My niece and her husband introduced me to “thrifting” recently. I was surprised to discover that my little town of 7,000 plus had six or seven thrift stores. No, we didn’t go to all of them.
In one shop, I noticed an old cup made in England that I thought might be worth something. My nephew burst my bubble when he pulled up an app on his phone that told me the cup was not the treasure that I thought it was. A few minutes later the app broke my heart again when it declared that a little blue pitcher wasn’t the “priceless antiquity” that I imagined.
It was a fun experience, and I learned some things too. I learned there’s something called uranium glass, and with the right kind of flashlight, you can determine if it’s the real thing. I discovered that you could use a magnet to see if what looks like brass is actually brass. And, most importantly, I found that my heart is still easily captured by the “things” of this world. I was like a kid in a candy store as I looked for treasures. Items I didn’t realize existed a few minutes earlier instantly became things I couldn’t live without. Thankfully, I resisted.
We can make an idol/god out of most anything – thrift-store finds, our alma mater, pickle ball, President Trump, home schooling – the list is almost endless. French theologian John Calvin was right when he stated, “Man’s nature … is a perpetual factory of idols.”
But God won’t allow us to be at peace when we make room for idols in our hearts. He is God, and He won’t allow us to worship anything else. That’s not to say that we can’t prize a good thrift-store find; it just shouldn’t have a place in our hearts that’s reserved for God.
It’s really such a kindness that God doesn’t let us rest in our sinfulness. He wants what’s best for us, what’s honoring to Him. God directs us to turn away from our empty idols to something of infinitely greater value – Himself.
I encourage you to ask God to show you any idols that have found a home in your heart. Confess that sin to God. Then go to the Bible and refresh your soul on some of the views of your Creator and Savior that are threaded throughout His holy Word. Take some time to gaze at those soul-renewing sights of the immensity and magnificence of your great King.
As an aside, I have a document on my phone with verses I’ve collected that remind me of just how glorious God is. It’s handy to be able to access those verses when I’m sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office or in the grocery store parking lot. It’s helpful to be reminded of who God is.
Here are a few verses that I pulled from that document that might encourage you today.
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14, emphasis added)
“Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me.” (Isaiah 46:9, emphasis added)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8, emphasis added)
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-2, emphasis added).
