"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Sunday, August 8, 2010
From the message in church today. This isn't an exact quote, though I was taking notes as fast as I could. The message was from Acts 4-5
We are programming ourselves to death, so much so that we miss the point of the Gospel. The early church was out of step with the world system. Because of this, the early church had influence, inviting notice and persecution.On a related note, read this post by our favorite Author-Pastor-Blogger, and check out the very interesting conversation in the comments thread as well.
We're not turning the world upside down. We're letting the world turn us inside out.
I'm praying that Christians will have an influence on culture in the way God wants us to. In Ephesus Paul the the disciples preached against the idols and the culture was turned upside down economically. At least that's what I understand happened.