It has been an interesting time to be alive. We see clear Revelation prophecy coming to pass as societies call evil matters good, and good matters evil (2 Timothy 3:1-17, 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 3:3-4, Matthew 24:6, Isaiah 5:20, and Matthew 24:12).

The depravity of the human condition has become unignorable (2 Timothy 3).

Recently, I witnessed a disheartening public conversation among believers regarding current political topics laced within entertainment manipulatives (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Somes Christians were propagating their perspective while insisting “times are not that serious”; others retorting with self-righteousness; and yet others finding pride within half-truths.

Ugh.

The Spirit of Division, the flesh, desires of the eyes, and pride of life at full display (1 John 2:16).

This particular event reminded me of King Saul (1 Samuel 11).

^“But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel…And the Lord told him: “…It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ 1 Samuel 8:6-8

You see, the Israelites were not satisfied with God himself delivering them from Egypt. Nor were they impressed with the manna from heaven. Nor were they proud of being led by a pillar of fire at night (1 Samuel 8).

No.

They wanted a physical, human King! They wanted to look like the rest of the world, holding their own embodied trophy of pride. Something to display and say, “Look! You see how handsome, how strong, how great our King is! Yes! I am proud to be an Israelite! This King represents a part of me! Now, I am proud! Now, I am excited to declare my allegiance! Now, I am content.” (1 Samuel 10: 24).

“No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Samuel 8:19-20

Sigh.

The heart condition.

The God-sized hole in our hearts.

Nothing will ever compare to the one and only living God (Isaiah 46:9). No cheap imitation. No human, no job, no self-identified labeled category of human expression. Nope, none of it.

And we see this truth from the beginning of time.

The LORD gives us over to our desires (Romans 1:24). And as such, he gave the Israelites over to their own mislead, crowd led pleas.

Years of human failure, broken loyalty and selfishness unraveled under the kingship of Saul (1 Samuel).

Ugh. We still do not learn. We all have moments of setting our expectations on everything but God.

We set our expectations on jobs, careers, money and wealth.

Or perhaps on good medical reports, doctors or healthcare.

Presidents, governments, or laws.

Maybe, it’s expectations on accolades, celebrity or admiration from others.

Or perhaps it’s fitting into a size 2 pant size or your next bite of chocolate mousse.

Dear reader, do not be deceived! None of these things can take the place of God.

Even though most of these things are not inherently bad nor sin, idolatry of them can quickly become a spiritual snare (Jonah 2:8). One that entangles you and disappoints you. Ultimately, leaves you dry in spirit.

When we idolize anything or anyone, we start to excuse sinful behavior. We minimize it because of the rest of the picture. Hey, who cares, the rest is great right? That small part of brokeness ain’t that bad right?

“Those who regard vain idols, Forsake their faithfulness…”Jonah 2:8

This reminds me of the similar lies, better yet half-truths, the enemy told Eve.

He was cunning to declare truths with minimized lies.

Surely, he did not tell you, you would die. – Genesis 3:4

Before she knew it, Eve excused what she knew deep within was far from the truth. Why? Because one part felt good and right.

Don’t be fooled. The enemy is wiser than you. Give an inch, he takes a mile. A mile then turns into an adventure to spiritual death and numbness.

And it all started with accepting lies, sin, deception, darkness, brokenness. Why? In many cases, because of idolatry.

I urge you to keep your eyes set on the Lord instead. Find your joy and pride there. Even though, we as his creation are beautifully and wonderfully made, our true joy, loyalty and identity should be found in him alone.

God bless.