I recently heard teaching that included a discussion about idolatry. Now I’ve always known that idolatry means worshipping something or someone other than God but I’ve never thought very deeply about it. After all, it can be easy to give yourself a clean bill of health in the idolatry stakes when you use the language of “worship”. “I worship God, I praise Him at church, I talk about Him with friends, I read the Bible…I’m not worshiping other gods”.
But am I? One of the speaker’s comments was, “You become a slave to the thing you worship”, and so I asked myself a different question. “What have I become a slave to?” My answers were very different. For example, I might say “I don’t worship money” but am I a slave to my finances, to always wanting to accrue more to pay for the things I ‘need’? I might say “I don’t worship fashion” but am I a slave to my appearance, to having ‘trendy’ things to wear? I might say “I don’t worship that person” but am I a slave to their opinions, to making them happy, to seeking their approval?
A few days later I came across this Jewish prayer which challenged me further.
“Sovereign of the universe, it is well known to you that our will is to do your will. [But] what prevents us? The yeast in the dough[1] and [our] enslavement to other kingdoms. May it be your will to save us from them so that we can once more fully perform the statutes of your will”.
A prayer by Rabbi Alexandri (Berachot 17a)[2]
In the context of this prayer “enslavement to other kingdoms” is a literal reference to Israel’s inability to freely practice the Jewish faith while they were suffering “at the hands of ruling authorities”[3]. But it spoke to me about our own inability to fully know and perform the will of God when we are enslaved to other things, when other “kingdoms” or kings dominate our lives. You might spot physical signs. I know for me this can mean that life just feels heavy, burdensome, like I’m wading through mud! Anxiety levels rise, shoulders tense, sighs expelled. But as this prayer expresses, there is hope. Just as God moved powerfully to save Israel from Egypt so they could worship him at Sinai, He has also moved powerfully to provide a route to freedom for us through Jesus.
Quoting Isaiah 61:1 Jesus declared,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Luke 4:18-19
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- Are there areas of your life where you are enslaved? To people, things, attitudes?
- If you are able, why not try sharing them with someone you trust and start asking Jesus to set you free to be ruled by Him alone.
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[1] i.e. our sinful nature.
[2] Quoted by Brad Young in “The Lord’s Prayer (6) “Thy Will Be Done””, Jerusalem Perspective, 1 Jan 04. http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/
[3] Brad Young, as above.
