Sometimes I wonder how people can slip away from genuine faith in God. For instance, King Joash led the people of Judah in a revival of dedication to the Lord under the leadership of priest Jehoiadah. But shortly after Jehoiadah died, Joash started worshipping idols. I think the examples from scripture and instances from my own experiences indicate that it is very, very easy to slip away from a genuine, dynamic relationship with the Lord. It takes work, every single day to overcome the spiritual entropy of sin and the evil flesh lurking inside me. I have to continually invest in killing the flesh, seeking God, and obeying Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to remain consistent in investing energy and work in pursuing you. Please forgive me where I have failed you. Wash me with your Holy Word. Lord Jesus, I want to know you and the power of your Resurrection. May I die to myself every day, and may you fill me with your Holy Spirit to accomplish your good will. I pray that I will demonstrate your love today. Fill me with your compassion and joy. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
It's not much different today, just different idols. That is part of my point in my blog on Serving God at Work. We all know the cliche "I work unto the Lord and not to man," but do you really apply that in your attitude/purpose for working?
ReplyDeleteI struggle with the mindset of not working for the promotion, raise, pat-on-the-back, etc. I feel those things should be natural with the work I do; but in the real world that isn't always the case. So the Lord has been beating me up on this for the last month or so; causing me to question my motives for being angry at my full-time employment. Am I angry because I'm relying on the promotion, raise, pat-on-the-back? What I am finding out is the answer to that question is an outstanding "YES!"
In this area of work, relying on my own merits for the raise, promotion, pat-on-the-back, etc is "Idol worship" because I am not relying on the Lord. Here's how: I'm not giving Him praise for my ability, wisdom, etc; but demanding/expecting these things because of my ability. I'm stuck on the argument that the raise, promotion, etc are "due" to me because of the effort I put into my work.
I'm also not focused on why the Lord has me there either. Am I truly impacting my place of employment for the Lord by showing up and working hard? Or am I impacting my place of employment for the Lord by challenging the thoughts of co-workers who don't believe; bringing them to a decision point to believe? Do my actions (in every situation) reflect Christ, or my selfish justification for how things should be; and how I should be treated?
This is a HUGE conviction that the Lord has hit me with, and one that I still struggle to completely get my head around. But when you get to the core motivation of why you work (provision, advancement, individual accomplishment, etc); the question in light of all of these things is: "How am I pleasing the Lord?"
For me, I have been letting bitterness set in because, in my mind, if I work hard then the raise, promotion, etc should naturally follow. These things have been promised to me, and have not come into fruition. But they've been promised to me by man (whom I've placed my trust in on these matters) and not the Lord!
So I've been idol-worshipping. God forgive me!!!!
I've given you just one personal example of how Christ-followers can fail in this area today. It may not be physically bowing down and worshipping these things; but what are you putting before God? What/whom are you placing your trust in? How are you impacting your world for the Lord? How are you living your life? The answers to these questions will reflect if you are worshipping the Lord or idols.