*Disclaimer: This post may offend you. I also do NOT know everything, and these are my personal opinions. So please bear that in mind when reading this post. Consider yourself informed.

I've been trying to go to bed. But either the night is too warm, or I'm too frustrated.

It's probably both.

So I'm trying to figure out just what's bugging me.
I guess there's a lot.

So it seems to me that the topic of idolatry has come up several times.
I've had to question myself as to what that means.
Coming from a South East Asian country, most of us figure it to mean a physical object that depicts some god or goddess.

But I'm just thinking... sometimes more subtle things can become idols. Things that could be good. Things that start to make us love God less. For example...

Property. Most people who are trained in econs will probably tell you that you should buy a house before you buy a car. Property appreciates but cars depreciate. Good thing to have, right? But what for? Putting aside the accumulation of wealth, a lot of people would say they buy property to have some security. So... security means having a house? So what happened to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding?"

How about love? Here's a tricky one coz most of us will define love differently. But humour me. I shall stick to the popular perspective of love. Some of us can become slaves to our emotions. Some of us already have. And I'll be the first one to admit that I'm one of the most vulnerable to this. I can be so caught up in wanting to feel good, to feel loved, to feel accepted, to feel appreciated, to feel wanted. But in the end, emotions are subject to situations. How we feel often distracts us from the truth. I will often go through periods when I don't feel loved. Does that mean I'm not loved? Far from it! The Bible tells me that nothing, absolutely NOTHING can seperate me from the love of God.

The TRUTH of the matter is that neither angels nor demons (yeah, all those hantu and kiong si or whatever demons you have in your head), neither the present (what comes today) nor the future (2 minutes from now), nor any powers (your boss, your government, your parents), neither height (think Mt. Everest and above) nor depth (imagine being swallowed by an earthquake), nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's the truth. Whether I choose to believe it or not. Whether I feel that way or not. There it is.

Ok, some people say, "I just want to be happy. I don't care how I get it, I don't care about the future, I just want to be happy". Happiness is a strange thing. You know, the wisest man in the world says "Laughter is foolish".

Really? You sure he's the wisest man on earth? Who in their right mind would say that?

He even goes on to question, "What does pleasure accomplish?"

Quite a good question, I think.

One most of us have probably never really tried to answer for fear that we will come to only one conclusion.

Ok, maybe we should talk about knowledge. Most people would agree knowledge is power. Great thing to have. I'm definitely pro-education. Up to a point. God gave us brains for a reason. We should use it to glorify Him. The problem is when we start getting a little too smart for our own good. When we start abusing the knowledge we have. Or we start bashing people who just aren't as well-informed as us. I like how Paul puts it. "We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God". (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)
So knowledge, too, can become an idol.

So far I've covered security, love, happiness and knowledge. Each of these things, and many more can become our idol. Many people I know pursue money which seems to buy not just objects, but security. I'm once again reminded of Job who had everything his heart desired. He was not a wicked man. In fact, he was a righteous man. But everything was stripped from him. Wealth that had been accumulated over many years gone in the blink of an eye. How many of us can guarantee that we will not suffer the same fate?

Love. The bible is very clear. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of ANYTHING that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth". (Emphasis my own). I can speak from my own personal experience that my idols weren't cast in iron. They were made of flesh and blood. Some were pretty decent-looking. Not scary at all. Looks like the guy next door. Kinda sweet and funny. Gentle and caring.

Lovely to look at. Nice to hold. Put him right back, before your soul's sold.

I know, it's quite a cute line, isn't it? But seriously.
I've often questioned myself as to what the all-mysterious will of God is. What exactly IS that?

It's quite simple, really. I was shocked to find out.
But God's will is for us to be holy.
That's it.
But holiness comes with a price.
Obedience.

Being obedient sometimes means giving up something I really want.
Because I want Jesus to be the one that I love the most, I have to give up anything that I might possibly give all my love to. Like a future in Australia. And my career choices. Or partners who may cause me to stray.

Jesus already paid the ultimate price for me to be sanctified.
Now it's up to me to be obedient to Him.
It's hard. It's freakin' difficult at times.
But it's gonna be oh-so-worth-it in the end.

If I keep taking matters into my own hands, I won't be able to boast of God's goodness and faithfulness.

I'd only be able to credit it to myself.
And we all know that if I said that I'm something...

I'd be lying.

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