Good morning! What is the acclaim of humans? It is a fickle, dishonest, and even a dangerous thing. We have seen media darlings driven to extremes by the attention of the public. We have seen dictators plumb the depths of depravity through their own exalted position. What drives them to this extreme? The public adoration of a person, the disobedience of God’s commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” is what causes a person to become what they should not be, a person conquered by pride. In the New Testament we see Jesus acclaimed by the people of Jerusalem as he rides into the city on a donkey’s colt. That same week the fickleness of public acclaim is shown in many, perhaps all, of those same people crying out for his crucifixion. Less than a week and they wanted to kill the one they had acclaimed as Messiah. We also know the modern world can point no fingers. In place of God, the modern world would have politicians, CEOs, athletes, television and movie stars, rock stars, and in some cases, even those dictators. Many of these people have real talent, and there is nothing wrong with that, but to worship them is sin. Many of these people, which the world would honor or acclaim, represent some of the worst of our sinful nature. A movie star may represent vanity and lust, politicians are expected to lie and disparage their opponent, CEOs are known for their greed, athletes for their pride, rock stars for their excess of all kinds, and of course we seldom hear of a benevolent dictator. Our worship is a privilege in this life and the next, and it should only be given to God, our Father in heaven, as Jesus commanded us to do. If we believe in Jesus, we will do what he told us to do, love God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.
God has given us a great gift, our love and worship, and they are intertwined. We can bestow our love upon this world, worshipping those things the world loves, and die with it; or we can love and worship God, and live with his Son in the place he has gone to prepare for us. Does that choice seem so difficult now?
God loves you! Remind yourself of that several times today.
Bucky
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