Coalescence of Idolatry and Pride

Psalm 31:6 "I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord."

Like the psalmist says, idols are worthless. We are warned numerous times to separate ourselves from or flee from idols. Particular verses that come to mind include 1 Corinthians 10:14 "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry," and 1 John 5:21 "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." But what exactly are idols? Many people are familiar with the term, especially in the title of the hit show American Idol, but few understand its true meaning. There are some who believe that idols are just other gods that people choose to worship. They aren't wrong in this assumption, but they are missing a portion of the picture. Idolatry is not just worshipping false gods. Idolatry involves anything that you focus on or depend on more than God. One definition lists an idol as, "one that is adored, often blindly or excessively." Some people focus too much on celebrities, musicians, or athletes compared to God, which in a sense turns those objects into idols. Others seem to worship knowledge, technology, or themselves. The most prominent idol in society today, though, is money. So many people try to store away this so-called precious commodity without realizing they are truly worshipping it. The devastation that comes from idolizing money and getting caught up in greed is devastating. At the beginning of the Great Depression when the stock market first crashed in October 1929, numerous people committed suicide because they lost their life savings. It's scary to think that people are so willing to give up on living when all of their money is stripped away. Then again, I'm not surprised because we are warned about the power of money in 1 Timothy 6:10, which states, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." We must not allow our love of money and wealth to hinder our walk with God. Eternal life is much more precious than anything that can be bought here on Earth. My request is that you try to steer your focus away from your idols and back to God. No matter what the focus, if it isn't on God, there is definitely a problem. I think Jonah expresses this best when he states in Jonah 2:8,  "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them." If we are constantly placing everything else before our love for God, then we are really losing out and missing the point of our life here on Earth, which is to glorify Him. 

I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with keeping God a priority in my life. I didn't realize it at the time, but there was a portion of my life where I relied heavily on other people, whether it was family or friends, to help get me through difficult times in my life. Forming close relationships with people is not a bad thing, but when you become dependent on them and turn to them in the face of chaos before turning to God, then something is bound to give way and implode. And that's exactly what happened to me. God definitely got my attention when he stripped away my closest relationships in order to get me to focus completely on Him. God knew I wasn't depending on Him in my deepest times of need, so in an effort to recapture that focus, God took away my distractions. It was staggering the impact it had on me, but I have become a better person for it. In hindsight, now that the cloud of devastation has cleared, I realize that it was necessary for my path to diverge from certain relationships in order to get back on the narrow path towards God. Now that I'm in the rebuilding phase of my social life, I am much more conscious of God and what He wants for my life. I am careful not to get caught up in that dependence of people, though going to friends for council and comfort is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn't trump my need for God.

What I have learned about myself, and what I assume about others, is that idols sprout up in our lives because we feel that we know what is best for us. Instead of remembering Scripture and the fact that God knows what is best for all of Creation, we become arrogant and prideful assuming that we know better than God. This is definitely not a good place to be in. Author, C.S. Lewis, put it this way in Mere Christianity: "It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." We must not forget that we are mere, imperfect humans. In the grand scheme of things, we don't even know what good is, let alone what might benefit us in the long run. Lewis continues by stating, "As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." This is exactly what happens to those prideful humans who are caught up in the fog of idolatry. They can't see anything outside of their idol because they are completely consumed by it and do not understand that it is essential to focus on God for their needs, as opposed to believing they know what is best. Lewis's concluding thoughts related to pride are expressed in this way: "For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense." Pride is a disaster because it prevents us from being able to follow through with God's greatest commandment, which is to love one another, as God loved us (John 13:34). This is probably why God has such strong opposition to the proud. We are to follow His commands and bring Him glory, but if we spend our time here on Earth trying to glorify ourselves, we fall short. The next time you consider that you have a handle on your life, check yourself. Remember that God is sovereign and should always be glorified. And keep in mind what is stated in Proverbs 16:5 ~ "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished."

Reliability & Responsibilty

What does it mean to be reliable? Looking at the definition in The New Oxford American Dictionary, it is defined as "consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted." Another source has the following definition: "can be depended on with confident certainty." My father defines it as "someone who will maintain correspondence." No matter what, being reliable seems to be a quality that people would want to have and maintain.
For a long time I always considered myself reliable. If friends or family needed to talk or needed company for an adventure, I typically made myself available and invested my time and energy into their needs. If I had messages from people online, I would swiftly return an answer, growing confident in my reliability. I would often joke that I was much better at listening and caring about other people's issues than my own.
Once spring hit this year, though, something changed and I can't quite put a finger on it. Between school, work, and numerous other activities, I slowly stopped being reliable. I didn't frequently keep in contact with my friends and acquaintances, or my family. I'm not sure if selfishness or apathy played major roles, but they did play some sort of role. I was overwhelmed and just withdrew into my shell. I think I finally made this realization around my birthday because I didn't get a card from my partly estranged grandma and a friend of mine pretty much told me in no uncertain terms that she could no longer count on me. I am not typing out these issues to gain pity, but for you all to learn from my perspective. I reacted to each of these situations in different manners. I took responsibility for my lack of contact with my friend, but I resented my grandma...that is until I started thinking things over this weekend.
I don't want to get into the details, but for quick background, last summer I visited my grandma for the first time in 12 years. It was by no means perfect, but it was a decent visit overall. Turns out she is not a Christian and doesn't really want anything to do with my family now that she is aware how seriously we take our faith. This of course hurts, but I was wondering why I was so resentful towards her for not keeping in touch because it's not like we were ever close. Once I put everything under the microscope, though, I came to realize that I was never a reliable granddaughter and I needed to take responsibility for that. I was busy blaming her for not sending my family a Christmas card or me a birthday card when I can't even remember the last time I sent her a card or a letter myself. My anger was displaced onto her when I think deep down I was angry with myself for not noticing that I was at the root of the cause of the cutoff communication. There are other factors that weigh in, but I do need to finally accept that this is just the way this situation turned out and part of the blame rests on my shoulders. The entire situation must be analyzed and critiqued, not just a small portion that makes me appear innocent.
Some of you might be wondering what the point of this post really is, and truthfully, so am I. Part of it is to remind everybody that humans are flawed and can't always be trusted. This differs greatly from the Almighty God. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, "God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Humanity will always fall short in the realm of reliability when compared to God, so we must always turn to Him in times of great trials.
The other point I wanted to make with this post is that you should always completely dissect a situation, even if it brings to light that you are at fault. In order to get past some of the resentment I had towards my grandma for her lack of correspondence was to finally realize that I am on equal ground with her when it comes to being reliable with writing letters. I still have a lot to learn and will continue to seek God's guidance in trying to understand the situation, but at least I have released a bit of my resentment. Hopefully I will completely forgive in the future, but until then, I will remember that God is the only One I can always count on and He can always be deemed reliable.