My own handmade idol.

Psalms 135:15-18 "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them will become like them, so do all who trust in them."

(First off, I just need to acknowledge the fact that it's been a really long time since I have written. Some of the reasons for this are good and others, not so much -- procrastination and laziness, anyone?)

I have always been a pretty "crafty" person. No, I don't devise devious plans and scheme on how to thwart and sabotage those around me. I mean crafty in the most childish sense of the word. Glue, construction paper, cardboard boxes, crayons and paint, sewing needles and thread. Being homeschooled through most of elementary and junior high, I had plenty of time on my hands to perfect my craftiness. I made houses for my Barbies, clothing for same said Barbies, I drew pictures and colored, I even remember once attempting to make a pair of sandals from cardboard tape and other things -- if there was ever need that my parents would not buy for me (a need in my childhood mind, at least) I would set to work to make my own! I am pretty sure that I thought I could make just about anything...I remember getting very creative on some of these occasions.

I have begun to wonder, now, if this is a mindset that has stuck with me: If you want something, take it. If you want something to happen, make it happen. Basically, since childhood, our culture has taught us to manipulate our circumstances in order to cater to ourselves. Anything is possible if you just believe. Ugh. Puke in my mouth. If that was true, my life would look a whole lot different than it does right now. I think I would be a lot more comfortable, a lot richer, and a lot closer to some of the the life goals that I have.

More like, "Anything is possible if you just [make] believe." The problem with this statement is, we forget that God is the Sovereign One who controls EVERYTHING.
 
When I was reading in Psalms this morning, and I came across the verse above, the phrase "the work of human hands" stood out to me. I began to think of my life and all the situations I have taken into my own hands at one point or another -- work, finances, relationships, family, etc., etc. I could probably make a really long list of the times I have manipulated circumstances, spent hours planning and daydreaming, or spent money unnecessarily to get myself closer to some goal -- good or bad. (Perhaps I am alot more "crafty" in the scheming sense of the word that I thought.) 

Suddenly, it occurred to me: The moment I take something -- whether it be a circumstance, desire or relationship -- into my own hands, it becomes an idol. Idols, in the literal sense, were handmade gods, fashioned by people who believed that there was power in man made figurines and statues. What, really, is the difference between that and something I have chosen to take out of God's hands and make for myself? When I begin to idolize something, it means I have placed it's importance above the most important thing of all-- which is God and his glory.  I may think, "Surely, God is the most important thing in my life and I have placed nothing above him." But, even if I have begun to worry I have started the process of "idolization." If I am worrying, I have chosen to believe that God is not "God-enough" to care for things-- in which case, the next logical thing would be to do things for myself.

I have made a number of idols in my lifetime. There are idols I am struggling with at this very moment. The problem with idols is that they appear to be so real. They have eyes, ears and mouths. They look inviting and warm. But the truth is, they are counterfeits! In our humanness, we create and manipulate and scheme only to make fools out of ourselves. Sometimes, I believe, God allows us to make these idols. We look at the results and praise ourselves for a job well-done -- sometimes we even praise God for the idols we ourselves have made, fooling ourselves that things must be from God because they appear to be good. Until things fall apart because they were a product of our own fallibleness and humanity. For once we have come to rely on the things our own hands, and not God's, have made, we become the useless ones because we have stifled God's power by taking it into our own hands. "Those who make them will become like them."