Reflection: We Become Like Our Idols

     "One of the most disturbing instances of idol worship in the Old Testament is when the Israelites were waiting at the foot of Mt. Sinai for Moses to come back down. They decided Moses wasn’t coming back, so they demanded that Aaron make them a god. And he did!

     'And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands' (Acts 7:41).

     It’s easy for us to wonder what in the world was wrong with those Israelites. They had recently witnessed their Creator miraculously plague their captors. They had seen the cloud that baffled the Egyptian army while the entire nation of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land! They had eaten manna and had drunk water that poured from a rock. 

     And yet, when circumstances became a bit uncomfortable, the people who had witnessed God’s mighty works reverted to their ingrained way of thinking. Like children not yet able to comprehend anything they can’t see or touch, they preferred the work of their own hands. Oh, those silly, childish Israelites! Thank God we aren’t like that. 

     Truly, if you can say without hesitation you aren’t like that, thank God. I feel the need to examine my heart."