Worshiping the Works of Our Hands Jeremiah 1

My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. Jeremiah 1:16b-17

Just a few days ago I was posting about our creativity being a stumbling block at times, and here is another verse to confirm that tendency in our lives. We like to worship that which we can see and feel. Why else would people make little idols and bow down before them? How can a piece of wood or stone hear our prayers, sense our needs, or act on our behalf? Yet I see these idols all around me. Symbols of the horoscopes, where people place their hopes in star patterns in the sky. Buddhas sitting there looking wise and peaceful and fat and happy, with people praying to them so that they can themselves be those things. Other ugly gods like the Aztec or Inca, where people acted violently because they had images of a violent, blood-thirsty god. If people believe their god to be good, the image may be beautiful, if angry, then fierce-looking. Their perception of god dictates their image of him/her/it. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is true. The image of God you have in your mind helps form your opinion of that which is acceptable, truthful, and worthy. Most of the little gods I have seen in museums are not pretty, and some are so rudimentary that it is hard to believe that people could wrap their lives around them. But it happens with too much ease. There has to be a lot of guilt in the human soul to think that he/she has to give sacrifices to cooking pots or statues or poles. We look for something to take our guilt, our sin, our pain, our dysfunction and make us feel good about ourselves. And all the while, there is the true God who defines Himself as all we need through His many names: the God Who hears, the God Who sees, the God who heals, the God Almighty...etc. We can't make an image of Him because He refuses to show all of Himself to us at once. And He tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. We can see the works of His hands, and a study of those things, geez, I think we call that science, all point toward a God Who made all things work together for good. There is balance, there is rhythm, there is color, there is unity, and if any one thing was not in that order, there is no chance that any of it would hold together. And what we do to manipulate that can only work within that order. As we try to use the creation around us, be either reflect God's beauty or seek to create for ourselves something “other.” And there is discomfort in our souls when we see that. Graffiti is one method. Some of it can be decorative, but most is destructive. There are laws of physics that won't allow a house to hang in suspension no matter how hard we try. Some things appear to “break the rules,” but when it comes down to it, they have to follow the rules to stand for any period of time. Houses built on the sand will eventually fall unless their foundations run deep, therefore having to follow the rules when no one sees the pylons plunged deep into the rock below. We know certain things will not hold for the long haul. Like the Jenga game, eventually things will reach the tipping point and fall. We can choose to push the limits of God's patience and live tottering on the edge, living in fear and imbalance, or we can choose to live in God's will and build firmly and confidently, having an inner peace and security that comes with having Him as our foundation.

So we are also asked here to gird up our loins...a phrase repeated over and over throughout scripture. We are told to speak what God has commanded. There is no need to fear when truth is spoken. The only reason people get upset when truth is told is because they believe a lie. We like to think we know what we are doing, so when someone plants a doubt in our mind, we get upset. Are they crazy, or am I wrong about something? Did God really say that? Do these people think they have a corner on the truth market? God tells us to be confident in His Word and not be dismayed that others do not listen. If we don't have confidence in His Word, we will ourselves call into question everything we believe to be true. There are times when I wonder how what God says can be true, if He will indeed act on our behalf in any situation. We are commanded to speak what He says, so I have to pray, open the Bible, and see what He says and repeat it to myself...convince my own heart that God means what He says. Of course, the Holy Spirit makes that happen. Without The Spirit, God's Word is just words. If you don't understand it...the simple parts of salvation and God's will, after reading the New Testament and studying it...if it is all just words, then come to Christ and tell Him that you don't know Him yet. When He gives you His Spirit, you will know His mind. You will not be dismayed any more. Beg for wisdom, and cry out for understanding, Proverbs says. Ask God to show Himself, Jesus Christ, and yourself for who you all are, and ask Him how to fix that relationship. Then put your nose back into the Word and await the answer. He says He will come to any who truly cry out to Him. He will open His Word like a flower in bloom when you are His, slowly and gently in some cases, and more like a prison break in others! He meets you where you are. So do not dismay. And someday soon you will be able to speak to others the Word He has commanded you.