Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it—a cast image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what has been made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak!”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, December 1, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The God of Habakkuk’s people was like no other. Throughout the region and the period of history, different peoples and nations worshipped different gods, and they frequently carved idols to represent those gods. It was just what you did. God made it clear to God’s people from the get-go: You shall have no other gods. But the Israelite peoples were surrounded by and frequently intermingled with other peoples, and it’s only natural that cultural exchanges happen. Habakkuk is here trying to make a case that to worship an idol is a ridiculous waste of time. It’s a god created by human hands. Where as capital-G-God is before, above, and beyond anything humans can conceive. Put down the idols, people. God is the only one who actually has any power.
We all create idols for ourselves, whether we’re aware of it or not. Money, possessions, celebrities, athletes, musicians, work, hobbies, relationships…I could increase the list ad infinitum. We may not set out to make those things into gods. We may not be aware that our behavior is akin to worship. It doesn’t mean we’re horrible people that God is going to come down on and punish harshly as Habakkuk is predicting. But it is good for us to be honest with ourselves about where we are putting things in the place of God rather than in their proper place. When our reliance upon these things to make us feel okay in the world becomes our primary focus, it’s time to take a look at reality.
And the reality is that none of these idols has any power to bring real change, healing, stability, or growth to our lives the way a relationship with God can. Something to think about this Advent season.
What things in my life sometimes take a higher level of importance than my relationship with God?