Right? That’s how it goes?
Exodus 20:3-5
Oh, I guess not.
Well maybe this one…
John 14:6
Nope, still not allowed to have any other “gods”
Let’s keep these in mind and move on…
Ya wanna know the toughest thing from this month?
Not bed ridden orphans who don’t have the mental capacity to speak.
Not starving beggars, bone skinny, homeless and dirty.
Not endless mounds of trash.
Not countless stray dogs eating trash or searching for a friend. (And I love dogs)
Not even my own bodies’ reaction to Indian food the first week we arrived.
The most heartbreaking thing in India is people saying they are Christian, but their homes have idols, EVERYWHERE. You don’t really know if they just add Christ on top of the other gods in their culture.
It breaks my heart to see some people so blinded from the truth, that they worship idols because it’s part of the culture.
But it’s not just the physical idols like (statues, pictures, decorations); its idols that take away from your focus only on Him.
So I’m curious, what idols in the U.S. are part of our culture? Could it be education, sports, movies, politics, fashion, maybe your job?
I was a HUGE Boston Red Sox fan.
I’m talking countless hours invested: every game, interview, stat, if the Sox lost I was mad the rest of the night (especially to the Yankees), even getting a tattoo of the team’s logo. It didn’t matter the time or cost involved, cause THIS WAS MY TEAM…right?
When the Boston Red Sox come before my time with God in prayer, in the Word, or fellowship at a bible study, or service, something is wrong.
But it’s "just a sport".
NO.
I was completely off the deep end. And when I actually started following Christ with my life, this was an idol.
It didn’t matter that I was following Christ the rest of the time, because when we accept Christ into our lives He doesn’t get put on top of everything else.
Everything else needs to leave and He should be all that is present.
After this realization I actually prayed for God to take away these desires.
And you know what? He did, every last one of them. Instead of baseball my life was filled with men’s bible studies at church, getting in the bible on my own, or just focusing on the Lord and spending more time in prayer. And it was good. The best and most on fire for God I had ever been up to that moment.
What I’m trying to say is this, whether it is a statue of a Hindu “god” or spending all your time in watching sports, certain things in your life need to have a serious heart check done.
I’m not saying you need to stop every fun hobby in your life, but HONESTLY check to see if where you spend your time, heart and money is something that takes away from your walk AND pursuit of Jesus Christ. (Big keyword: PURSUIT)
Even ask others what they see in your life, it might surprise you.
Don’t say, “Well this is ok because _________”.
Because when you stop and think about it, which I hope you will, we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ first and foremost.
Anything after that isn’t eternal.
*sidenote* don’t end this blog on the mindset that God isn’t truly working in India, because He is, BIGTIME. Just check out other blog posts from my squad to see! This was just something that was heavy on my heart and I wanted to write about it.
