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Idols Reduce You!
Matthew 4:10 'Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him.'"' (NIV)
 In a world that is crazy about fame and celebrity, it does us good to remember what the Bible teaches: that only God deserves to be worshipped. A few years back, MTV asked a young woman who claimed to be Madonna's number one fan this question: 'what does it mean to be a real fan of someone?' The reply was startling: 'it means that you are willing to leave behind your home, your friends, your job and even your friendly to be where your idols.' That is more than appreciating someone: that is nothing short of worship! When we allow another human being to become the primary focus of our attention, the major recipient of our praise, and the greatest influence on our choices, we are worshipping that person. In the Old Testament, God demanded that his people never build idols for worship. Why was that? Is God some kind of cultural Philistine who is anti-sculpture or anti-art? No, God knows that when we build idols of wood and stone we freeze our understanding of who he is. We say, in effect, 'This is all that God will ever be to me, I am not open to any further revelation of God.' So, we limit God to that image. When that happens, says Romans 1, we trivialize our own lives -- we reduce ourselves. That's why God won't share his glory with another -- because we would chase the glory and end up in all the wrong places. God is a person who longs to reveal himself to each of us in a progressive, ongoing way. He wants us to learn more about him and his ways everyday, so that we become more and more like him.
Prayer: 'Lord Jesus, I don't want to lead a trivial life. I don't want to limit God's revelation to me all three me to others. I committed myself again today to worship you only, to make you the centre of my choices and my attention. Help me to keep my eyes on you today.'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
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