The Futility of Idols
While
our culture conditions us to place great hope in our idols, the truth is that
they never permanently satisfy us. However successful we might be by the
world’s standards—through money, wealth, power, fame—we always hunger for more.
Regardless of how much we get, sooner or later we want more.
Most
of us try to sustain the illusion that we’re self-sufficient by denying our
emptiness. But the symptoms are undeniable. For some, this inner emptiness is
manifested in anxiety or anger. For others it’s a gnawing sense of alienation,
depression, or frustration. Still others experience it as relentless boredom or
apathy toward life.
Money, praise, poverty, opposition, these
make no difference, for they will all alike be forgotten in a thousand years,
but this spirit which comes to a mind set upon continuous surrender, this
spirit is timeless life.
Frank
Laubach
Some try to distract themselves from this hole-in-the-soul
by obsessing about work, sports, politics, or a hobby. Others numb themselves
to their inner pain with alcohol, drugs, or sexual addiction. But whatever
relief such strategies offer, it’s temporary. Sooner or later the painful
hunger returns.
As long as we refuse God’s invitation and continue to buy the lie that Life can be found outside of a relationship with God, we continue to think our problem is that we simply don’t have enough. If only we had more of our idol, we imagine, or perhaps if only we tried a different idol, then we’d feel alive. It’s all a grand illusion.
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