Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Revelation 22:14-15
We’re so advanced. We know the sun is just a big ball of fire. We can understand why the ancients worshiped it, lacking the knowledge of astronomy that we have. But still. Seems a little silly now. Good thing we’re better enlightened.
Not too long ago I saw a billboard encouraging people to go and tour the Jack Daniel’s distillery. The billboard said: There are road trips and then there are pilgrimages.
And here’s a funny little meme for you: “For God so loved the world that he gave us coffee.” That one seems pretty cute, basically harmless, but think about what words “coffee” has replaced.
We’ve gone from worshiping the sun to worshiping… what? Our morning pick-me-up and our evening help-me-get-over-it.
And in between there is the entertainment.
“We come to ___ to laugh, to cry, to care. Because we need that, all of us, that indescribable feeling we get… not just entertained, but somehow reborn.” If you think “church” or “Jesus” should go in the blank, good for you, but you’re wrong. The words I took out are “AMC theaters” from an ad with Nicole Kidman.
Ah yes, the movies– where we watch people with all of these problems and we want to shout at the screen: God can help you! Jesus loves you! Why don’t you pray?! Or go to church?!
But they don’t. They find their consolation, their direction, their epiphanies elsewhere.
Same goes for the singers of popular music. Who needs God if sex can take you to paradise, romantic love can be just like a prayer, and “take me to church” can be an invitation to hop into bed? Why do I need Jesus if I can “just keep the wheels rolling, radio scrolling ’til my sins wash away?”
Is it just me, or do you see a problem here?
In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis wrote:
The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them…These things…are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers.
Trying to find spiritual satisfaction in physical pleasures is a losing proposition. God has given us many wonderful things to enjoy, and so we should enjoy them! But we have to recognize their limitations.
Mankind has indeed come a long way in his understanding of the natural world. Yet even scientific knowledge has become a god to some. We human beings still so often fail to see that the knowledge points to God. Art points to God. Even pleasure points to God. But nothing in this world is meant to replace God.
Yes, it was foolish to worship the sun because it’s just a big ball of fire. But it was also pointless because the sun is temporary. We are just as foolish when we worship temporary things. In heaven there won’t be any more sun, “for the Lord God gives them light,” (Revelation 22:5). If we want to “have the right to the tree of life” and to “enter through the gates into the city,” we need to understand that there will be no idolaters in heaven either (Revelation 22:14-15).
Beautiful music, sex, good food and drink… all of these prod at that space of longing inside each of us. But as Lewis points out, they can never quite satisfy, not completely and certainly not permanently. They can give us a glorious feeling for a very short time. But we’re not supposed to make that temporary feeling into a god nor to worship the things that can give it to us. At their best, pleasure and beauty are meant to move us toward the One who created them, for He alone can satisfy us permanently.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Psalm 107:8-9
Dear God, You’ve given us so many wonderful blessings to enjoy, yet sometimes we let them have greater importance in our lives than they deserve; greater importance even than You. We humbly ask You to reveal to us any idolatrous tendencies in our lives and cleanse us from such sin. We know that You alone are worthy of worship and You alone can bring true fulfillment to our hearts. For this we praise You, Almighty God! In Jesus’s name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Song references: “Locked Out Of Heaven” by Bruno Mars; “Like A Prayer” by Madonna; “Take Me To Church” by Hozier; “My Church” by Maren Morris
Related Reading:
Walk Worthy 
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