A
Few More Thorns
This is the third of a three-part series, suggesting
that compromise with the wrong things can have disastrous results.
In Part One, we saw that the altars the people of Israel
allowed to remain constantly enticed them away from their God, and He no longer
helped them defeat their enemies. The
compromise they made gave rise to a metaphorical “thorn in their side” – a
constant disturbance to their relationship with God, and a persistent source of
temptation.
In our lives, we might compromise with certain things
that we know should be eliminated. We
fail to “tear down our altars”, getting rid of the things that pull us away
from God because, to be honest, we like whatever it is that God asks us to
release. In the end, that thing,
whatever it is, becomes a “thorn” to us.
In Part Two, I shared an example from my own life
when I failed to get rid of something I knew I should eliminate. I saw very clearly and powerfully how that
unreleased thing quickly became a “thorn in my side”, and robbed me of victory.
In Part Three, we will look at a few examples of
things that could be classified as an “altar” because they can become more
important to a person than God. We will
see how those “altars”, if left intact, can produce thorns, causing trouble and
pain to us and everyone around us.
These “altars” might be things, activities, or even
attitudes. Let’s take a look at a few of
them. We could cite many examples of each. Here are just a few.
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THINGS
Consumables – Legal and Otherwise
Any recovering alcoholic knows that it is not a good
idea to keep alcohol around the house. On
days when an alcoholic is not sober, getting the next drink is more important
to them than anything else. The same
holds true for drug use. The desire for
the next drink, the next fix, eclipses everything else. It doesn’t matter that family members are
hurt. It doesn’t matter that this
“altar” gets in the way of being close to God.
As the alcoholic or the addict gives in to the desire for a drink or a
fix, this addiction becomes a “thorn” that harms everyone around.
Now, you may be thinking, “I don’t have a problem
like that. I’m not an alcoholic or a
drug addict. No altars to tear down
here.”
Slow down a minute.
Let’s think about this.
What about that expensive Starbucks habit and the
frequent visits to your favourite fast food place that sucks money from your
family’s bank account and drains what you could have otherwise given to God’s
work?
What about that chocolate cake in the refrigerator,
or the super-size bag of potato chips in the cupboard that you know you
shouldn’t eat because you know it is not good for you. It harms your body, the temple of the Holy
Spirit
OK, OK.
Conviction is at work here. I am
sitting here at my computer with a glass of Coke Zero in front of me. This soda has been a big “altar” in the past
as I drank way too much of it to the harm of my body. I have been doing fairly well keeping this
altar torn down recently, but I have it here now, and I know where having it
around can lead. Excuse me a moment
while I go pour the rest of the glass down the drain………
