Idols

One of the first lessons in Sunday School, besides the fall of Adam and Eve, was the story of the Ten Commandments. Every Easter, I would watch Charlton Heston part the Red Sea. Back then, idols were just big golden calf statues. I soon learned why there were so many idol references in the bible. Idols are things you worship. They are things you put before God. Most of us probably don’t think we have idols, but we do. We have made money our idol. We have put our jobs before our family. We have put our pursuit of wealth before our personal wellbeing. We have made social media an idol. We have made pleasure an idol. The bible says to put no other god before me. It's like God knows that we will make things more important than our relationship with him. He knows that we will choose entertainment over bible study. He knows we will choose to talk to our friends before we pray. The only way to turn away from idols is to first recognize we have them.

Whole World

I grew up in the church. I went to Sunday School. I sang in the youth choir. I memorized my Easter speeches. I sang, "He's got the whole world in his hands" loud, so everyone could hear. I remember thinking, "how big are God's hands?" I never remember having any doubt about who God was or if he existed. I just wanted to know more about his size. It was hard for me to imagine anyone being that big. Sometimes, I wish I could go back before I knew fear and doubt. I wish I could turn off my intellect. I wish I could go back to when I believed in this big God. I still do believe in this big God, but my actions don't always match my faith. I still do believe that He is in control, but my actions don't always show my surrender. I still do believe that my life and times are in his hands, but sometimes I forget how big his hands really are. They are big enough to hold the whole world, me and you, yo' momma and yo' cousin too!