Shrill cries rend the air
Groups of people trying to out-drown one another; as though there is a special place in heaven for those who can shout the loudest. Jump the highest. Dress the weirdest. Build the fanciest. Gather the largest.
Is this worship? Is this consecration? Is this sanctification?
What does the Bible say?
“true worshippers shall worship the Father (God) in spirit and in truth” John 4:23
and where?
“neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem“. John 4:21
Quite a slap in the face of bigots who specify this, that or the other place. Those who insist we must perform this, that or the other penance, traveling to this, that or the other far-off place – rolling, crawling – “generally piercing themselves with many sorrows” 1 Timothy 6:10. Of course, they also have the option of flying comfortably in special planes into grandiloquent airports.
Are we pleasing men or are we pleasing God? Are we concerned that our presence in the man-made temple (of God?) should be noted by the powers which built the temple or are we concerned about the state of our heart and righteousness of our deeds?
See what it states in the Acts of the Apostles Ch. 7
Yes,
47 ……..Solomon built Him a house.
48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest?
So, what must we do?
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God“. Micah 6:8
Coming to the New Testament, we find the immortal warning plus instruction:
“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 IDOLATRY (emphasis, mine), sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5
On the question of idolatry, the Ten Commandments is categorical:
Elaborating, the passage goes on to say: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” Ex. 20: 4-6
Idolatry is something God abhors and is mentioned in the Bible time and again. For instance, when the children of Israel are ready to enter the promised land, God lists curses and blessings. The very first item is a curse that goes (Deuteronomy 27):
15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place (sanctum sanctorum?). And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
Time also for those who dismantled the most, dug the deepest, declared finding the rarest, and orchestrated a verdict bizzarest, and paved the way for the deed darndest, to think again about
what really matters
Looking for a place in heaven?
“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Still looking for the temple of God?
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Cor. 3;16
Some of us may still be digging – here, there and that other place – in the hope that we will eventually unearth what we are looking for. And what are we looking for? a temple beneath a mosque beneath a temple…………….
Listen to this song by Fairfield Four. They too are singing about digging, but of a different sort (listen till the end and use earphones for best effect):