18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
There is so much in those 4 short verses and I have had these verses in mind all month...what surprises me about 1John though, is how he ends. He has not spoken about idols in all 5 chapters. It is as if it is a PS: Oh, children...keep yourselves from idols.
On my walk today I was thinking about idols. What makes something an idol?
I think it is any thing or person that generates strong emotions and in which we think lies our happiness, safety and fulfillment. My idols are money and numbers.
Money because the lack of it makes me afraid and more of it makes me happy. Numbers, and this is a bit of a sneaky one but so amazingly pervasive...
Think about how numbers can make a difference in how you feel about yourself and others. How a number can make you feel discontent, insignificant and prideful; age, weight, size, miles run, hours spent, money saved, money earned. Everything we are comes down to numbers...numbers create a boundary in which we choose to live.
How often a day can be ruined by a silly number on a scale or written subversively in my wrinkles. How about a number on a pair of jeans, dress or shirt which is bigger or smaller than what we anticipated and how that can affect our day positively or negatively. That number has ruined many a young woman's life as that number has dictated whether she can eat or not. If a person has a number attached to their person as to the numbers of years they have been given to live, we choose to respect or not respect. A year of my life was thrown for a spin because I was turning an inevitable number...
What do you do with idols? You find them, you burn them and you repent from them and begin every day from that day forward to untangle the web of lies that idol has wrought upon your soul. Then you read the verses before verse 21...
18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
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