Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, August 3, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Mic drop. Seriously. This is how the letter ends. Full stop. No “have a nice day, folks” or “I’ll write again soon.” Just “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Idols. Anything—and I mean absolutely anything—that we put in the place of God in our lives. Money. Material possessions. People. Relationships. Sports. Celebrities. Social media. Politics. Religion (yes, I said it—religion). Alcohol. Food. Drugs. Sex. Compulsive shopping. Anything that takes our attention away from what God is calling us to do, which is always to move in the direction of sacrificial love and service on behalf of others (not at the expense of self-care, but in tandem with it). 1 John has gone on and on about “the world” and ultimately, this is what they mean by it. Idols. All the trappings of our society that make us forget who we are and whose we are. If we’re honest, we all have them. We all indulge them now and then, if not more frequently. God is patient, merciful, loving, and God is always ready to embrace us when we wake up to our idolatry and turn back.
What idols do I need to set aside today in order to be present in God’s will for my life?
