Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Turn away from mortals, who have only breath in their nostrils, for of what account are they?”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, June 7, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I’ve put people on pedestals in my life. I think it’s safe to say that most of us have. As children, wholly dependent on the adults around us for our wellbeing, we see our caregivers , good or bad, as godlike. When I married (way too young) I had the naïve belief that my husband would satisfy my every emotional need. I spent most of my life trying to impress authority figures and conversely terrified of disappointing them.
It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I began to recognize the truth of Isaiah’s statement: that I was holding up these “mortals” as idols, hoping they would deliver me security and self-esteem. And of course, it never worked. Only God can give me what it is I really need. In fact, only God really knows what that is. I sure as heck don’t half the time. So life has become a daily spiritual practice of turning everything over to God, laying bare before God all my gratitude, my fear, my yearning, knowing that God’s got this. It’s not always easy to trust in God. But it’s way better than putting my trust in fallible human beings.
Have I ever made another person an idol without even realizing it? Who?
