Hungry god

My sister called me last night with the most hilarious story. From time to time my sis will indulge in a pedicure at her favorite little nail salon. Apparently at this salon there is a religious statue that sits near the pedicure chairs. Each time Laurie has gone in she notices there is a plate of food in front of this statue. Sometimes its fruit. Sometimes is rice. Not sure what his diet plan is but there's always something there.

Yesterday when she went in, she noticed a cup of coffee in front of this god. Apparently, he needs caffeine later in the day to help him stay awake. The only thing was, this coffee was in a styrofoam cup and it had a dead bug in it! Now, I don't know about you, but if I'm serving my god a cup of coffee, I'm not going to give it to him in a cheap cup. I would at least use china. And I certainly would not give my god coffee with a dead bug in it!

Does this strike anyone else as odd??? I mean, what kind of god do you worship that relies on you for food and drink? I rely on my God for food and drink, not the other way around. Please hear my heart on this. I am speaking in a tone of compassion and disbelief (with a little sarcasm mixed in). How sad it is when people substitute the real deal with a cheap imitation.

The Lord addresses the issue of idols throughout the book of Isaiah. One of my all-time favorite passages is Is. 44:13-20 (slightly cropped for the sake of space).

"The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory. (The wood) is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it. 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."

They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?" He cannot save himself or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

Do you hear God's tone in this passage? I can almost hear Him slapping His holy forehead and saying, "I can't believe these people!" It's easy for me to spot the idol in the wooden god. I point and say, "Ha! How ridiculous!" Yet, what am I serving other than God? Am I truly "idol free"? How many times do I look to other things to save me instead of the Living God?

As a Westerner, I crack up at the thought of serving food to a statue that was made on an assembly line. As a Christian, I cry at the thought that these people are so oblivious to the Savior that loves them and that truly has the power to save. As a finite created being, I marvel at the God who is completely independent of me. I'm amazed at the God who keeps my heart beating and the earth spinning.

No, I don't serve coffee (bugs or no bugs) to my God to help him stay awake. But I do long to serve Him with my life. I long to represent Him in such a way that people of all tribes and tongues would see His transforming power in me...and believe IN HIM!