Praying to Worthless Idols

Today I looked over a number of pictures a friend sent me from a recent trip into East Asia. They were in a country that is filled with religious zealots of a particular world religion. Their apparent devotion was evident. They spent hours in ferverent prayer, reciting mantras as if their life depended on it. They prostrated themselves in worship of their gods. Others had devoted their life to spreading the teaching of their gods. Their devotion to their gods was unquestionable. I have no doubt of their commitment.
As I looked at these pictures I was overcome with a profound sadness for these people. They were praying with every fiber of their being to a god that could not hear them. They were worshiping a god that could not see them or act on their behalf. Their efforts were entirely in vain. It reminded me of the verse in Isaiah 45:20-22 - "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. (NIV)
We are called to pray for these people that they will open their eyes to the worthlessness of their idols and the futility of their worship. We should pray that they will open their ears to the Word of the only living God that can save them. We should pray for people to go and tell them about the only God worthy of their devotion.
I was also struck by the difference in their worship of a worthless god as compared to our worship of the one true God. They would prostrate themselves for hours in worship. We complain if our worship time goes much over an hour. They would memorize passages of their holy books and recite them in prayers and rituals. The average Christian knows more sports stats than Bible verses. They would spend hours praying to a deaf god. We do well to spend more than a few minutes a day in prayer to a God that actually hears and cares about us.
I’m not sure which is worse: praying to a made-up god that cannot hear, or knowing the God of all creation and not making any time for Him.

Standard of Living

There is a considerable difference in the overall standard of living we enjoy in the US as compared to most other countries. The lack of goods and services in the “third world” is very evident. The poor cleanliness and quality of facilities in these countries is also very apparent. We are blessed materially in the US beyond what we realize. Modern conveniences allow us to do so much more with our time. We have such a variety of food options that is sometimes difficult to choose where to have lunch after church. We have sporting and leisure activities of every kind to involve ourselves and our children in. The average house is getting larger each year with more and more modern comforts and conveniences. Our cars are no different. They come equipped with features now that Captain Kirk could have only dreamed about! I could go on and on. Look how far we have come! What a tremendous lifestyle we have created for ourselves!

Recently I sat in a small farm house in Asia. Its walls were made of packed mud and it had a dirt floor. One small light bulb gave it some sparse illumination. It was minimally furnished with little attempt at decoration. I was struck by the difference of their lifestyle compared to ours. I thought of the rich young ruler mentioned in Matthew 19 and how his wealth was a barrier to him following Christ. Graham Kendrick draws this into focus in the familiar chorus:

All I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres, and wars to own, All I once thought gain I have counted loss, Spent and worthless now, compared to this, Knowing you, Jesus, Knowing you, there is no greater thing…

Can we honestly sing this? Material possessions are the chosen idols of our culture. Maybe we need to reexamine our focus in life. Are we using that which God has blessed us for His kingdom and His glory? I pray that you will exchange “that which is perishable” for “something that cannot perish.”

(As a side note... If you have ever had a similar experience, you may have been distracted by the "deplorable living conditions". You may have thought: This person needs a refrigerator, carpet, a door, etc... In reality all these things pale in comparison to their need for a Savior!)