Daily Archives: 2014/01/26

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT – Modern American Idols

Biblical Wisdom, Uncategorized, , ,

We are slaves to the idols of our minds. — Francis Bacon

What are the idols of your mind? The answer would be different for each one of us. We are not to worship idols but to put God first and then all else falls into place. When we put anything before God we begin to stray into self delusion and slavery.

We set up idols, including celebrities and sports stars whom we worship with slavish devotion, sometimes to our own detriment. Some people worship money and possessions, even their children become objects of their worship, and also their control. The desire for wealth and fame has consumed many good people.

I once told our youngest daughter that if her dad and I ever came into real money we would not let our children know about it because we wouldn’t want to “spoil” them. She was young but wise, so she just smiled and said, “Oh, mom, don’t you think we’d figure it out?” I suppose that when I came home with a Ferrari she would know something was up.

You can make money and possessions your idols, or they can be your servants in enriching your life and the lives of those around you. You know an idol when it becomes more important than God, your family or your friends; you are in trouble when you would sacrifice people for something you can never really keep in the end, even if it’s a good thing. There is an old saying that teaches a vital lesson:

NAKED WE ENTER THIS WORLD, AND NAKED WE LEAVE IT.

There are just things you can’t take with you. Figure out what they are so you can keep some real perspective.

Is there nothing you CAN take with you?

I believe you take who you are, what you have become, the love you have developed and the love others have given to you, and, of course, the intelligence you have gained in this life. These are the only things of eternal worth we possess.

Will you be thankful for your life here or will death be a time of terror because you wasted your existence and have done nothing worthy of eternity?

Please, identify and set aside your idols, put your life in order with God first. Start there and develop the faith to know that God is still in charge and in the end all will be well.

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT

Biblical Wisdom, , ,

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT – You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or the waters below the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I The Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. Deuteronomy 5:4 (Tanakh, JPS Translation)

This is one of the commandments I think I have never quite understood, except in terms of not worshiping graven images and imputing to them godlike powers. It is God alone we are to worship.

My Muslim friends, for the most part, allow no life-like representations of any kind for fear of offending Allah. Many years ago my husband bought a lovely silk prayer rug in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul that has a floral “feel” to it and a few things that resemble lamps, but nothing that could be considered much more than intricate designs. I know that some Muslims do not allow photos to be taken or displayed and the only “art” is primarily of wonderful geodesic designs.

As parents at Ronald McDonald House we frequently put picture puzzles together and some of the Arab residents were horrified that we did so. Sometimes dealing with life threatening experiences makes a simple activity such as putting a puzzle together a way to take a deep breath, step back and calm your soul. We could sometimes even laugh together. A twelve year old sibling of one Arab patient would often watch us at the puzzle table and we could feel how what we were doing excited him, but we didn’t dare invite him to join us. Then one day the boy’s father came and asked if his son could join us. Of course he could, and I tell you this kid could be a champion competition puzzler. He was so fast and accurate it was astounding. He must have figured out how to work a puzzle by watching us. His father was so proud of him, but I’ve wondered if the boy or his father dared to let him continue puzzling at home.

I do not know how artists who wished to paint or sculpt felt about this particular commandment. I do believe that the first part of the commandment really did have to do with worship of idols and still left room for art. It’s the second part that intrigues me. Does God really visit the guilt of the parents on the heads of the children for many generations? Or is this His way of warning the people of what actually happens if they are unrighteous and fail at rearing their children the way that will teach them truth and keep them free?

This appears to be one of those “I tell you of consequences and what happens when you fail in your duty.”  God tells us how things really are and then we are the ones who make them come to pass.

There are so many idols to bind us and stop our growth as people. Whenever we turn to the idols of fame and money, to the arm of flesh, we lose our freedom to make wise choices.