Good Things Made "Ultimate" Things

Maybe the hard thing is to recognize that all of us have "idols"... What is an "idol"?

You could say it this way... an idol is anything that you put in place of God in your life. Something you expect to meet a particular need that you have that only God can really meet. Something to which you give yourself, your passion, your time, your resources, your heart & soul above all else. Something you..well... worship.

And, it doesn't always start out with a bad thing. Sometimes "idols" are simply good things turned into ultimate things.

In Genesis 1, God made man and woman in his image and gave them a role to play in the ongoing creation story. He creates them and then says to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Two important verbs... subdue & rule

Subdue... the Hebrew word is "kabash"... You know that word, right? "I'm gonna put the 'kabash' on that thing...that idea... that proposition." If may seem negative to us, but it wasn't then. It carries the idea of structure, hierarchy, keeping order.

The other verb..Rule. The Hebrew word is "radah". It means to lead, direct, govern with authority. "Radah".

God was giving them authority to rule, govern, lead, direct, order the world around them. They were the only creatures in all of the creation story that got to partner, in a sense, with God. They were given "power" over all the rest of creation.

Maybe what's interesting is what ISN'T included in that role... power over each other. Politics, you might say. (Things that may you go... "Hmmm.")

Notice God's thoughts about it when he steps back to evaluate what he's created. In the verses following the charge to "radah" and "kabash", the Bible says this: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

Very good. Subduing. Ruling. Man partnering with God to help the creation efforts move forward with structure and order, under their leadership and supervision... "very good".

Is that how you see it? "Very good." Or would you say that something's changed... gone south. That "power" has become one of those good things turned into ultimate things?

The other thing about idols is that they can never deliver what they promise. They just can't. They fall short somewhere along the way because they were never intended to be the "ultimate" thing. They're finite. Temporary.

So... what's your thoughts about "power" as an idol? How does one seek to de-throne that idol? You can listen to my thoughts here, but I'd be interested to hear yours too.

Thoughts on power and it's draw AND disappointment. Thoughts on how we, as Christ-followers, should respond, reflect, restore, redeem the "good" that was originally a part of "radah" and "kabash".


Love wins!
Dave