The other day I read the following verses in Isaiah 46. As I read them, I found myself wondering how Isaiah might have worded them in modern day America–
Here is how it is written in Isaiah 46:5-7:
5 “ To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
Here is Leslie’s Modern American Translation–
“ To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
They lavish gold to buy tickets for athletic events,
And they spend oodles of time watching screens;
They hire a trainer, and he makes the care of his body a god;
They miss church for their children’s sporting events, yes, they worship.
7 They dwell on these things
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
Of course, I am not saying it is wrong to watch sporting events, TV, or our children on an occasional Sunday morning. I am not saying it is a bad thing to take care of your body. I am, however, concerned about the priority these things take in many of our lives. They often start taking first place in our hearts. Sometimes I think I am caught up in these things unawares…and, all of a sudden, I realize they have eaten up a ton of time. And, yet, while these things are okay, and even good, in moderation, when we invest too much time in them, these things often become an idol for us.
When trouble comes, we cannot save ourselves with our TV, our sports, or our perfectly sculpted body. God is our help in time of trouble. He is our rock. He is our shelter. May we invest our lives in Him, so that we already know Him when trouble comes. May the other things that we do in life take second place to the God that loves us.