“For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.” Philippians 3:18-19
This is a warning to all of us that false gods have entered the temple, that is, your body and mine, which are temples of the Holy Spirit.
This is cause to examine the idols in our own lives and to repent of any idolatry. We can be shallow and hypocritical as we “bow before” the gods of materialism, lust, food, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, etc., or find ourselves devoting precious time each day gazing into our smartphones, computers, and television screens at the expense of prayer, family time, or the duty of the moment.
Indeed, in the last times, God ultimately (and reluctantly) allows chastisements to cover the earth in order to draw, at least some, out of their idolatry:
“The rest of the human race, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, to give up the worship of demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.” Revelations 9:20
We might be thinking of golden calves or bronze statues… but boats, cars, houses, jewellery, fashion and electronics also use wood, stone, and precious metals—and they have become the idols of the 21st century.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” Exodus 20:3-5
Anything that takes you away from God can be an idol. Anything that is before God or over God in your heart, mind and maybe especially, calendar is an idol. These must be expunged from your life.
We may not worship golden calves as the Israelites did, but we certainly make idols of our own pleasures and possessions. We would do well to examine our conscience to detect idols we set up for ourselves. These temptations must be treated as opponents to be thoroughly defeated.
Facebook, news media, sports are all idols I’ve “worshipped” in my life. Many times have I found myself saying, “I didn’t have time to pray today”, “I didn’t have time to read the Bible”, “I didn’t have time to pray a Rosary” after having spent hours in front of the TV watching football or hockey or some movie. If you’re doing this, you have a false god and idol in your heart.
I was a sports and TV junkie. I would watch TV every night for hours, hockey and football all day Sunday. Then, I’d wonder why I couldn’t draw closer to God in my relationship. I would listen to men talk of their prayer life or time in the Bible and wonder how they found the time and energy. Probably the best thing that I’ve done is our recent move. With our move, I decided that I would not renew cable TV. That meant no more football or hockey and no more TV shows or movies at night.
Tough habit to break. But, God is the Way Maker and habit breaker, or should I say, habit re-maker.
All the time wasted in front of the TV idol was now given back to God. God took this time and multiplied its value within my heart. Then, He put me to work. I’m not taking 9-5 work but joyful work. He gave me The Road of Faith blog and love of His Word so that I would desire to spend more time with Him every night. Many times, I spend hours in an evening writing posts for The Road of Faith or just get lost in the Bible or St. Faustina’s diary. I’ve read books that I never had time for previously like “The Dark Night”, “Interior Castles” and several on discernment of souls. I’ve spent extra time on Sunday in quiet prayer after Mass or Liturgy, time previously dedicated to the NFL.
And, I don’t miss these prior idols. Like the Israelites out of Egypt, God drew me along and broke away all my prior idols – well, to be honest, I still hold onto many idols. But, I’m a work in progress.
We all have our idols. Start by looking at your calendar, what you did today/tonight and your checkbook. These are great indicators of where your idols may reign. Ask your spouse or family to honestly asses you in this manner. Be open to what you may be told, it might surprise you or may even sting.
Then, stop making excuses and put God in the front row of your life and heart.
Fast – Fight the urge to spend time with those idols and give that time over to God. In any fast the goal isn’t just to give up something, but to give up something worldly that we desire and replace it with God. To draw closer to God. A fast of this caliber may not be easy. But, God will reward your greatly, with Himself.