But then again, does anyone truly live completely apart from God? Yes, I understand that there are people who deny God’s existence or just don’t want to make room for Him in their lives. And while these people make the choice to close off their end of the relationship with the Almighty, they still wake up each day on the life support that He, in His kindness generously provides.
And even if a person doesn’t acknowledge Almighty God, capital “G”, wouldn’t you have to agree that everyone has some little gods, lower case “g”, in their life? So my off the cuff answer to my neighbor was to explain that people look to events and other relationships to fill the void in their lives. Then after the event is completed, or the relationship is found to be less fulfilling than desired, they move their hearts on to other people, places, things and ideas.
Unfortunately, this is not just the case with ardent atheists or agnostics. This transference of loyalty to some person or thing that is infinitely lower than God, can be the regular practice of professing Christians, myself included.
It may explain why the Apostle John wrote so tenderly and fatherly to the early church, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
(1 John 5:21) Each and every day we are tempted to lean on the idols of this world to find a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that can only come through intimacy with God. Keeping ourselves, and mainly our hearts, from idols is a full time task!
So consider and honestly answer these questions to help uncover some of the potential gods, lowercase “g”, in your life:
1)
What is the number one thing I look forward to each day?
2)Where do I first run to when hard times come in my life?
3)When I don’t feel well emotionally, what or who do I seek after to feel better (substance, food, activity, relationship etc.) ?
4)How do I seek to find fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness in life?
5)Who do I put my hope in to make my life feel complete?
6)Why do I find it difficult to turn to God first in my times of need?
The Lord wants our hearts, our entire lives, our trust and security to be found in Him. He doesn’t want this for his benefit or ego. What does an all-sufficient God gain from man? But it is out of his love for us that He desires us to turn to Him in every circumstance of life. When we don’t, we suffer the consequences. Jonah cried out a profound truth from the whale’s belly when he said, “Those who worship idols forsake their own mercy.” (Jonah 2:8)
You see, the question is not if we worship, but who we worship. All humankind is wired for worship. It is better to ask whether we worship idols or worship God. The answer is different for each person, and may I suggest that it’s different for each moment of the day. Who at this time are you worshiping? We must choose daily and even moment by moment to focus our hearts and minds upon the Giver of life and Lover of our soul. It is when we remain, or return to this position that we find ourselves squarely in God’s will.
“I don’t know how people live without God.” My young Christian neighbor stood befuddled by the thought. He had just found a job after months of searching and couldn’t have imagined going through the process without God as his companion.
“People live without God by putting their hopes, expectations and trust in things, events, other people and self.” I explained. My insight didn’t arrive from deep study of the Scriptures or intense contemplation in prayer, but from my own experience of living without God at the center of my life.
