“Purging the Idols”
In the story of Jacob in Genesis, he works for 7 years for his beloved bride Rachel, but then his father in law tricks him into marrying her sister, Leah. So Jacob served for another 7 years to earn Rachel. I find my heart rooting for Rachel and Jacob. Fast forward to when they finally leave home…Rachel takes the household idols! Whenever I’ve read this, it feels like my head spins around five times and in my mind I’m yelling, “Rachel! What are you doing? Whyyyy?!” Although we could speculate, we will never understand fully why she did that. What the scripture is certain of is that they are hidden and in secret.
In the past, idols looked like statues that were worshiped and bowed to, whereas nowadays in our culture it’s important to recognize that idols may be much less obvious and subtle. For Rachel, it seems like she got stuck with what was comfortable to her. What have we become so comfortable with, that we are neglecting to recognize it as an idol or replacement for our God?
Reflecting on this past year, our family has been in a season of sanctification. Listen, we have 4 little ones, which fills our time in the best way possible, but at the end of our days, we are ready to relax. This used to look like cuddling up together to watch a show, or scrolling on socials. Like Rachel, I had grown too comfortable with these things in my life that I never even took the time to recognize their influence. Evaluating how we use our time, what we prioritize and what we think about can help us to identify our idols.
Recently, by the kindness of God, our shared Netflix account got canceled. So we chose to step away from vegging out in front of the TV at the end of our days. Socials though were still a distraction and time suck, until a friend shared that she was doing “only socials on Sundays.” I quickly jumped on board recognizing I needed a boundary and a reason! Oftentimes, now when Sunday rolls around, my hunger to space out on social media isn’t there anymore.
Instead of letting culture be the thing that feeds and influences us, we have chosen to better steward our time with the word, conversation, reading, and podcasts. The more we have nourished ourselves with these things, the more we hunger for them. We are in the pursuit of holiness and intimacy with the Father. We are all on a journey and in our own process, but it is essential that we purge our idols and continually evaluate what we’re putting our ears and eyes to, because they affect the meditation of our hearts and thoughts of our minds.
My challenge to you is this: reflect and realign yourself. What are moments or habits that you’ve formed that need sanctifying? How can you better steward your time to better connect with God? Is what you’re hungering for in alignment with the kingdom of Heaven? Finally, give yourself grace in the process; mega changes all at once do not stick, however when we are slow, steady and intentional we will grow.