SNARE ALERT!
Gideon is such a reminder to me about objects we treasure. In Judges 8, after winning a great victory and not willing to rule over the Israelites, he asked them for gold earrings that the Midianites wore to make an ephod. Not sure why he wanted to have an ephod made since only the priest wore them. Perhaps, he wanted a trophy symbol of the victory over the Midianites. He placed it in Ophrah, his town, but all Israel "prostituted themselves by worshiping it there and it became a snare to Gideon and his family."
Interesting how an object meant to remind the Israelites of God and His victory over the Midianites, became an object to worship. There must be a very thin line that we can maintain between praise for an object, an event, a person and "worship" of it allowing it to become my focal point, an IDOL. Obviously, we may not be cognizant that we have moved into worship, and that is exactly how the evil one would design it. He loves to see us caught up, snared, entrapped like an animal, in something we perceive as good or maybe a need.
So much good and well meaning persons, places, or things can become that snare. Perhaps we need to frisk our treasures and scrutinize our feelings and thoughts about them asking ourselves very pointed questions. The whys? What ifs? If I were to lose this? Can I survive without? How important? For me, self-deception is the hardest to detect. Today, oh LORD, YOU know my propensities toward treasures, alert me to be pure in heart toward them and you. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 FREE AND ALERT!
Interesting how an object meant to remind the Israelites of God and His victory over the Midianites, became an object to worship. There must be a very thin line that we can maintain between praise for an object, an event, a person and "worship" of it allowing it to become my focal point, an IDOL. Obviously, we may not be cognizant that we have moved into worship, and that is exactly how the evil one would design it. He loves to see us caught up, snared, entrapped like an animal, in something we perceive as good or maybe a need.
So much good and well meaning persons, places, or things can become that snare. Perhaps we need to frisk our treasures and scrutinize our feelings and thoughts about them asking ourselves very pointed questions. The whys? What ifs? If I were to lose this? Can I survive without? How important? For me, self-deception is the hardest to detect. Today, oh LORD, YOU know my propensities toward treasures, alert me to be pure in heart toward them and you. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 FREE AND ALERT!
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