You Are What You Worship

I've been reading through Isaiah and in chapter 44 Isaiah makes this long attack at the whole idol making process. The idea that people would create an idol from the same wood they use to burn for warmth or cooking. Throughout the passage he describes those who make idols as blind, even that their "eyes are plastered over" and I realized that he was attributing to people inanimate qualities. Then in Psalm 115 and 135 it says, "Those who make [idols] will be like them, and so will all who trust in them."

For years I have subscribed to the idea that when we worship God, spending time in His presence, we begin to live more like Him. But I had never thought what it would be like if we were worshiping something other than God. For those of you who understand that we are constantly worshiping this poses a serious issue. Most of the time in our current culture our worship is directed toward self, and I suppose the question is; do we simply become more like ourselves when we are worshiping ourselves?

I keep imagining this black-hole scenario. Where we are replicating ourselves, but since there can't possibly be more than one of us in the universe, we create a rip in the space time continuum and end existence as we know it. But all that aside, what happens to us when we worship ourselves? I have a suspicion that when we worship ourselves it is our sinful nature that is gratified. Our depravity becomes more depraved, and when we elevate ourselves to be as great as we think we are our weakness becomes even weaker. Our sins develop and we become further removed from the Incarnate God who is in this world and in our very breath. I suppose that by embracing our frailty as god is to slowly remove the life from our bodies.

God is truly the great Immanuel, God with us, in our breath and in our world. When we worship Him it's His qualities that become more apparent in our lives. His grace, love, and compassion begin to be shown to those around us and we live to give all the glory to our Father. Shalom.