What Is Most Important To You? - 8/11/2016

What Is Most Important To You?

Jeremiah 10:3-5 NLT

³ Their ways are futile and foolish.
    They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. ⁴ They decorate it with gold and silver
    and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
    so it won’t fall over. ⁵ Their gods are like
    helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
    and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
    for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

The ESV translation starts verse 3 as “for the customs of the peoples are vanity.” Vanity comes from the word vain which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as “not producing a desired result” and “having no real value.” Other words that come to mind are futile and worthless.

To me, when something is futile, you are not going to get anywhere or anything from it. This came to reality for me during the 2008 flood here in Cedar Rapids. I remember going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids building to move everything from the 1^st floor to the gym on the 2^nd floor. We thought, surely that will be high enough to save everything. Everyone worked very hard. Some of the items we moved were extremely heavy. When we finished we felt so accomplished. When I got back to the van to go to the next stop I was amazed that the water (which had not been there when I parked) was up to the axles. I remember thinking that we got everything moved just in time.

The other instance that came to mind was the older gentleman that would not leave his house because the pump in the basement was not working. Nothing was coming out of the hose on the outside of the home. By this time there were 2’ to 3’ wide streams running down the streets. By this time I knew that getting the sump pump going would be a futile and worthless venture. The only way we were going to get him to leave was to get that pump going. I looked in the basement and the water was a few feet deep already. Without any thought of my own personal safety I took off my socks and boots, rolled up my pant legs and started climbing across the different items that were still above the water. The whole time I was thanking God that He was keeping me safe. I was so thankful the plug was in the ceiling. After several minutes I realized the hose was kinked. Once straightened out the pump started running and we were able to get the home owner to safety.

They both lost everything. The flood waters got to places we never imagined. It gave new meaning to futile and worthless, at least in the sense of our actions. By the grace of God our efforts to get people out of harm’s way were not. No lives were lost due to the flood.

In this passage from Jeremiah the Lord teaches us that putting our faith in anything but Him is futile and the things that we put our faith in are worthless. The idols the craftsman created were manmade. The shapes that they created were often of things already in the world. In Isaiah 40:18-20 we read that there is nothing that can compare to God, nothing can resemble Him. To think that we can make a “god” out of wood or precious metals is foolish. It is worthless. It is futile.

What is really sad is that we do this today. We may not carve or cast the image, but we idolize people and the things of this world. It is easy to fall into that trap. Satan is good at making things desirable, so much so, that we begin to idolize and worship them. Colossians 3:5 tells us that anything that we value more than God is an idol.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he writes:

²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. (Romans 1:22-25)

I am in no way saying we cannot enjoy what God has given us; just don't put it about Him. Don’t trade the truth about God for the lies that Satan tries to sell us. Enjoy the beauty of nature; it is the canvas that God painted. Enjoy one the people around you and thank God we are not alone. Be thankful for the needs that one way or another God provides for us. Love like Jesus. Thank God that He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for all of us for nothing He has done, is doing and will do is futile and worthless. Amen!