Bible Reading: Isaiah 44:1-end
“And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god” – Isaiah 44:17 (KJV).
Of a truth idolatry is a demonstration of the highest order of foolishness and stupidity. It is sheer knowledge and moral bankruptcy. The scripture paints it very vividly in its entirety of misconceived belief. A man goes to the bush and hewed down a tree; out of it he gathers firewoods and woods for furniture and with the residue he carves an image and calls it his god and worships it. It doesn’t sound normal but that is the extent to which the enemy of mankind has blinded and misled humanity. The blacksmith carved for himself a god, the carpenter stretched out his rule and construct an image and calls it his god and worships it. What a depraved mind, but that of course is how low the devil has reduced humanity. This is the worst blindness a man can suffer from: to mortgage himself to an image he constructed and call it his god. This connotes the highest level of foolishness.
It is no wonder God hates idolatry as an abomination and vows divine retribution on those who engage in it. “And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you” – Leveticus 26:30 (KJV). Man has created so many idols around himself. Many have lost their soul to the idol of riches and wealth to the extent that they can take the life of their fellow human for the purpose of being rich and wealthy. All that they are pursuing after has been there before them and will remain there after them, yet they pursue it with so much passion at the expense of worshipping the Creator who put them there. Paul rightly called it the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:20 and in Colossians 3:5 (KJV) he admonishes us to “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which are idolatry:” Whatever we love more than God is an idol and anyone involved in it is an idolater. Such is an act of idolatry. We create riches and wealth and turn them to our idol as they preoccupy our mind and takes first position in our life. Sex has become an idol to most men and women; they have so sold themselves to it that nothing matters as much. Others have built great edifices they adore and glory in all the days of their sojourn on earth to the extent that it has become their idol.
Christ came to refocus our attention to our creator God, hence he says in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” In essence, what Christ meant is that God and the things pertaining to His kingdom must take the first place in our lives. Serving God and His kingdom must be uppermost in our priorities. Christ must occupy the chief place in our lives. All the riches and wealth we are running after where all put here by God and only Him alone knows where they are hidden. My dear friend, put your heart at rest by seeking God and his kingdom for you to enjoy peace and be blessed.
Prayer: Father, thank you for delivering me from the act of foolishness that is inherent in idolatry.
Brother Joel Ezeugo