As the Israelite people sat at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, waiting for Moses to return, they grew impatient. Remember that this was the same group of people who had just watched God bring 10 miraculous plagues on the people of Egypt and then watched as God parted the Red Sea so that they could cross on dry land. If there was a group of people who should have remained faithful to God, it was Israel. Instead, as they waited for Moses to come down from the mountain they hatched a plan. You see, when God led them out of Egypt He had blessed them even further by giving them silver, gold and fine clothing from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36). These were blessings that Israel had received because of God’s favor. So how did the people choose to use these blessings?
“Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:3-4)
They had taken the blessings from God and turned them into an idol. They had taken something that was intended to be good and turned it into something that God would find completely detestable. It wouldn’t be the last time either. The Israelites would continue to do this throughout their history (see Hosea 8:4). We’re not getting off the hook either. God blesses His people in so many physical ways. In fact, if you were to take a piece of paper and jot down all the things in your life that God has blessed you with, I have a feeling it would take you a long while. Like He did with the Israelites, God blesses us far beyond we could ever deserve. Also like the Israelites, we need to be careful that we don’t allow those blessings to become idols in our life. Take a moment to consider how many sins result from taking something that God has blessed us with and then raising it up as that which is most important: greed, gluttony, lust, pride, laziness, etc. The list could go on and on. We have the tendency to take wonderful blessings and turn them into something God detests. Here are a few ways to determine if we are beginning to turn God’s blessings into idols:
What do you spend the majority of your time doing?
- Do you spend more time with your blessings or the One who gave those blessings to you? Imagine you gave a friend an amazing gift. They love it. In fact, they use it all the time. Eventually you find that they are spending so much time enjoying the gift you gave them that they hardly have time for you anymore. That’s what we can do to God. We can spend all our time enjoying the blessings and never spend any time with Him.
When you have to make room in your schedule for something, what’s the first to go?
- Let’s face it, our schedules are busy! We don’t get everything done that we intended. However, a lot can be said about the things we choose to cut out first. Are we quick to cancel our game of golf or quicker to cancel our Bible study time? Are we willing to skip out on the party we’re planning on going to or more willing to skip out on worship service?
Do we tend to use God’s blessings more for ourselves or do we use them to bless others?
- God certainly wants us to enjoy the blessings He gives us. However, He also intends for us to use those blessings to bless others. If we are cautious to share our blessings so that others may be blessed as well, it may be a sign that those things have become idols in our lives.
It may not always begin with evil intentions, but we need to be very careful about how we view and use the blessings that come from God. The Israelites failed to use their blessings as God had intended and it would eventually lead to their downfall. It’s so easy to begin putting our focus on the gift rather than the One who gave us the gift. Instead, the blessings we have should be a constant reminder of how God has blessed us with those things. If we use those blessings as God intended, He will continue to bless us all the more (Luke 6:38).
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