12 Aug Choose this Day
I have been reading through the OT, specifically in 1 and 2 Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. I have become fascinated how often Israel would not be faithful to the one true God. One king would do what was right in the eyes of the Lord and other kings, most of them, did NOT do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. What the biblical writer meant by, NOT doing what was right, always had to do with idolatry. 2 Kings 17:15b-16, “…They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves… They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.” God is a jealous God (Deut 4:24), and God does not and will not share His glory with anything or anyone else. The first of the 10 commandments is, “You shall have no other gods besides me.”(Exodus 20:3) Jesus summed up the OT law with two statements and the first was “Love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) In Romans 1 we see that human beings are prone to idolatry. Although his eternal power and divine nature are clearly perceived from the creation, we want to worship something else or someone else. Paul says we do not want to honor God or give thanks to God. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. They worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” (V. 22,23,25).
In Zambia you can see idolatry in very tangible ways, especially in the African Traditional Religions. Charms, amulets, carved images, superstitions, witch doctors, evil spirits with names are common. Even infant Christians may ask for a prayer request at church and then go to the witch doctor and buy a charm and his blessing for the same request. Just in case Jesus doesn’t work out they want to cover their bases. In America, idolatry can look a little less concrete. We may say things like money, materialism, comfort, secularism, etc., but without a name, idolatry can remain a bit nebulous. However, the tendency to place our trust in something else, just in case Jesus doesn’t work out is just as common.
I would like to make an attempt at giving American idols a name. I just finished reading Pilgrim’s Progress again, so apologies to John Bunyan as I attempt to use modern day metaphors. I am naming the unholy trinity of idolatry in the U.S.: Amerigod, Mammon, and Feelgood.
AMERIGOD – self-fulfillment, self-exaltation, power, rights, political hope, political messiah, American Culture.
MAMMON – money, ambition, security, materialism, earthly possessions, more
FEELGOOD – comfort, safety, sensual, sexual, emotionalism, feelings, sins of the flesh.
SAINTS – True followers of Jesus
FAMILIES – The Church
KING – Jesus
MISSIONARY – Paul
LOVE LETTER – the Bible
PAGANS – Unbelievers
PLATFORM – Media
God has allowed me to visit 27 countries and learn about different cultures. I will have been in Zambia 11 months when I come home for the holidays in November. I know when the wheels of the airplane hit American soil, I will be the most grateful person in the world. I will be overwhelmed with anticipation to see my family, friends, and simply to be home. I say this just in case anyone questions my fondness for America.
America is an interesting nation and so are her gods. Amerigod is the top god making sure Mammon and Feelgood have plenty of followers, which is not a difficult task. For years, Saints and Amerigod had a somewhat symbiotic relationship. Love of God and love of country were almost synonymous. The culture of Amerigod provided the moral soil for the Saints to live and gather to worship the King without fear of persecution. However, this syncretism comes at a high price. In time, the lines become blurred and which god the Saints are worshiping at any given moment can become unclear. And for the Saints who want to follow the King and be faithful Kingdom citizens, they have to reconcile the difference between being thankful for the freedoms and opportunities of living in America, and worshiping Amerigod?
However, Amerigod seems to be ruling with a new and different energy. Even the Saints seem to have fallen under his spell for power and winning. Perhaps the syncretism has raised its ugly head and the lack of monogamous devotion by the Saints to the King and His Kingdom are being exposed as the filthy rags it has always been. Amerigod, Mammon, and Feelgood have unleased their messenger called Iamright, and he loves the platform. Iamright has been around since the garden of Eden. However, in 2020 he has unleashed his terrorist attacks in new and bolder ways on all peoples; saints and pagans alike.
Iamright causes division wherever he goes, and he is no respecter of race, religion, gender, nationality, or socio-economic status. He loves arguers, debaters, disunity makers, angry ones, prideful, know-it-alls, and they love him. He is worshiped in all of his glory when voices are raised, points are made, ideologies are preached, and agendas are expressed. Iamright is always about drawing lines, taking sides and forcing his worshipers to take one. He loves to create labels to place on those who take a side: right vs left, liberal vs conservative, democrat vs republican, social justice vs true justice, commoners vs intellectual elites, privileged vs oppressed, and masks vs no masks.
The King never took sides even though the religious leaders, lawyers, and zealots tried to pin Him down on several occasions. However, in one story He told about a net, He was very clear that there are two categories of people. The Net was cast into the sea and brought in all kinds of fish. The King said there are several types of fish, but there are really only two kinds: the Saints and the Pagans (Matt. 13:47-50). And the King seems to want the Saints to keep their focus and attention right there, and not get distracted.
Unfortunately, the Saints have allowed themselves to be dragged into the coliseum and we cannot tell who is who, or who made who? Some are taking a knee to Iamright and appear to be fighting for Amerigod and Mammon, not the King. Iamright has slithered his way into the hearts and minds of the Saints and their Families: brother against brother, sister against sister, Saints against pagans, Saints against their Elders. Some Families do not appear to be rallying together in unity around the onslaught of the Unholy Trinity and their messenger Iamright. The King prayed to the Father for the Saints saying, “…that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You (Father) sent me and loved them…” (John 17:23) Perhaps that is why the pagans struggle to believe in the King.
I share this example to simply raise a question, not to make a judgment. There is a president of a large Saintly University that has been dismissed for apparently being ensnared by Feelgood and engaging in sins of the flesh. However, it would appear he has been bowing to Amerigod and Mammon for years. Ironically, his father years ago, was a major catalyst in convincing Saints to embrace Amerigod’s power, influence, and obsession to win. And what was promised to bring the Saints power, some would say actually cost them their divine power. Have the Saints and their Families tolerated the syncretistic idolatry of Amerigod and Mammon, and only become intolerant of Feelgood’s sins of the flesh? The Saints and their Family Leaders may need to ponder this issue?
Iamright has raised his ugly head in a few specific areas that have brought intense emotion from Saints and Pagans. One of those big issues is who will sit on the throne of America. There are outspoken Saints and silent Saints on this issue. It is a difficult decision to know where to fall on the spectrum. The Love Letter says that we are to pray for our rulers and submit to them (1 Tim.2:1-2, Rom. 13:1). Unless they try to lead us to disobey the King like Nebuchadnezzar did to Daniel.
It seems unusual for Saints to verbally wrestle with Pagans. They have a different set of values, truth, and worldview. They serve different gods and are citizens of this world. The King and the Missionary never talked about making a nation great. They only talked about making the King and His Kingdom great. As a matter of Truth, the King said that you are not of this world (John 17:16). You are aliens, foreigners, exiles, (1 Peter 2:11-12) ambassadors of a new Kingdom and servants of a new King. You have been given the ministry and message of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:17-19). It’s hard to see the Saints, who have been given the ministry and message of reconciliation, arguing and taking a knee to Iamright.
The King has some very specific teaching to help us navigate the onslaught of the unholy trinity and their messenger. First, the King told us to seek his Kingdom above anything Amerigod, Mammon, and Feelgood would throw at us (Matt. 6:33). We are safe, secure, and on solid ground no matter who the ruler of America is. The Father has already determined who will sit on the American throne. It will be the one who will bring his ultimate and sovereign purpose in His world at this time in history. The King is always on His throne and cannot be voted in or out. He can only be accepted or rejected.
Perhaps the American Saints are being reminded that this is not your best life now. While most true Saints would deny the theology of the prosperity gospel, they may secretly embrace it practically. When events go contrary to the Saint’s desires, they can become frazzled. The missionary said many truths about circumstances. He learned the secret to be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11), because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). He also said that all circumstances work together for good for true Saints who love the King (Rom. 8:28). Perhaps the King is moving his winnowing fork from sea to shining sea separating the sheep and the goats.
The King and His Kingdom are unaffected by who rules nations. Even if life becomes more difficult and Amerigod increases his attacks on the Saints and the King, the Missionary tells us “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). He knew the Saints’ best life is yet to come.
Second, the Love Letter says, Submit to the King and resist the prince and his false gods (James 4:7 my paraphrase), and deny yourself (Luke 9:23). To follow the King and be in His Kingdom requires submission and self-denial. Two words that are foreign to Amerigod, Mammon, Feelgood and Iamright. Submission is one of the most misunderstood words among Pagans and Saints. In its simplest definition submission is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way. This obsession to demand that things go the way we want them to go is one of the greatest bondages in human beings. Even the King expressed His desire to the Father but concluded with, “not my will, but Your will be done” (Luke 22:42). In the King’s model prayer, He taught us to pray “YOUR Kingdom come, YOUR will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Not my kingdom, not my will. I submit to the King and I deny my rights. The Cross is the symbol for submission.
Third, while we are scratching and clawing to win and be on top, the King calls us to be a servant. One day two disciples wanted to sit in seats 2 and 3 just beside the King. The King said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (pagans) lord it over them. And their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant…even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…” (Matt. 20:25-28).
There is a difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant. When we choose to serve we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. The symbol for being a servant is a Towel. We see the towel appear when the King washed the disciples’ feet (John 13). One of the greatest challenges to be a servant is learning to be ok with being treated like a servant.
So, how do we renounce and break free from the deception and chains of the Unholy Trinity and being dragged into the coliseum and platform by Iamright?
- Treasure the King and His Kingdom more than any other treasure they offer.
- Pick up your Cross.
- Pick up a Towel.
- Bow to the only one who is worthy of your worship, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD AND LORDS. His name is JESUS CHRIST!
This singular devotion to the King frees me to be unbelievably grateful and thankful for everything the King has given us in our nation, without placing our faith and trust there.
Perhaps what we need today is to hear the roaring voice of Joshua: Choose this day whom you will serve, Amerigod, Mammon, and Feelgood. But as for me and my house, we will serve the King (Joshua 24:15, my paraphrase).
Dr. Todd Stewart
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