“Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (Jos 24:23 NAS77)
We are used to the quote a few verses ahead of this one. We have it on posters, quilts, pillows, framed pictures, tattoos, and plaques
Choose you this day whom you will serve.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
It sounds so spiritual and all, but I wonder; do we ever consider what it is we are pledging? What does it mean to serve the Lord?
I believe the answer begins with Joshua 24:23. God is interested in being one of many loyalties. He isn’t even interested in being the biggest or most important. He expects to be our only.
Now the problem nowadays is that we don’t think we have any other God’s. I mean, when was the last time you saw an Ashera pole in someone’s yard? Seen any shines in you neighbors back yard lately? Got a family altar? Nope, no little statues of Eagle-headed gods here!
Our god is whatever has our attention.
Maybe it is our comfort so the idol is our car and home. If it is financial security, our idol can be a fully vested 401k plan and a balance portfolio of stocks and insurances. How about fame and our 4327 facebook friends?
See it’s tricky. It’s easy to spot someone else’s god, but can we spot our own. What are the gods in your midst?