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2000-01-12 - You Are What you Worship
A friend of mine offered me some wild boar that he had recently bagged on
a hunting trip. I politely declined his offer. Then he informed me that the
boar was farm-raised on a diet of peanuts. This diet made the boar an exceptional
delicacy. Then with all seriousness he said, "you know, you are what you
eat." To which I replied, "well if I eat the boar, I guess I will be a nutty
pig!"
My family went to church every Sunday when I was growing up, and a few sermons
actually stuck with me over the years. It's funny how at 10 years old, they
made no sense, but at 40, I think maybe the preacher was onto something.
I remember one particular sermon where the pastor was admonishing the
congregation for not coming to church every Sunday; he said that whatever
you did on Sunday other than going to church was what you worshipped. As
a kid I just tucked that away in my mind and thought "gee, that makes some
sense, but seems a bit extreme to me. "
Recently while I was reading the Bible, that sermon from my childhood came
back to me in an interesting way. I thought, "we are what we worship; we
become what we worship." For example, some people worship crystals, stone
or rocks. These items are cold, hard and impersonal. In my opinion, someone
who worships a crystal or rock may have a tendency to become cold and impersonal.
A businessman like myself may worship work. This could lead to a personality
that ebbs and flows with how well or how bad business is going. When the
sales are up, the mood is up. When sales are down, the mood is down. Nothing
is consistent. I even know a few people who are depressed when the stock
market is down and exuberant when it is up! I am sure you can think of other
examples.
We Christ-followers claim to worship Christ, Who is God. And what is God?
The Bible tells us that God is Love.
1 John 4:8 (NIV) Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
When we worship Christ, we are striving to become like Christ. We never reach
that goal, but hopefully we continue to grow in our faith, minute by minute,
on this path. The following very-familiar passage will wrap all this up for
us.
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it
is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
To me, this passage is a perfect description of Christ. Christ is patient,
Christ is kind. Christ does not envy, Christ does not boast, Christ is not
proud. Christ is not rude, Christ is not self-seeking, Christ is not easily
angered, Christ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
If I am what I worship and I worship Christ, then I believe should be able
to insert my name where I have inserted Christ's name: David is patient,
David is kind, etc.
You are what you worship. What are you worshipping today?
Father, forgive us for worship worldly things. Forgive
us when we worship creation and not You the creator. Forgive us for not striving
to worship only You. Help us to become more and more like the perfect example
You sent for us to follow, Your son Jesus Christ. In His name, Amen.
David Massey
david@masseyre.com
www.cfdevotionals.org
www.peacewithgod.com |
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