Being Thankful: Revealing Idolatry
I have resolved that during this current “change of plans,” I would actively look for things for which to be thankful. Today, I’m thankful for God using this change of circumstance to reveal idols in my life, because otherwise I may have continued to worship these idols and my adoration for them would become much worse than it already is. God is using this pandemic to show me what else it is that I worship.
And I don’t have a particular thing in mind. I have several. There are several idols in my life God has used this pandemic to reveal. While I’m not too keen on confessing my sins on the internet (I have friends for that), I’ll show you how I arrived at this realization. The Bible commands us to examine ourselves to see if we’re in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5) and to seek to confirm our calling (2 Peter 1:10-11). One way we can do that is to just ask good questions.
What are you scared of losing the most? When the COVID-19 thing started hitting the news, people reacted differently. Some people were scared they were going to lose their freedoms. Some people were scared they were going to lose their loved ones. When things don’t go according to plan, fear is a natural human reaction. And if we follow it back, fear often shows us what we care about the most. Sometimes, we put those things on a throne and worship them. We call those things idols. They don’t have to be made out of wood or stone. They don’t even have to be bad things. They are just things that are in the wrong place.
So what do you care about the most? what are you afraid of losing? And how do you know if that thing is an idol? The best advice I ever received on this topic is as follows: It’s an idol if you will sin to get it or sin if you don’t get it.
Imagine a man comes home from work. he’s tired. He’s provided for his family and all he wants to do is kick his feet up, have a drink, and watch some TV. Nothing wrong with that. Imagine his wife comes in and asks for his help in the kitchen getting supper ready. He then becomes very angry in his heart and sins against his wife by saying something passive-aggressive. Why does he do that? He feels he deserves this time. He’s worked hard for it. he’s even willing to sin to get it. It’s an idol. He worships comfort.
What about you? What will you sin to get or commit sin if you don’t get it? Is there anything the extra stress of this pandemic has revealed? I would encourage you to examine yourself. God can use times like this to make us more like Jesus.