So, if you are still reading at this point and are not totally freaked out by my introduction, here we go with “What I Am Learning”.
This study is based on 2 Kings 17: 33 and 41 which says, “They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods. Even while these people were worshiping the Lord they were serving their idols.” Well, that certainly gave me cause to pause!! I remembered Jesus words in Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16: 13 when He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” I began to ponder on whether I was currently or had ever worshiped the Lord, yet also served my own gods. Sad to say, I had to admit that I had done just that all too many times.
The next concept that ‘assaulted’ me was that of idols. Kelly Minter included a quote from The Peacemaker 2006 p.13 by Ken Sande that said, “Most of us think of an idol as a statue of wood, stone, or metal worshiped by pagan people….In biblical terms it is something other than God that we set our heart on, that motivates us, that masters and rules us, or that we trust, fear, or serve…..An idol can also be referred to as a ‘false god’ or a ‘functional god.’”
A functional god. This was certainly a new way to think about an idol or a false god. Kelly says of this term, “I especially like the use of this phrase because sometimes it’s easier for me to determine what functions for me as a god as opposed to what is false. (p.14)” I could certainly wrap my mind around that thought and began to think about the functional gods I had clung to in my life. Anorexia, control, anxiety, body image, money, job and many others. I even had to admit that sometimes something that should be a good thing might become a functional god such as church work or ministry.
I could type on and on about what I learned from just one day of study but I’ll close with a quote that Kelly gave us (p. 15) that hit me squarely between the eyes. It is from John Calvin (C.J. Mahaney, The Idol Factory 2001 p.2) and it says, “The evil in our desire typically does not lie in what we want, but that we want it too much.” My functional gods are those things that I want too much. They are the things that I want more than I want God. Think about that with me.
