Gargoyles & Idols ~ 2

A good Sunday morning to you all! The weather is once again cold, but sunny here. There is so much going on in the world that I believe we have to steep our hearts and minds in God's word to find our way. And so today  I'm going to put a finer point on the lesson from Chapter 25 of Meeting God in Quiet Places: the Cotswold Parables by F. LaGard Smith, simply because there are so many good thoughts to be had about worshiping idols. There are gods we don't recognize--money, food, television, sports, politics, or maybe even a religion that doesn't have much to do with God--anything that you put in the place of the one true God.

That has always been the problem. Think of Moses, who had delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt by parting the Red Sea, as he was on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. The Israelites were down below, worshiping a golden calf! And then there's Isaiah, who talked about a man who worshiped a god, which--like the gargoyles--he had made himself. Here is the scene he portrayed:

~

Half of the wood he burns in the fire;

over it he prepares his meal, he roasts

his meat and eats his fill. He also warms

himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see

the fire." From the rest he makes a god,

his idol; he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."

Does this man in Isaiah have something in common with the men who put gargoyles on churches? They don't see that there isn't any security in any god that they have created themselves--that they are trusting in their own weakness! LaGard has something to say about this, and I quote: "Never in our own time have paganism and Christian faith been so muddled together! Never have we as a society been more keen to hedge our spiritual bets, whether through the pluralistic acceptance of all religions, or through worshiping Mammon, the god of shopping malls, or even for literally worshiping ourselves!"

~

What is the end result? These "faith-substitutes" take us backward to ignorance, superstition, and spiritual darkness. And listen to LaGard's evaluation: "Given their ability to deceive us into thinking that we are secure when we are not, our gargoyles are more grotesque and menacing than we might ever imagine! Worst of all, they drain away our faith, leaving us more alone and fearful than ever before." That isn't a good prospect, is it? We end up trusting in our own fearful emptiness.

  Do you trust other gods or the power that created this?

So where can we put our faith and trust? We can be like the psalmist David, who proclaimed, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'." And when we trust in God alone, there is no terror too great, no illness that we can't face, nothing in this world can happen to us that we can't overcome. Gargoyles in whatever form are empty and powerless and cannot save us. But in sublime contrast, our God is alive and offers security and salvation!

Have a wonderful day, but give some thought to whether you have built up idols in your life. If you have, take time to destroy them and trust in God.

Blessings...Mimi

Gargoyles & Idols ~

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8

Notre Dame Cathedral

Today we're in Chapter 25 of Meeting God in Quiet Places: the Cotswold Parables by F. LaGard Smith. LaGard is looking at the gargoyles on St. Michael's church in his village and wondering why they're on a Christian church. But whether the gargoyles are on the facade of St. Michael's, Notre Dame or Westminster, they are a grotesque and menacing sight. Why are they there? What do they mean? 

Well, basically the gargoyles on the churches in London and Paris---as well as other places around the world--were put there to resist the evil in the world; each  one a talisman against the devil and his evil works of darkness. Unfortunately, they don't work. What in the world were the architects and churchmen thinking? No one and nothing protects us from evil except God! Why are Christians worshiping in houses with gargoyles on them? Is someone hedging their bets in regard to their security against evil forces?

Remember the old television show that asked: Who do you trust? Have you thought whether you're trusting in God or something else? Maybe you're hedging your bets by adding a cross or some other  idol to your life. The psalmist David had something to say about idols:  

                                                       

They have mouths but cannot speak,  

eyes, but they cannot see;                                        

they have ears, but cannot hear,

nor is there breath in their mouths,

those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them.

We have "In God we trust" on our money, but do we really trust in God? Or have we made an idol of something else? For the Israelites making their exodus from Egypt, it was a golden calf. For fear of vampires, there's a cross. For the pagan Goths, it was gargoyles--and evidently Christians as well. But there are other things we depend on to bring us security--something to fall back on in hard times: job security, credit cards, an insurance policy or pension fund. Or maybe it isn't just something material. It could be dependency on friends--the right friends and associates, of course. A college degree is dependable, isn't it? Support from our spouse is always there to depend on. No matter what you place your faith in, you must decide whether it's genuine security or counterfeit. 

Look at Israel's misplaced trust: they put their trust in horses, chariots, and political alliances and had a rude awakening. All their military strength failed them because "they did not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord." They had their priorities mixed up and they lost. Do you trust in God or in burglar alarms, security patrols and handguns? Handguns are a big item in today's world. I even know a preacher who makes guns one of his identifying marks. What does that say about his faith? 

LaGard says: "The problem with putting our trust in anything other than God is that it shrinks our view of God's infinite power. The specific details may vary, whether it's insurance policies, or handguns, or even relationships. But the real problem is that we worship a god too small." And he continues in the next paragraph, "Whatever is not of God is a gargoyle. Whatever is not of faith is only thinly masked paganism. It might as well be a wooden idol!" Hmmm...something to think about today. I'll add a little more tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day with the family!

Blessings...Mimi