Gotta Get It Out

Something has been eating at me a lot for the past year and it is something I never even took seriously before. It is idolatry. For the past year I have been struck hard with how many things in our culture represent idolatry. I could go on forever but some of the things are obvious if you just turn on a television set. The way I look at movie stars, rock stars, sports stars, or even something as stupid as a character on a fictional TV show blows my mind. I mean we even have a TV show called "American Idol" key word Idol. Without even realizing it I look at these people as better than me. I begin to depict them as something that isn't even a human because they can do things that blow my mind. I even idolize someone such as Paul in the bible because of all his many accomplishments, which is wrong even though he was such an amazing man. I have been trying to learn and put into practice for the past year how to have a good perspective on it all instead of subconsciously idolizing them for things that are of the world. Don't get me wrong, a lot of these people are great people and it isn't bad to watch them or appreciate them, it is just where your perspective lies. A lot of times it is more than people I idolize. I idolize sports and music sometimes more than I do God. I will put my passion into making sure I know everything that is going on in the sports and music world instead of striving for more intimacy with the one I will spend my eternity with. 

As a Christian I should be driving my thoughts and actions on how to become closer to Jesus and know more about him and instead I have been putting my passion into so many things before I begin to even think about him. I have been getting a lot better on this issue but it will be a lifetime struggle as many things are. I can only hope to keep pressing on towards the goal of eternity by working hard to get past the things of this world, this being a big one for me and probably a lot of other people.

I am amazed at how I have changed over the past year. My whole entire life my number one passion has been sports. I used to read ESPN almanacs in school instead of the science or social studies book I should of been reading. I would practice signing my autograph on church handouts when I was younger thinking I would be a pro athlete someday. I played every sport known to man at least one time in my life (except football ha i was way too small for that), and my life goal was to always play a professional sport. Even after the reality that I wasn't gonna go pro in anything set in (7th grade), I still based my life around sports. That is all I watched, did, and read about. Sports is an amazing thing and there are tons of people doing effective ministry in the sports field, but I had an unhealthy obsession with it. I don't know what happened, but all of sudden last year everything that had been so important to me didn't seem as important. The more I was getting into God's word, the more I realized where my true passion and hope lied. Something that is eternal and built with everything anyone truly desires. What a revelation for me. I still love sports and enjoy it very much, but my perspective on it has changed and I don't put my energy and time into it nearly as much as I did for all the years before. This doesn't sound very serious because we are talking about sports, but honestly it has changed me more than I can explain. I feel like my old passion helped me get to the real passion and I am now changed forever. Where does your perspective lie? What is your passion? Why do you throw your remote across the house because of a bad call (I do it all the time and probably will tonight)? Would you do that if it had to do with Jesus? It is all about your perspective on the things of this world. Lets not let anything, no matter what it is, rule our world over Jesus. he is life. Think about it. eternity!

1 John 5:21 Dear children keep yourselves from idols

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator- who is forever praised. Amen

Romans 1:21-23 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images

Mark 7:8-9 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!"

Isaiah 44:10 Who shapes a God and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing.