Corona Devo 1431
Oh, the absurdity of man-made idols. Foolish are those who manufacture them (Isaiah 44:9).
And we all do in some ways and at some times.
But if we need a real-time example of cultural idolatry (the worship of money/trends/fads/popularity/influence)...we can look no further than a middle or high school teen girl.
I can pick on this age group because I have one. (And, I was one!)
I'm not sure if it is the hormones, the peer pressures, the self-esteem-issues or a combination of all of it, but teen girls worship many prized objects that are really worthless, including Ugg Tasman Slippers.
If you are are a teen or tween in the American Midwest, these shoes are hard to find and harder to take off (they're comfy!).
Ask any parent who has strived to try to find a pair in stock, and ask any kid who desires to have them merely because all her friends do: Ugg Tasmans are a trendy, comfortable, and expensive example of a popular manufactured idol.
At a recent get-together, here is the line-up of (Ugg Tasman Chestnut) shoes when our daughter and her friends took their shoes off:
But as any teen-girl will also tell you--these shoes won't "make" you popular or "keep" you popular in the dog-eat-dog world of female adolescence. (Nothing keeps a girl "golden" on the emotional rollercoaster of middle school...not even the manufactured idol of Ugg Tasmans).
But we (who are older and wiser) should know that already. It's been a long time since our "trying teenage years", and we have matured from the pettiness and disillusionment of thinking that having/saying/portraying something (like a pair of Ugg Tasman Chestnut Slippers) would actually fulfill us.
And yet...
We still fall for the allure, the promise, and the escape of manufactured idols, made by men, even though these prized objects are really worthless.
God gets pretty specific in giving us some of His own examples of the folly of false idols and those that create them, including a blacksmith and a woodcarver:
How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.
(10) Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit?
(11) All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
(12) The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.
(13) Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine. (14) He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.
(15) Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!
(16) He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” (17) Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”
(18) Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
(19) The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
(20) The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” ~Isaiah 44:9-20
~~~
Can we see the absurdity (and to reality) in this?
It's silly--like a young girl desperate to be accepted and liked, we pour our time, money and allegiance into ineffective and unfulfilling idols. Idols made by mere men, and sometimes our idols are mere men and women.
But if we were to get-honest with ourselves about where we spend our time and love, we might fight it to be shallow, to be superficial, to be embarrassing, and God might find it to be shameful.
Our society has made the wrong things into manufactured idols...and the idols that we hold in our hands are a lie unless they are Truth.
I am the way, the truth, and the life... ~John 14:6
~~~
The woodcarver carves an idol from wood. Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire (Isaiah 44:15) to warm himself, bake bread, and Then he takes what’s left and makes his god...worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”
Oh, the absurdity of man-made idols. Whether it's Ugg Tasmans or anything else...we are fools to worship and look for rescue from anything man-made. And we should look solely unto the One who made man.
For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ~Job 33:4
sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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