Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me

Let me introduce you to my gods.  They help me feel better when I have a bad day.  They give me just what I need and they are very close and accessible.

This one's name is Acceptance.  I started worshiping him at a young age.  If I had better grades, ran faster, performed better, Acceptance was sure to be close by.  I hoped for Acceptance everywhere and in anyone that I felt I needed love from.  Most of the time, I felt I could only be loved and accepted by people if I had something skillful or interesting to offer.  I'd live for the "attaboy"s and the "wow you're smart"s.  Acceptance gave me affirmation that he was all I needed in order to feel complete.  Acceptance made sure to get my attention especially when I wasn't as good as others in certain things.  "Sssomeone is more athletic than you.  Become hisss friend and show off what you got," my god would sssay.  "Surely others will like you then."  "Your music sssounds okay, but imagine what others would think if you played faster, louder, and with more heart."  My god was always there at the right moment to push me to be better and better and better.

Ah, yes.  Hoops.  This god has shown both power and resilience in my life.  Ever since I can remember, Hoops has rocked my heart to sleep, cooed its lullaby when the world seemed chaotic.  Basketball annihilated enemies such as Boredom and Humility.  I could get creative and therefore show off my ability in front of others that weren't as good.  I could even cement thing feeling of power by keeping track of my statistics compared to others on my team.  Hoops has been there when I'm bored.  There's nothing like hearing the khhh of the net after making a shot, feeding my own pride.  It was amazing to find out later in life that both the gods Acceptance and Hoops were brothers and worked together in my life a bunch.  "You khhhould be great someday.  If Boredom ever tries to take you, I'll always be there and you khhhan ssstroke your ego...I mean build your confidence with every shot."  Hoops was always there at the right times to keep me from feeling worthless and bored.

Sometimes Hoops wouldn't be enough.  Sure, he offered power and a means to get closer to Acceptance, but specific sports teams offered an endless knowledge of facts that could also impress everyone, thus praise and love would come my way.  Probably the two biggest gods like this that I worship are called the Bucks and the Packers.  If I couldn't convince you that I actually was a follower, I might point to my shirt with their symbol on it, or my hat, or even my rip-off pants (yes even those).  Still not convinced?  Check this out.  Did you know that Brett Favre's first NFL pass was to himself?  I'm pretty smart, huh?  How about the fact that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was drafted by the Bucks because of a coin-flip?  Interesting, huh?  Did you see the game last night?  Our defense needs to pick it up.  No, I'm not part of the team, but my worship really gives the Bucks and the Packers the extra power they need.  I must know when the next game is and who they are facing.  When these gods succeed, my praise and sense of worth grows, thus growing their power, thus growing my praise and sense of worth, etc.  It's basically a great symbiotic relationship that we have.

I can't believe I haven't even introduced you to my favorite god, Music.  Please accept my apologies.  Music is so beautiful and powerful to me.  The way that different instruments blend their melodies and sounds to help me express just what I'm feeling.  If I need inspiration, Music is there for me.  Creativity?  Music is there again.  She is loved by so many people across the world and she has been for thousands of years.  Music is so flexible and interchangeable that there's really no one way to define her.  She's indescribable.  Sometimes I wonder if Music created me, since when I perform, something on my inside resonates and I feel like my soul is being strummed.  Music is on in the background of movies, in the grocery store, even in some fancy elevators.  She's everywhere!  Maybe I didn't even need to introduce you to Music because she is already worshipped by you.

I have so many more gods to tell you about, but because Time may be one of yours, I'll attempt to be brief.  The mighty Entertainment has many heads.  Although part of one body, each head has their own identity.  Internet, Movies, TV (an oldy but a goody).  Nowadays, with the combination of Money and Technology, you can get Entertainment however, whenever, forever.  Entertainment, like Hoops, also is great at defeating Boredom.  He helps me forget when I have a bad day at work, or if the things on my to-do list seem too giant and unconquerable, he gives me a break and fills my eyes.  If I don't like what my eyes are consuming, I don't need to keep watching.  I can change the channel, change the movie, or change the website.  There are literally millions of videos online to watch and probably trillions of views to legitimize his existence.



Growing up going to church, hearing the Ten Commandments often, I never thought that I was guilty of any of them.  I'm not a bad guy, right?  Getting older and more mature in my faith, I realized that the ones I thought I was innocent of, I was most guilty.  I've never committed murder, but "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15).  I waited until marriage to be with a woman, but "Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28).  Despite all these new realizations of my inaccuracies, I still think that the first commandment has been overlooked and underestimated in my life, I am the LORD your God....you shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20).  Gods?  I'm not like the Israelites who made a calf out of gold and started bowing to it.  I'm doing way better then those guys.

Recently, I've been going through Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller.  When asked questions such as "What things in your life do you feel give you significance and security or are ultimate things that give you safety and fulfillment?", "What can't you live without?", or "What is more important for you than God?", I didn't think that my answers would reveal things about my life that were replacing God.  When bored, I go to one of my above gods.  When I have a rough day, I'll, without thinking, go to something other than God.  Now, I may not talk about basketball, music, or the other things quite in the way I described them above, but remove the parts that call them a god, and you'll be pretty close to accurate.  My flesh is weak.  When I rely on my own strength, bad things happen.  I make myself out to be my god.  I praise this guy on the right and hope others will do the same.  It was difficult to discover just how much time and energy goes into my flesh and my gods.  I realized that I don't even daydream anymore.  It's like when I start to feel like daydreaming, I might as well just bring out my phone and allow youtube to suggest my daydreams for me.  It's kind of scary when you think about how technology can be like a virus to your mind, body, heart, and soul.

I want to be unashamed of the gospel, even in front of my Christian friends and family.  I can more easily talk about what the Packers are doing in my life than what God is, and that's not right.

-What things in your life do you feel give you significance and security or are ultimate things that give you safety and fulfillment?

-What can't you live without?

-What is more important for you than God?

Don't look away from your answers.  Face them.  Confess them to God.  He hears you.  He loves you.  He wants nothing more than for you to be near Him.

Here are two of our students, Dionte (left) and Jovan (right).  They are brothers in our After School Program.  Although this is their first year in the program, people at 2nd Mile Ministries have been familiar with them and their family because of their attendance at Summer Day Camp the past couple of years.  Dionte is in 5th grade and Jovan is in 3rd.  Jovan is very high-energy and would get into trouble often at camp, as well as the beginning of the school year.  However, when asked to change his behavior, he usually follows directions.  He's got a great throwing arm and might be the first kid in our program to actually like playing basketball.  He's very playful and sometimes gets too in other kids' faces.  I get to talk to Jovan often when he gets into trouble and he sincerely wants to make right choices, but sometimes he forgets to.  Dionte is difficult to describe.  He's low-energy, doesn't talk as much, is kind of shy, but he's brilliant at math.  Dionte and I have had a couple of difficult days as far as him not following directions, whining, complaining, even crying and crawling underneath tables.  Despite some of these new experiences I'm dealing with, I was encouraged after one of our devotional times when he showed me what he wrote.  We were talking about gratitude and the kids were asked to write a letter to a friend thanking them for something.  His said something like, "Dear Mr. Andrew, thank you for cheering me up when I'm upset."  Having no idea that I was cheering him up during my talks with him, I was encouraged by the fact that I don't always know the ways that God is going to work.  My trust HAS to transfer from these gods to the one and only God.  I must trust that God is going to work things out for the good of those who love him, even if I don't get to see what those things are.

Dionte and Jovan at the Family Fall Festival

Please take time to think about your life.  Whatever you plan on doing immediately after reading this blog could possibly be an idol in your life.  All the things I mentioned above (basketball, music, acceptance) are not bad things in themselves, but if I go to those things to meet my needs, I've crossed over into idolatry.