“Have you ever loved someone, so much you thought you’d die? Given so much of yourself, it seems the only way, tell me what you want and I and I will give it to you…”
I can hold solid conversation on faith, football and new jack swing, if you don’t know, well now you know (I’m finished). So I was listening to this yesterday and actually paid attention to the lyrics. The lead singer was FIFTEEN YEARS OLD at the time – dramatic much? But jokes aside he was expressing things that people genuinely think and feel. It can feel like you’re giving your entirety to someone and are just spent, doing whatever you can to please them to the extent that you’re left feeling drained. This is plain wrong because even when we’re in love and give ourselves over to the only man we should do, we experience continual joy, continual peace and continual security. But men AND women idolise their partners, family, friends, and then when it all goes awry they’re left broken, in crisis.
Often when we think of idolatry we think quite literal stuff: steer clear of other gods, polytheistic/ new wave ideas, materialism etc. But we rarely look at it beyond the skin deep. What’s the idol in your life? If your life and your thoughts and your actions and your joys don’t revolve around God what do they revolve around? What thing comes out of your mouth more than talk of your Father? What thing do you need to address?
Sometimes we need to step back from things and have a look at ourselves. Spending copious amounts of time on our presentation is idolatrous. That does not mean don’t buy new clothes, don’t wear make up or don’t get your hair done. But committing a large amount of time to perfecting yourself is vanity and self-love, let’s be honest. You’ve gone from preening yourself to narcissism and the consequences are not pretty.
God can’t come second to your girlfriend. You give your all to Him not her. Stop talking your friend’s ear off about her/him, chill with acting like they’re the only person on the planet. They’re not; yeah they’re cool but you don’t seem this excited about God and He kinda gave His Son as a perfect sacrifice for your eternal life, but whatever…
Until you know what it is to be loved by Him and trust in Him, and Him alone, chances are your relationship or the fallout from it is going to be pretty unhealthy anyway. When we know what love from God is, it also means we can have a framework for what love ought to look like. I don’t mean the perfect guy and the perfect wedding we see in chick flicks because setting yourself up for that dream is pretty idolatrous in itself, rather it gives you the opportunity to gauge things that are attractive in a christ-like, biblical light. In the way God intended us to love and be loved.
Further, loving God first and truly basking in the fact that He loves you, means that if a person lets you down your world won’t end, because He is the only being that will never hurt, never disappoint, never manipulate… at the end of the day the rest of us are fallible.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matt 6:24).
We are here to serve our God and His creation, to be stewards in this world and light in a place of real darkness. That’s more than just some imagery and anything continually distracting you from this ought to be evaluated.
God bless and keep you always x
Working Towards Calvary 