Christian Idols

And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."
(1Sa 15:22-23)

You might be thinking that the title of this article is an oxymoron, but it is not. In the context of the passage above, God commanded Saul to destroy everything in Amalek, but instead of obeying the commandment of God completely, he disobeyed it. And we have seen that from the time of Abraham to the time of judges, it was customary for the Israeli people of the covenant to offer sacrifice after a victory. And if you are thinking in a superficial way, it would seem that Saul had done a wise thing by offering to the Lord from the enemy’s flock which was better and wealthier than in Israel. But Saul considered offering burnt sacrifice more important than pleasing Lord, since to please God is to obey His commands. Saul’s idol was sacrifice, though it was not an idol by itself. It was actually a means to please God.

Many often, we Christians also make the means to worship God as the end. So it becomes an idol. I have given some examples of idols which many Christian community worships.

Some Christian groups, especially among the charismatic and the Pentecostal circles, say that to get the second blessings of the Holy Spirit, we need to be baptised by immersion. Baptism by immersion is a means by which new born-again Christians can worship Jesus. But instead of that, these Christians take baptism just for the sake of getting the gifts of Holy Spirit like tongues. So their end is to worship the gift of tongues rather than worshipping God.

Marriage is one of the blessings of a Christian from God. It is one of the means of sanctification to worship God, so that a Christian will understand the relation between Christ and the Church in a better way. But instead of having this as the ultimate end, many Christians, especially among the younger age group who are singles and recently married, have marriage as their ultimate end of worship. So many often, they forget the other duties of a Christian, like honouring parents, edifying other Christians, etc, for the sake of marriage because their god is marriage not Jesus.

Christian charity is a means to glorify God. Bible says that to give to poor is like giving loan to God. God has commanded Christians the ways to help the poor and needy. But if a Christian is not preaching the gospel, not active in a Church, not a good husband and a good father, then charity is an idol for him.

We Christians are called to be perfect in everything we do. God has commanded us to be perfect, since the Lord God himself is perfect (Mat 5:48). But many people quote this verse and be workaholic and worship their work, instead of Christ. Likewise, money can also become an idol.

Fellowship is very important for a Christian to grow because Christ has kept it as a means for encouragement and also for the edification of the saints from His Word. But if a Christian is attending a fellowship just for the sake of pleasing the people there, then it is an idol.

Finally for some even heaven can be an idol. Many Christians preach the gospel and believe in Christ because they just want to go to heaven. But even in a Hollywood movie they would show that the characters, who are doing every immoral activities under the sun, are going to heaven. If you ask an unbeliever, he would say that he is going to heaven or he wants to go to heaven. But the only difference between a truly regenerate person and others is that a true Christian will want to go to heaven to worship God till eternity. Whereas an unregenerate person would hate to worship God in heaven.

So these are some of the idols among Christendom. These aren’t idols by themselves. But they can become an idol for a person. But to find out whether it is an idol or not, we should ask this question: Am I getting the ultimate satisfaction and joy by doing this duty more than other duties which God has commanded me to do? If our answer is yes, then that is our idol. May God bless you all.

Work - A Blessing or a Curse?

I got a forwarded message from my friend about the problems faced by medical practitioners in India. Some of them were thought provoking. For example, only a doctor is forced to practice in rural centers  to be qualified even for applying for post graduation. It is considered as a treachery for a doctor to go abroad from India. According to NCHRC bill, Doctors are prohibited to involve in other occupations, other than practicing medicine. These are few of the many problems faced by us. These problems, I believe, are unique only for doctors. On top of that it will take atleast 10-12 years to finish superspeciality. Indian society has no problem for an IIT or an IIM graduate to go abroad. They are never asked to work in villages. In a nutshell, our society demands a lot from a doctor.

Since I am also a medical doctor, I know some of these problems are very difficult to face. I am not saying only medical profession is troublesome. The grass is always greener in the opposite side. In other words, each and every occupation will have its own ills and dangers. So why do we need to work? What should be the motivation for us to work?

Bible says that one of the reason why God created man is to work.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 

(Gen 1:28)

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 

(Gen 2:15)

We can see from Gen 2:15 that God has created man to work in Eden. Many Christians say that work is a consequence of our curse which we received after the first sin. But that's not true. Since God has created everything to be 'very good' (Gen 1:31), work was also considered to be good by God. After sin, God had cursed man and one of the curses is that our work, which was once pleasurable, would become difficult for us.

And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 

(Gen 3:17-18)

This is the reason for all the difficulties which we have in our vocation. Whether we are a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher, we all have trials in our work. This can be physical demands, mental pressure from superiors or dangerous work conditions. All these are due to the curse which God has given us for our sins. But as Christians, we have good news from God.

Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree," 

(Gal 3:13)

For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 

(2Co 5:21)

Since Christ has taken up all our sins and the righteous blood of the Lamb has been shed for our curse which we rightfully deserve in front of God, we have freedom in Christ from the bondage and the curse of the flesh. We are not considered as enemies in front of God but as children of righteousness and has been restored the relationship which Adam had before fall through the mediation of Jesus Christ.

So with this new relationship with God, we are commanded by Him to have new inclination in all that we do. As part of it, we should do our work for the glory of God. God has also revealed to us through Scripture on how to work for God's glory.

Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not human beings, knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 
(Eph 6:5-8)

Slaves in our present context can be the employees. As a Christian, an employee should work not to please the employers but to please God, since God is the one who gives us the vocation. In order to please God, we have to be the best even when the master is not watching us. And God will punish us if we are cheating by not working properly. As a student, we should study for the glory of God not just for passing in exams.

Masters, act in the same way toward them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality. 
(Eph 6:9)

God is giving instructions for employers also. An employer should not be unreasonable with his employee. He should not lord over him and torture him because he is given the authority by God and if he abuses it, God will punish him.

There are many blessings which God promises while we work for Him.

for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 

(1Th 4:10-12)

The advantage of having a work or a vocation is that through our work, we can not only support ourselves and our family, but also we can help others too. That is the reason for why Paul boasts about in 1Cor 4:12.

Only God's blessing would bring ultimate satisfaction for man, since man can be satisfied only by an infinite being, which is only God (Pro 27:20). Work or vocation should give us the ultimate satisfaction if we are doing it for God's glory. If we are not satisfied in our work, then its time for us to test our faith. God has not promised us that we would not have any troubles in our work after we are saved. But He does gives us the promise that He will be with us in all our trouble and his grace is sufficient all the time.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

(2Co 12:9)

Therefore, let us also be like Paul and boast about our weaknesses and troubles in our vocation so that His power may rest upon us. May God bless you all.

If you have liked this, you can also read Internship for the glory of God