America's Idols

(Proverbs 29:3 KJV)  Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.

This would seem to be a rather extreme comparison.  The contrast of wisdom and fornication is jarring.  It would also seem that the two are totally incompatible. 

“Harlots” (2181) is based on the idea of adultery.  If it is used literally this is a clear, simple statement.  We live in a culture saturated by sex.  We hear of studies all the time that tell us things are not different in the church than in the world.  We nod our heads, act shocked and go on about our business.  When the church starts accepting the standards of the world it is a long way toward no longer being the church.  God has standards.  He demands that we have standards.

This term could also be used figuratively.  If it is used figuratively, it means idolatry.  This applies to us today as much as then.  We live in the illusion that because we don’t have idols of Baal in our churches and don’t throw our first born into the furnaces of Moloch that we no longer have idols.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Idols are alive and well.  The gods of those idols may have changed their costumes but they are still there.  Think about the Greek and Roman pantheons that you studied in school.  Each god is associated with a part of life.  Venus represents love and beauty, translated sex and glamor.  Bacchus represents strong drink, translate drunkenness.  I don’t remember them all but every aspect of life had a god in charge.  You gave offerings based on what you wanted.  Today we offer our lives up to Venus by being consumed with looking attractive.  We invest in creams and lotions.  We join health clubs and buy workout equipment.  We dress ourselves up to be attractive to the opposite sex.  We don’t throw our children into the fire any more but we send them off to the public schools with little thought or, even worse, put them in day care.  I understand that there are some situations where that is necessary, but to be honest I believe most of the time the real reason is that second car, the expensive vacation or even a large pledge you made to the building fund at church.

So?  Seek wisdom instead of image.  Please.  Spend more time in the Word than you do in magazines or on line.  Don’t jog until you have run the race.  Work on your priorities.