide my day. No, I don't have idols made of wood, gold, or silver. Instead I have a computer that I enjoy working on and that draws my attention. I have projects that suck me in, driving me to spend hours on end working on them while neglecting all else. I have times of selfishness when my attitude stinks because I'm not getting my way.

And all of those things get in the way of worshiping God.

So, really and truly, I'm no better than those who knew the one, true God yet chose to fall down before things carved by their own hands.

Some of my desires are of God. They are things that draw me closer to Him in one way or another. Others cause me to divide my attention, attention that should solely rest on Him. Whatever my desires, I need to hold them before the Lord. It might be enlightening to see just how many of them lose their luster when compared to the chance to spend one moment desiring and delighting in Him!