Take a moment to ask yourself – what do I revere? To what am I devoted? And then think about your motivation for those things. Even those who would say, “My only devotion is to God,” might ask about motivation. Is it because you have been taught that you must please God in order to save your soul? Or is it a free expression of gratitude for the blessings you know in your life and those yet to be discovered; for holy presence in times of trouble? Look at the objects of your worship – your “worth-ship” – and ask if God is there, in some measure, large or small. We have lots of unknown gods in our lives and it helps to take regular time to think about where we place our emotional and spiritual energy. The contemplative monk Thomas Merton wrote a wonderful prayer which goes like this:
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Merton displays remarkable humility and surrender here. Despite our need to know God – our need to know everything – there is an admission here that God and God’s ways are unknowable. Pastor Carol
| Are the things you worship of human creation?. |
