Loving the Creator more than the created

“…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather then the Creator who is blessed forever.” Romans 1:25

I recently finished reading Joshua Harris’ book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”, a book I had been dying to read for a while. I must say I believe God used that book to remove the blinders from my eyes, not only when it comes to dating but also in other matters of the such as purity and making the most of the season that I am in. It’s some of the ideas raised in this book that got me thinking about how I tend to get so easily distracted by the desires of my heart sometimes. Has anyone else ever wanted or needed something so bad that it seems as if every discussion with God and every prayer always wound up leading back to that thing? I will be honest and admit that I tend to get like that. I mean it is good that we go to God and lay before Him the things that we would like. Yet sometimes it becomes more like nagging God about it. I’ll also confess that I tend to obsess over things that I want, A LOT! I remember my older brother once promised to get me a new phone. I told him exactly what I wanted and he said he would get it. Instead of taking his word and carrying on with life I took it to a whole new level. When he didn’t respond as speedily as I expected to my whining and nagging I prayed to God ALL THE TIME about this phone and how my brother was disappointing me. I “declared” that I would get it by a certain date and still it never came. Ultimately I gave up on my brother’s promise and got upset with him and God too for not answering my prayers. The point of this little story is not to discourage anyone from wanting anything or asking God for it, but to show how easy it is for our desires consume us if we are not careful.

Many people encounter this problem in many areas of life and it seems to even be taking over parts of the church. Many people no longer seek the face of God but the hand of God. This scourge has permeated through many churches and has led people to seek God for His blessings and not for relationship with Him and fellowship with others. I do believe that it is God’s desire to bless His children, His Word makes that clear in Psalm 84:11 when it says “ For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory and no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  It is clear from this that our only concern should be to seek to live right through seeking God, and God out of His goodness and not any form of obligation, will grant His children the things their hearts yearn for.

The fact of the matter is that when we treat God as sort of a genie in a bottle we lose sight of who He is and our purpose. I truly believe that even if God had never done anything else for us but create us, He would still be worthy of all praise. Yet not only did He create us, He saved us, redeemed us and adopted us into His family. No one would feel okay with being taken advantage of or only being wanted when there is a problem; so why would we treat the One who has done more for us than anyone ever will that way? Idolatry wears different faces friends. Often times we think it’s just bowing down to man made statues or golden calves, but more than often it is usurping God’s place in our hearts and lives through things and people. With myself, I have realized that the idolatry I struggle with is as a result of selfishness. It’s because I look inward at me, my needs and wants so much that I forget that I am meant to be looking to The Cross and to Jesus. Focusing too much on ourselves is a tool the devil uses to try and distract us. Yet the Bible is clear, “The sorrows of those who run after another god will multiply,” Psalm 16:4. Selfishness and idolatry is never a good thing. Though we are fallen, God’s grace and mercy are sufficient to purge out the selfishness in us; but it starts with a daily and intentional decision to give God His rightful place in our lives. Nothing and no one should ever become more important than Him.

“Humans make great people, but terrible gods.” – Heather Lindsey

Stay Blessed

xx