We are listening in on the story of God’s call to Jeremiah. The Babylonians have overwhelmed Judah, sacked Jerusalem, and sent many of the people into exile. Into the midst of this conflict, God calls the prophet to interpret for the people the signs of the times. The people have turned away from God and made offerings to other gods. Their affinity for idols has brought disaster down on their heads. God, it seems, really does care when the people turn away from allegiance and service to the Creator of the Universe and turn towards useless idols that they imagine will satisfy their desires. Jeremiah, in very poetic language, will spend 52 chapters explaining to the people the consequences of their poor choices.
What are the idols that we worship? Which is to say, what do we really value more than devotion to God and loving service to others? We all have at least one or two idols. We might make an idol out of security, so we hoard our resources in fear of scarcity rather than share our abundance. We might hold onto our children so tightly that we don’t allow them the freedom to flourish on their own. It is so easy for a child or a spouse or a parent to become merely an object that we use to satisfy our unmet wants. What are the idols in our own lives? Loving and serving God first, Jeremiah reminds us, allows us to love and serve others in the most genuine and authentic way. Heartfelt devotion and service to God clears away all the idols and makes way for wholeness and peace.
—The Rev Lex Breckinridge
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