The Idols In Our Lives

In these post-Easter weeks leading up to Pentecost, the early church was nothing we would today recognize as anything like a “church” now. Then, two thousand years ago, apostles (formerly called disciples, before the death of Jesus on the cross) were coming out of hiding gradually, encountering Jesus in resurrected form in the first weeks after the Resurrection, and trying to wrap their heads around what had happened in their lives. It took them a while to make sense of their lives after Easter, and then to take up their challenge from Jesus to spread the Good News to others near and far.

We, too, ought to consider how to live anew, now in the assurance of the promise of resurrection to new life. One of the things I am least comfortable confronting in my own life is the nature of the idols I put ahead of my service to God every day. I worry about selfcentered things, like my health: am I exercising enough to keep these leg and back muscles strong to avoid falls? Am I taking all the medications I should be taking, or am I taking too many?

I worry about money: Do I have the right mix of stocks and bonds in my portfolio just now? Should I convert something to an annuity now that interest rates are higher or wait until they perhaps rise more? Can I afford to re-paint the house this year?

I worry about my church congregation: how much longer until we find a full-time pastor to take a call here in a small town? Am I doing enough to help out, or am I just an old busybody meddling in stuff that others already have well-takencare- of? How can I best support the office staff and the highlyengaged volunteers who seem so stressed right now in this time between full-time pastors?

I worry about family: am I staying connected enough to my loved ones who live farther away? Am I a burden already to my brothers and nieces who live nearby, so that I need to give them more space? How will I pass along the responsibilities for the long-standing family reunion to someone of the next generation who can keep it going for the next decades?

To me, all of these seem like heavy burdens I am carrying up the mountain of life. And yet, when I reflect on them prayerfully, I recognize that they can easily take on the nature of idols in my life, something I focus so much on attaining, or overcoming, that they interfere with my faith in God and my living out my faith every day in a truly effective way.

What’s the biggest idol in your life? Is it social media and how many “likes” per day you can generate with a photo or comment? Is it gun rights and “tricking out” your AR-15 with all the most intriguing accessories? Is it abortion rights, or the right-to-life cause? Is it the 2024 presidential race and electing your favored candidate? Maybe it’s spending too much time drinking and ca-rousing at a club? Or otherwise at the fitness center in pursuit of that sculpted look you want? Or constantly hunting for just the right pair of shoes or the next snazzy outfit?

We all have things that pre-occupy us, perhaps to the dismay of our dearest friends and family, who would say we are focusing way too much on unimportant things, rather than on what God is really calling us to do. Give it some thought, dear friends, and while you do, try to focus on others and their needs more, and on yourself and your own idols less.

Spend time with the living people around you, and less on social media. Keep eyes and ears open; ask others how they are doing. Cast a smile toward a stranger, and introduce yourself. Be kind to the person staffing the checkout counter or serving you lunch. In these things, we learn how to serve others instead of ourselves, and we make ourselves happier in doing so. God will bless you, dear friends, in your becoming a blessing to others.

AnnetteCitzlerisaLaGrange native and former professor at Texas Lutheran University.