Toppling the little gods

Last night at Greenview we were looking at 1 Samuel 7. We noted, among other things, that in seeking the Lord the Israelites were called on to put away their idols. Israel had been struggling for 20 years – the Ark of God, symbolic of their relationship with God Himself, parked up in Kiriath Jearim. Life had been infiltrated in the meantime by a bunch of little gods. It was upon these Baals & Ashtoreths that Israel had pinned its hopes for ‘success’ in life. For a 10th century BC Israelite it was these little gods who offered the promise of good crops, freedom from disease & personal safety. Now, of course, in 2010 we have Asda, the NHS and Theresa May to look after such concerns – but let’s be in no doubt our own little gods are still ‘alive & kicking’.

The little gods of ‘recognition’, ‘possessions’, ‘beauty’, ‘status’, ‘pleasure’, to name some of the more obvious ones, still clamour for our affections, energies and time. These are the little gods that promise to deliver us happiness, a sense of value, significance and meaning in life – if we simply attend to their shrines.

A while back the peace & quite of an afternoon stroll in the park was interrupted – moving along the road came a blinged-up hatchback, inside two young guys with shades and designer gear, one hand on steering wheel, the other arm casually resting on the open window, all accompanied by the thump thump of music pounding out from the car stereo. Two guys, whose gods (at that moment) were so clearly ‘self image’ & ‘possessions’. The whole scenario was one of people whose sense of self-worth, having value & being significant was totally bound up in looking cool, being admired, and having the desired kit. In other words, ‘I will be worth something if other people think I’m worth something – my life will have significance if others are impressed by me’.

We might not be quite so blatant in showing our neediness – but the little gods are never far away from most of us. The little gods that say, ‘recognition is what you need, if you get recognition you’ll be happy’. So pursue ‘recogntion’, make sure you get it – serve the god of recognition. The reality is of course that the little gods only ever deliver – insecurity, competition, vulnerability & stress.

Israel had to put away its little gods and turn to the only one who can give settled peace, security, value & significance – the Lord. For them it involved a physical clear-out – statues & shrines consigned to the skip. But it would entail more than that – patterns of behavior, daily schedules and their very mindset would need to be changed. Putting away idols in Israel would entail much more than a change of décor. It would require determined, conscious and tenacious decision making in their ongoing lives.

If we know anything about ourselves it is that the same will true. Toppling our little gods will require the same kind of thought-through planning and choices. It will mean, for example, that….

1. Having performed some act kindness or having been servant-hearted or sacrificial in some area of life or ministry, that no matter how much it ‘kills us’ and goes against the grain of our natural instincts – WE WON’T MENTION IT!
2. That having come into some money or realizing we had more than we thought, that rather than it being another opportunity to treat ourselves – WE GIVE IT AWAY!
3. That having received an invitation to some cool social event, but there being a Christian activity to which we had already planned to attend & we know needs support – WE TURN IT DOWN!

These things are hard for us, precisely because they defy all that the little gods want us to do and tell us will actually make us happy. But only by such determined, premeditated and flesh-denying decisions will the little gods be put away in our lives.