25 Jul 2017

I’ll Take A Bite Of That

by | posted in: Church, Culture | 11,907

There is a reason we follow recipes, to make something that is good and palatable, and also mostly because certain ingredients do not mix. One may change the type of cheese, or use almond milk instead of cow milk in a recipe. Because some ingredients may be different, they do not ruin the final product. It just gives it a different flavor. However, you may not replace the flower in pancakes with baking soda, because you would not end up with pancakes.

In the same way we must ensure we do not mix in outside worship of idols with the true worship of God. “Well”, one might add, “I only worship God”. Yes, by everything you understand you would believe that, but here lies my point. The worship of idols can sneak into the worship of God without it being obvious to us. Idols don’t always look like little brass statues that you can place on the mantle, though some of them might stick on the car window.

An idol that stands out is easily defeated, but one that slowly works its way in becomes natural and part of a culture. The mixing of idol worship and the worship of God may not seem distasteful to us, but is grossly unpalatable to God. This is where we come to the story of Balaam and Balak. In the book of numbers we find Balak, who was king over Moab, in fear of the Jews. He sends after Balaam knowing that “he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed”(Numbers 22:6). However, God warns Balaam to only speak what he is told. This does not go over well with Balak since Balaam ends up blessing Israel three times. Chapter 24 ends with Balaam telling what was to happen in the days to come and then vs. 25 of chapter 24 says “Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way”.

The next chapter begins with the Israelites playing the harlot with the daughters of Moab, feasting on food sacrificed to idols and bowing to them as well. So the question is what happened? Here was a mighty nation moving along and following God’s plan and all of sudden they are joined to Baal of Peor. We find the rest of the story of Balak and Balaam in Revelation 2:12-17.

Balaam could not curse the people; however at some point he taught Balak how to trip them up. The verse says to place a “stumbling block” in front of them. Balak placed food sacrificed to idols in front of them to eat and enticed them to commit acts of immorality. This false worship and immorality led to Numbers chapter 25 in which the Lord became angry with Israel.

So why did Israel not reject the food and worship of Baal? Simply put, the food looked good and the women were pretty. “And if all I have to do is bow, then I get hot food and hot ladies… I mean this is their culture and I want to be seen as relevant, besides I still observe the Sabbath”. These things don’t seem so wrong, at least after the 3rd and 4th time. The word for “stumbling block” could also mean “snare”. Those that hunt and fish know you don’t catch prey if the bait doesn’t look enticing and the snare or stumbling block is visible. One trips over the “block” because their eyes are focused somewhere else; they don’t see it for what it is.

So what does this mean for us? We are smart people and we have access to more information than a bunch of folks running around in the desert. But knowledge is not as valuable as wisdom. Knowledge knows what it is we do, and where we go, and where we spend our time and money. Wisdom tells us why we do it. Godly wisdom is the key in understanding which items in our lives are idols and which are true worship and which ones need to be prayed about further.

So now we come to the Church in America, which is more accurately the American Church. So what is it, you might ask, that I am getting at? That the idols have crept into the church, which means there are those of us that worship things other than or along with God. The problem is the idols are different for each of us. (James 1:14) We can worship our sexuality, our “cause” be it pro or anti this and that, or even our politics. A person running for office often becomes our savior if we are not careful. “He/she will fix everything, if we can just get them elected.” We can even begin to praise our government, singing its praises in a worship service. We sacrifice our Saturdays to give honor to our favorite sports teams, and spend our weekday nights at ball parks in service to sports.

Now is it wrong to be pro or anti this and that? Is it wrong to want good leaders? Is it wrong to watch sports and let your kids play them? Depends on what you are searching for. You see the problem is not with the meat. All things are made clean and we know that there are no other gods. However, our desire to have those “meats” drives us to compromise and worship the idols that are associated with them. There is nothing wrong with a child playing baseball; it is when the game becomes the desire of our heart, or when we praise our nation as though it is our savior. It is when we miss where the meat comes from that we are led astray. We believe that the idol provides the meat we desire, whether it be peace, justice, happiness, or protection. These things are to be sought from God. Dead idols can do nothing for us.

This brings us back to us, the church. When we are enticed by the things of the world, we must be careful that they do not become the object of our affection. Because when they do, we will mix them in our true worship. The idols will compete with our worship of God and if not thrown down we will bow our knee to them and give Sunday lip service to the one true God.

11907 Responses

  3. Consumer Behavior Poland
    | Reply

    Greetings I am so thrilled I found your blog, I really found you by accident,
    while I was browsing on Google for something else, Anyways
    I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a remarkable post and a all
    round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have saved it
    and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time
    I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the fantastic jo.

    Also visit my web page … Consumer Behavior Poland

  15. PS4
    | Reply

    This article gives clear idea in favor of the new visitors of blogging, that
    really how to do blogging.

    my web page :: PS4

  16. slot topcer88
    | Reply

    Normally I don’t read article on blogs, however I wish to say
    that this write-up very compelled me to take a
    look at and do so! Your writing style has been amazed me.
    Thank you, quite nice article.

    my blog post – slot topcer88

  21. slot gacor hari ini
    | Reply

    I was curious if you ever considered changing the page layout of your website?
    Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
    But maybe you could a little more in the way of content
    so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images.
    Maybe you could space it out better?

    Feel free to visit my web page; slot gacor hari ini

  22. Guest posting tips
    | Reply

    I’m not sure the place you are getting your information, however good
    topic. I must spend some time learning more or figuring out more.
    Thank you for wonderful information I was on the lookout for this information for my mission.

    My website … Guest posting tips

  23. PS5
    | Reply

    Hey! I know this is somewhat off-topic however I needed
    to ask. Does managing a well-established website such as yours take a massive amount work?
    I’m brand new to writing a blog however I do write in my journal daily.
    I’d like to start a blog so I will be able
    to share my personal experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring
    bloggers. Thankyou!

    Also visit my site: PS5

  24. topcer88 login
    | Reply

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally,
    it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
    You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos
    to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

    Here is my web site :: topcer88 login

  25. topcer88 login
    | Reply

    Whats up very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I
    will bookmark your blog and take the feeds additionally? I am satisfied
    to seek out a lot of useful info here in the put up,
    we want work out extra strategies on this regard, thank
    you for sharing. . . . . .

    Also visit my webpage … topcer88 login

  26. PS4
    | Reply

    Very nice post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
    In any case I’ll be subscribing for your feed and I am hoping you write once more very
    soon!

    My web blog: PS4

  29. spawacze
    | Reply

    I do not know whether it’s just me or if everybody else encountering problems with your blog.
    It appears like some of the text on your content are running off the screen.
    Can someone else please comment and let me
    know if this is happening to them too? This may
    be a problem with my web browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
    Thank you

  34. dat transfers punta cana
    | Reply

    Its like you read my mind You appear to know a lot about this like you wrote the book in it or something I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit but instead of that this is fantastic blog An excellent read I will certainly be back

  44. mexican blankets
    | Reply

    Pretty component of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that
    I acquire in fact loved account your blog posts. Anyway I will be subscribing on your feeds and even I fulfillment you
    get admission to persistently quickly.

    Also visit my web site: mexican blankets

  45. mexicanthreads.com
    | Reply

    My spouse and I stumbled over here coming from a different web
    page and thought I might as well check things out.
    I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking over your web page repeatedly.

    Also visit my blog … mexicanthreads.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *