Every one of us has 24 hours in a day. There are no variations. From time to time, I find myself saying, "Oh, I want to do this or that, but I simply don't have the time." The truth is, I have as much time as anyone else. And I spend my time and energy on the things that are most important to me, the things I love. Period. So do you.
I was reminded of this fact, once again, as I watched our church's online sermon today. Ric and I had planned to attend in person, but it snowed last night, and I really desired to sleep in. So, we did, but still got to spend time worshipping God.
Our Pastor is amazing at preaching the Word of God, then bringing it back to a place of application for our lives. I love that. If we are not changed by what we hear, then what good is it really? I like to think, in my writing, I try to do the same. So here goes.
Many years ago, when I was 25 years old, I felt mostly happy with my life, but at the same time knew there was a void. I worked in Boulder, Colorado, at the time. One of my co-workers, Steve, was a Christian and he was different than anyone I had ever met so I began to talk to him a lot, asking him questions. Through his influence, I started to seek God out. I bought a Bible, started reading it, and then became a Christian, giving my life to the One who had been missing.
At the time, there were many idols that controlled me. The definition of an idol is anything that is more important than God. I had been reading scripture and Jesus talked, many times, of not having two masters. "You cannot love God and manna," and "Where your treasure is, so will your heart be." Back then, when I read the Bible, I took it to heart and tried to immediately put it into practice. Those were the sweetest days of my faith walk, when it was just Jesus and me. No outside influences, no one telling me what to believe. Just the two of us.
I had worshipped the Dallas Cowboys since I was eight. As the years went, my devotion only increased. But they were a false God, my only God. I didn't know it at the time, of course, nor did I care. I remember planning my entire Sunday around their games. My dad, knowing how much I loved them, and motivated by his love for me, would actually go up on our roof and move the antenna around until we could get the right TV station so I could watch every game. He was an electrical engineer and repaired televisions as a side gig, so he knew his stuff.
Also, for several years in a row, my parents and I would make the trek from Colorado to Dallas for Cowboys Thanksgiving games. We had friends who lived there and stayed with them. We would have a big dinner, then go to the stadium and watch the game. I have great memories of those Thanksgivings and would not change a thing. All of it led me to a sense of there has got to be something else.
And when that something else showed up, He took precedence. If I told you all the Cowboys paraphernalia I owned at the time, you would not believe me. There were boxes and boxes of "stuff" accumulated over the years. I had a Dallas Cowboy telephone! Even my college major was centered around the team; I majored in broadcast journalism with the hopes of moving to Dallas and covering the Cowboys.
God had other plans.
One day, God spoke to me about my other god, the Cowboys. Not an audible voice, mind you, but a voice all the same. "I am a jealous God. You can have no other Gods but me."
I acted swiftly, immediately. I began to gather all my trinkets, clothing, pictures, posters, even the phone. I threw them all in boxes, then went out to the dumpster and tossed them in, never looking back. Everyone knows, of course, that simply throwing out things doesn't rid one of their idols. That is not all I did.
I didn't watch football after that. And it wasn't that I was forcing myself to stop watching; the desire was completely taken away. I had much better things to do with my time and my emotions. No longer would my happiness depend on if the Cowboys won or not. No more tears shed for a god that didn't care about me. I was finished.
This may sound extreme. Did I have to completely and totally rid myself of the Cowboys? Was that necessary? Maybe not for most people, but I knew it was for me. I am not one of those lukewarm people. I am either all in or not in at all. For me, they had to go completely. It was all or nothing. Later in my life I would have this experience with several other things; it was just as dramatic and just as final. Perhaps someday I will write about those things as well.
Today as my Pastor spoke, I thought back to those days, fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. I couldn't help but remember, as he spoke of smashing the idols in our lives. This was the most profound, dramatic event of idol-smashing I had.
I have told this story to some but felt like it was worthy of writing about. I had already planned to write on the topic of You Are What You Love today. Now I knew specifically what to write about. Funny how that works.
My decision to leave the Cowboys behind was one of the best I have ever made. Do I still have idols in my life? Of course, I do; we all do. My goal, however, is to never let one take up the space and time the Cowboys did. I'm doing my best to never let something occupy so much of me ever again.
Except for God. I want Him to be more and more present in my life.