This Sunday was Laity Sunday, but in Oxford I was given a raincheck, meaning that I preached and led the service and the second Sunday of November will be when Oxford observes Laity Sunday. Our message came from the passage in Exodus where the people ask Aaron to make a golden calf for them that they might worship it as their god. This occurs while Moses is up on the mountain being given the Law from God. Needless to say, when God finds out, the people are in a bit of trouble, and would be in more if not for Moses interceeding and pleading on their behalf.
Often times the focus in this passage is on the golden calf that the people had made, but I suggested that it was not so much about the object as it was about the people's attitude toward the object. In other words, it wasn't that a calf made of gold was necessarily a bad thing, it was the fact that the people said it was their god and began to worship it. The passage is fundamentally one about idolatry (worshipping something other than God). At its core, idolatry is putting anything before God. This could be something bad, something neutral, or even something good.
I then suggested several things that can become idols in our lives:
*Food - For some people eating is primary in their lives, and while food is essential for life, for some it takes an unhealthy place in their lives, and begins to control them.
*Drink - For many certain types of drink can control their thoughts and actions. Beverages containing alcohol can completely consume some people's entire lives, but even drinks like coffee have great power over some. For example, if you are a coffee drinker, try going without your daily cup or two of coffee and see how you feel.
*TV - Some people find themselves unable to miss a particular television show. They will re-arrange everything else in their lives in order to watch that program. This can get to the point where it controls their lives, and if for some reason they miss that show, it can even "ruin" their day.
*Drugs - Many, if not all people who begin down the path of drug use, eventually find themselves addicted. Once addiction sets in, it is very difficult to break and persons have been known to do terrible things in order to continue to feed their addiction.
*Gambling - Gambling pervades our culture. It is in common vernacular ("wanna make a bet"), it is connected with other forms of entertainment (sports, etc), and it is largely viewed as an "OK" thing. But for some, gambling can take control of their lives, leaving the person willing to sell anything in order to continue to gamble, always believing that the next bet will be the "one".
Up to this point my list centers around addiction and things people commonly become addicted to. Many of you reading this may be feeling pretty good about yourselves thinking that you obviously don't have any "golden calves" in your life. But wait there's more:
*Money - There is nothing intrinsically wrong with money. It is what we use to purchase goods and services that we need or desire. Nothing wrong with that, but for many people, money becomes an end in itself. It becomes their goal, to get money and lots of it. They lose sight of the reality that money is only as valuable as the goods and services that it brings you, and ultimately in the joy that you derive from those goods and services. For some money controls their every action and what they don't realize is that the more money a person has, the more control that money will have over their lives.
*People - Many people have no problem with any of the above. Instead their golden calves are the people around them. Their friends and family become idols for them. Remember idolatry is putting anything before God. Also remember that there was nothing wrong with a calf made of gold, it was the people's attitude toward that calf that made it idolatrous for them. The same is true for the people in our lives. Many people feel they are doing "OK" and even doing good, when their entire life revolves around other people. I often hear parents who talk about how their lives are literally run by their children's schedules. In our society this is lifted up as a good thing, as being responsible and involved. The only problem with such thinking is that if your life is revolving around a child, friend, spouse, or anyone else, then it is not revolving around God. Anything that you put before God in your life is idolatrous. (This is not to say that parents should neglect their children, spouses should neglect one another, or that families should not spend time together. God does not want that either. But God does want to be first in your life, and anything less is idolatry).
Now I'm sure that almost everyone can relate with one or more of these "golden calves", but I've got one more that I'm pretty sure will touch each and every one of you:
*Yourself - For many of us, number one in our lives is ourselves. Heck, we say it all the time ("I've gotta look out for number one."). Most all of us are like the egocentric three year old that thinks the world revolves around us, except as adults we've learned to not come right out and say it. Look at the way we talk, even in church for example: "This is my church", "It's my faith", "My God", or "I need some me time". I could go on and on with such phrases that betray our selfishness and self-centerdness, but something tells me that if we are being honest with ourselves we know this and can see it right away.
So you're right we don't literally bow down and worship golden calves anymore, but we certainly do still have problems with idolatry in our lives, and have more than enough "golden calves" to deal with.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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