Worshipping One's Own Life

Scripture: Then it can serve a double purpose: Part he uses as firewood for keeping warm and baking bread; from the other part he makes a god that he worships—carves it into a god shape and prays before it. With half he makes a fire to warm himself and barbecue his supper. He eats his fill and sits back satisfied with his stomach full and his feet warmed by the fire: “Ah, this is the life.” And he still has half left for a god, made to his personal design—a handy, convenient no-god to worship whenever so inclined. Whenever the need strikes him he prays to it, “Save me. You’re my god.” Isaiah 44:15-17

Observation: The word of God, given through Isaiah, shows the foolishness if man-made idols. These items are made of wood ... wood that is so worthless that from the same tree a person simply burns much of it as a way to heat their home and cook their food, yet then they carve some into an idol and declare that is has control over their entire life. This is so utterly insane that it is openly questioned as such, wondering if these people have any brains at all, and can't suddenly realize they are worshiping a stick.

This is what it looks like when someone is truly just worshipping their own lives and their own activities. They work, and then enjoy the results of their work - the warm fire, the good food, the decor they make - and that extends to the point that they even make (or buy) their own god. Worshipping a stick is the extension of worshipping whatever they like, based on their own decisions in life. When they place their 'trust' in the same piece of wood they just burned, it is the same as placing their trust their house, or their nice car, or their job.

Application: I am haunted today by the conversation I heard about second-hand yesterday ... a woman actively rejecting the word of God because pastors cannot 'know her heart' and she has her own plans. She worships her child and builds her life around her personal decisions to care for him, rejecting every lesson and teaching and word of the Lord.

She prays to sticks of wood and refused to realize 'this is crazy.' In fact, she angrily rejects the idea that any word from the Lord could teach her differently.

I hope I'm not being judgmental, but rather I am saddened by this position. This is the opposite of faith. It is the kind of action that brings ruin ... that biblically defines a person as a non-believer. I sincerely hope that the words said to her yesterday bring about a change in her heart, for I know that while it is true no human can fully know her heart, and also know that the Lord does.

Prayer: Lord, I do pray for this woman at church, and for so many others like her who have created their own idols in their lives, and cling to those as models for living regardless of your teaching. I am sure I have areas of my life like this too, so I include myself in such prayers. May we all realize how crazy the sticks are in our lives, and instead place our trust in you and your good words. Amen.