No other gods
18/10/12 05:46
It is a lesson that our people have had to learn over and over again. When we came out of slavery in Egypt, our people thought that it might work to simply add Yahweh to a list of other deities. Some even proposed that Yahweh might be the greatest among a host of other regional deities. They observed that there were many things that their neighbors worshiped. They felt the allure of other Gods.
The first of the Ten Commandments is clear. Free people worship only one God – the true God, the God who led the people out of the bondage of Egypt. Freedom comes from worshiping only one God. The commandment Exodus 20:3 is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:7. It is echoed in the Shema – the great commandment – of Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” Jesus quotes it as the first and greatest commandment in the Gospels.
We have been able to say the commandment for generations. Living it has been a much more difficult challenge. At the end of the era of judges, when human failings and corruption among our leaders was evident, the people begged for a king. God finally relented and allowed for a monarchy – and what a monarchy we got! The great king David was an adulterer, murderer and liar. His successor, Soloman, had too many wives to count and amassed such a fortune to the palace that he was unable to see the poverty of his people. The institution of monarchy collapsed in a series of divisions, intrigues and finally sheer military defeat. It was more than three centures after the banishment of the priests to Anathoth before the prophetic voice of Jeremiah was heard with clarity.
We read the history of our people and think that we are somehow different. We think that we are too smart to fall into idolatry as the people in the wilderness. We would never worship a golden calf! We think that we would never embrace a monarchy as those in ancient Israel. We are citizens of a democracy.
But we continue to put human beings on pedestals and treat them as if they were somehow bigger, better, stronger, smarter, or in other ways different from others. We place human heroes alongside our religious icons and worship them. And we seem to be shocked when they are proven to be somewhat less than God.
I suppose that there is little I can add to the collapse of Lance Armstrong under the weight of doping allegations. The news yesterday was not particularly surprising. We have been watching as evidence has mounted. Perhaps we wanted to believe that he was somehow superhuman – that a single person could win the Tour de France seven times – that the same person could beat anything, even cancer. Still it was a spectacular crash when it came. Nike initially stood by Armstrong, but yesterday dropped him from their sponsorship with a terse statement citing “seemingly insurmountable evidence” that he participated in doping. Brewery giant Anheuser-Bush followed suit. Then Armstrong walked away as chairman of the Livestrong charity that works to end cancer “to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career.”
Another celebrated sports hero joined the ranks of those discredited. It seems that the public only loves a cheater when the cheating remains hidden.
But there are some things that remain, even after the spectacular public reversal of fortunes. The guy was a pretty good bike racer. Somewhere in his life he got some things right. Serving others whose lives are forever changed by cancer is not a bad investment of time and resources. He did some good through public advocacy and hid generosity in starting the Livestrong Foundation is commendable.
The man wasn’t a god. But he isn’t pure evil, either. He is human.
Here is the part that is so hard for us to take. We participated in the spectacular events of his demise. We celebrated each of his bicycle racing victories and clamored for more. We wanted to believe that he was superhuman. We wanted a hero who was invincible and we embraced the image of a man who could beat anything. We even helped sponsor his racing team, a bit of an embarrassment now that it appears that the use of banned substances by the US Postal team predated Armstrong. It was a part of the culture of cycling competition.
We forgot our first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”
We don’t only do it with sports heroes. We do it with politicians.
I am struck by how much the public rhetoric around the United States Presidential Election sounds as if we believe that our happiness, our well-being and our way of life is solely dependent upon one person. You might think that both parties believe that there is a kind of superhuman person and that their candidate is somehow more super than the other.
The truth is that presidents, even very good presidents, are human beings. They have failings. They make mistakes, whether or not they admit them. They experience errors in judgment whether or not they are caught. If you expect salvation to come from the President, you will be sorely disappointed.
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
The Center for Responsive Politics has estimated that the total spending for the 2012 election will be $5,803,829,964. I’m not sure how they come up with an exact dollar figure, but $5.8 billion is serious money. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:21, Luke 12:34) To claim that idolatry was some ancient practice of our forebears is to close our eyes to the realities of our current situation. It may not be a golden calf, but a $5.8 billion election is a serious detraction from one true God.
I have been paying attention to the campaigns. I will vote on Election Day. I will try to be informed and careful with my vote. But I do not expect either salvation or damnation to come as a result of the election.
And I trust God to judge my sisters and brothers, even Lance Armstrong. We now know for sure that he is no god. But he did get one thing right: Standing alongside those whose lives are touched by cancer is more important than standing on the winner’s podium.
The first of the Ten Commandments is clear. Free people worship only one God – the true God, the God who led the people out of the bondage of Egypt. Freedom comes from worshiping only one God. The commandment Exodus 20:3 is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:7. It is echoed in the Shema – the great commandment – of Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” Jesus quotes it as the first and greatest commandment in the Gospels.
We have been able to say the commandment for generations. Living it has been a much more difficult challenge. At the end of the era of judges, when human failings and corruption among our leaders was evident, the people begged for a king. God finally relented and allowed for a monarchy – and what a monarchy we got! The great king David was an adulterer, murderer and liar. His successor, Soloman, had too many wives to count and amassed such a fortune to the palace that he was unable to see the poverty of his people. The institution of monarchy collapsed in a series of divisions, intrigues and finally sheer military defeat. It was more than three centures after the banishment of the priests to Anathoth before the prophetic voice of Jeremiah was heard with clarity.
We read the history of our people and think that we are somehow different. We think that we are too smart to fall into idolatry as the people in the wilderness. We would never worship a golden calf! We think that we would never embrace a monarchy as those in ancient Israel. We are citizens of a democracy.
But we continue to put human beings on pedestals and treat them as if they were somehow bigger, better, stronger, smarter, or in other ways different from others. We place human heroes alongside our religious icons and worship them. And we seem to be shocked when they are proven to be somewhat less than God.
Another celebrated sports hero joined the ranks of those discredited. It seems that the public only loves a cheater when the cheating remains hidden.
But there are some things that remain, even after the spectacular public reversal of fortunes. The guy was a pretty good bike racer. Somewhere in his life he got some things right. Serving others whose lives are forever changed by cancer is not a bad investment of time and resources. He did some good through public advocacy and hid generosity in starting the Livestrong Foundation is commendable.
The man wasn’t a god. But he isn’t pure evil, either. He is human.
Here is the part that is so hard for us to take. We participated in the spectacular events of his demise. We celebrated each of his bicycle racing victories and clamored for more. We wanted to believe that he was superhuman. We wanted a hero who was invincible and we embraced the image of a man who could beat anything. We even helped sponsor his racing team, a bit of an embarrassment now that it appears that the use of banned substances by the US Postal team predated Armstrong. It was a part of the culture of cycling competition.
We forgot our first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”
We don’t only do it with sports heroes. We do it with politicians.
The truth is that presidents, even very good presidents, are human beings. They have failings. They make mistakes, whether or not they admit them. They experience errors in judgment whether or not they are caught. If you expect salvation to come from the President, you will be sorely disappointed.
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
The Center for Responsive Politics has estimated that the total spending for the 2012 election will be $5,803,829,964. I’m not sure how they come up with an exact dollar figure, but $5.8 billion is serious money. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:21, Luke 12:34) To claim that idolatry was some ancient practice of our forebears is to close our eyes to the realities of our current situation. It may not be a golden calf, but a $5.8 billion election is a serious detraction from one true God.
I have been paying attention to the campaigns. I will vote on Election Day. I will try to be informed and careful with my vote. But I do not expect either salvation or damnation to come as a result of the election.