Original Entry: April 16, 2008
McMinnville, OR
Do I mean that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20
About a year ago I received a phone call from a man begging me to purchase a rifle he had for sale. Without going into details the gun was a stainless steel light weight youth edition wit h a synthetic stock and topped with a 3 x 9 Leopold scope. When I saw the gun I estimated the total cost at around 700 dollars but this guy begged me to buy it hundreds less, which happened to be the exact cost of an out of state tag he was applying for!
I knew this guy and I knew of his family. He had recently lost his home, business, and integrity because of what I would call an addiction to hunting. He was at the place of selling off everything he owned, even his guns, to purchase the next trophy tag. He had literally sacrificed his family to pursue his idol of hunting. He was drowning in a pig pen of sin.
“So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything” (Luke 15:15-16).
We have a unique dilemma in America. Our great wealth has caused us to spend our disposable income on American idols. Taking this passage out of context, it struck me that we do not place animals on the altar and sacrifice them to some demon god, but we do sacrifice much to pursue the American idol.
How many souls of children have been sacrificed to the idol of career? How many families have been sacrificed to the idol of pornography, adultery, and selfishness? How many unborn babies have been sacrificed to the god of “choice?” How many marriages have been offered to the idol of consumer debt? My stomach is sick with the sacrifices “men” (they are less than boys) have made to the American idols.
Is it really worth it?
Play out your life to the end. Who will receive all your trophies? Will those who ultimately inherit your trophies be the same ones that you sacrificed years earlier? Think about that one. Is that debt that will lead you to work harder and longer hours really worth the relationship you have with your kids? Is climbing the corporate ladder really a greater price than tipping the ladder your marriage leans on? Are your weekend warrior pursuits of selfishness and hedonism really worth missing weekend worship services?
Is it, really?
Henry Cloud wrote, “Play the movie.” What idols are you sacrificing your key relationships to?
