Idolatry?

[Starise]

16 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

however, it was Mary who had her priorities straight!

That settles it then. I'm only gonna  bathe once a week and I'll be turning my in resignation. Hippie lifestyle here I come.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Starise

[Omegaman 3.0]

2 hours ago, Katie Müller said:

I have seen preppers online who seem to worship their stockpiles. They think all their food and guns and medicines will save them in an end-of-the-world scenario. They seem to put way too much trust in their physical stores as opposed to their relationship with God.

I had a friend (a mentor really) who was sure that the end was coming soon (this was decades ago) and that he (as well as the rest of the church) would go through the tribulation. He bought an 80 acre farm in the Mojave Desert, outside of Los Angeles. That was his "prepping". He had a friend who similarly convinced that he would go through the tribulation. Their approaches were a little different. The other guy located to around Medford, Oregon, thinking that it was a place free of natural disasters, no military targets or risk from fallout, etc.

The Oregon guy asked:

"What about guns?"

The desert guy said: "I don't know, what about them?"

The Oregon guy asked: "Aren't you afraid that people will come to steal your food?"

The desert guy said: "No, that is why I bought the farm, so I could feed them!"

I am not sure how that ties in to my thread about idolatry, but I could not resist telling that story!

[missmuffet]

13 minutes ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

I had a friend (a mentor really) who was sure that the end was coming soon (this was decades ago) and that he (as well as the rest of the church) would go through the tribulation. He bought an 80 acre farm in the Mojave Desert, outside of Los Angeles. That was his "prepping". He had a friend who similarly convinced that he would go through the tribulation. Their approaches were a little different. The other guy located to around Medford, Oregon, thinking that it was a place free of natural disasters, no military targets or risk from fallout, etc.

The Oregon guy asked:

"What about guns?"

The desert guy said: "I don't know, what about them?"

The Oregon guy asked: "Aren't you afraid that people will come to steal your food?"

The desert guy said: "No, that is why I bought the farm, so I could feed them!"

I am not sure how that ties in to my thread about idolatry, but I could not resist telling that story!

He was wrong wasn't he? That is what happens when you make plans God does not want you to make. 

 

[Omegaman 3.0]

4 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

He was wrong wasn't he? That is what happens when you make plans God does not want you to make. 

He was mistaken, yes, but that farm was later used as a local church, and a theology training center, and distributed locally grown food to the poor in the area! Sometimes we make plans, and God has other plans! It was the best church I have ever attended, and I drove 240 mile round trips to do so!

[notsavedyet]

22 hours ago, Selah7 said:

Hi there OM,  Good thread; thx! 

This may not be exactly what you’re looking for, but here’s something to think about in terms of who won't be prone to idolatry.  Who is it that will faithfully follow their Lord? The Elect have a Shepherd and they follow HIM.  It’s HIS voice they hear.  

John 10:1-5

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But He who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep.3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice; and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

John 10:14

14 I am the good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

 

"They do not know the voice of strangers" i'm contemplating.

 

God Bless You

[Starise]

I believe it's easy for Christians to participate in forms of idolatry. We can sometimes lose sight of what our real priorities should be, we could be putting too much  interest or focus on something or someone that leads us away from the Lord. We may not realize we are doing it immediately. It can be an indiscreet thing that eventually becomes a distraction.

Before we know it, God is on the back burner.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Starise

[Starise]

@Katie Müller

I use the worthy forum in a similar way to the way you might be using bible audio. To keep scripture and the study of it on my mind. Some of the threads here are very intellectually stimulating which causes me to study more. Pilates? You mean podcasts or something?

I am into computer composition which can be very meticulous and time consuming. It's like when I get into it I want to be left alone to concentrate. I could literally bury myself for hours into it.  I have at times spent hours upon hours at it. Maybe compare it to reading a good book you can't put down. It's like that for me. So to go for 30 minutes or an hour at it and be forced to put it down only to try to pick it up again later in the week while taking half of that time to reconnect to it is frustrating.  If I could do anything I wanted to do I would spend a week or two at it solid. Pull away for a rest and then go back to it. Being partially HSP I am easily distracted by noises and interruptions which makes it worse.

I know the work I'm producing as a result of these things is less than what it could be, but I really have no choice 

None of it really means anything to anyone else or very little, so I guess I'm a little bit nuts. Plus my daily and seasonal demands are probably more than some people who have a routine. An 8 or  10 hour shift and then done. That isn't me. I really need two of me lol.

[Starise]

@Katie Müller-Pilates- ok something new for me. Thanks.

We have at least one other writer here that I know of but you would never know it because she has only mentioned it in passing a few times.

I once thought sc-fi was mainly something men were interested in. One more thing I thought I knew. I like certain kinds of sc-fi. A bunch of it now is part horror, part sleazy, bad language etc.

I think Worthy is a good place to come for anyone who wants to see different takes on bible texts among many other things.And of course, even though long distance and no substitute for church fellowship. It is a place of fellowship at times.

On the main subject of idolatry- I agree it doesn't take much to get absorbed into other things which can take us away from the Lord. One part of me wants to say  there are probably many other worse things we could get involved in and I reckon the Lord wants each of us to have something we enjoy to do since He made us to do "it" whatever it is. It's just the matter of balance I suppose.

Welcome to the forum! 

 

 

[bropro]

On 2/16/2022 at 4:58 AM, Omegaman 3.0 said:

I just wrote out my thoughts on idolatry. Perhaps you will agree, perhaps not. In anycase, I welcome your perspectives - hopefully without this becoming a battle ground, I am getting weary of them 

Generally, when the Bible speaks of idolatry it is referring to the worship of false gods, or man-made objects of worship like carvings or images, even an image of the one true God. It could be the worship of human kings, angels, holy people.
In a practical sense, most anything can be an idol, even good things. When something is more important to us than God, it will probably show in our lives. In that sense, most people, including Christians, probably practice come degree of idolatry.
What are we devoted to? Things that can compete with God for our devotion, can be good things like our spouse or family, or other loved ones. Sex, power, status, our jobs, our hobbies, entertainment, food, even the Bible itself or theology.
We can get so wrapped up in learning about God, reading the Bible, going to church, being involved in ministry, etc., that we forget to properly honor God by having a relationship with Him, and putting Him first in our lives. We should ask ourselves, what is most important to us, what to I value above God. If we can honestly answer "nothing" is more important, then we are not idolators. That means that our lives and everything in them, we are willing to give up for God. Do we pass the test?

 

I think you are pretty much right on. The verse below states that greed (coveteous, in KJV), is idolatry. So anything we covet or desire more than God is idolatry.  In 1 Samuel 15:23, it states that stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. My opinion about life and God, can become an idol if I am unwilling to be reasoned with, especially when it comes to my own opinions about God and the scriptures.

Gary

Col. 3:5 (NASB)
⁵  Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
 

Edited February 18, 2022 by bropro

[Starise]

I believe we can confuse obedience with legalism.

For instance, even though we might be religiously reading the bible are we getting closer to God?

Many churches push bible reading as a way to know we are doing the right things, so much so, that is if we don't read a certain amount of it daily or weekly we are considered backslidden Christians.

I'll use a real life example. Let's just say we might have absorbed the word that day in one way or another, maybe it was through a podcast or a radio show or even a discussion about the bible with a friend or friends.

It's late in the evening and you would really like to watch a documentary on TV, then you see a bible sitting there on your night stand and you think to yourself, " Maybe I would rather not get that mentally deep right now, my eyes probably can't take the strain this late, since I'm almost half asleep already I'm going to tune in the documentary or movie and veg out on that instead."

Do we 

A. Beat ourselves up with a guilt trip that we chose a documentary over the bible? or do we

B. Miserable and mainly out of obligation lift that book to our tired eyes, opening it up to the last place we read we try to get something more out of it?