Isa
44:14-17 (ESV) He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and
lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the
rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and
warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and
worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he
burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied.
Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the
fire!" 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down
to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are
my god!"
NOTE: Nearly all of
us would agree without hesitation that this person, described in these verses,
is stupid. But we still have idols today, they are just more sophisticated. So,
how do our idols today compare to the idol worshipper of yesterday? Our idols
are still fashioned by our own hands. They also come from multi-use materials.
Some idols have useful features, they transport us or entertain us or provide
information for us. For the most part, our idols costs us some sacrifice,
usually in the form of money, a direct measure of labor on our part. At this
point, one might argue that I have only described items of usefulness, that
while nice, are hardly things that we worship. That could be true. What I see
is people looking for happiness in items and believing that the momentary
happiness is worth the cost. This is where the items are like gods. God alone
can satisfy the inner soul of our being. We try temporary physical items and
physical pleasures to fill that emptiness. In the end, they always fail to meet
the real need of our soul. So, we work for a new item or thing that we believe
will make us really happy. We do this, even though we know it has never worked
before. And so, are we really any smarter than the person Isaiah described? Or
do we just exhibit sophisticated stupidity?
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