My pastor is preaching through the book of Acts, and this Sunday he zeroed in on Paul’s address to the Athenians in Acts 17:16-34. When Pastor Jon preaches, I usually try to duck, as his exhortations tend to give way to thought-provoking, heart-exposing conviction and life change. He got me again, with this question: “what are you building to save you?"
My pastor is preaching through the book of Acts, and this Sunday he zeroed in on Paul’s address to the Athenians in Acts 17:16-34. When Pastor Jon preaches, I usually try to duck, as his exhortations tend to give way to thought-provoking, heart-exposing conviction and life change. He got me again, with this question: “what are you building to save you?"
Ouch. What am I building to save me? Why, nothing! It’s not like I’m in Athens, surrounded by gods and goddesses to appease. It’s not like I’m chillin’ in the Areopagus waiting to hear the latest philosophy. The author of the book of Acts wrote, “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time in nothing else than telling or listening to something new.” Could that sound any more foreign?
If the Apostle Paul meandered into Dallas, where would he set up shop, I wonder? Where’s our Areopagus?
Values around here can be summed up in Groupon offerings. Maybe you’ve noticed that Groupon regularly offers eyelash extensions, Brazilian blowouts, tanning packages, laser hair removal, aqua-liposuction and teeth whitening. All. The. Time. We are a society obsessed with looking young and hot. Our pantheon may not be made of Zeus or Apollo; it looks more like an ode to body parts faked in suspended animation (like Han Solo being carbonized in that Star Wars movie). Bloated lips, stapled-in hair plugs, vanishing noses, plunging necklines, expressionless brows, tight foreheads, stitched- in hair in some places, and no hair in places where it used to be.
(Oh my word; archeologists and sociologists are gonna have a field day with us.)
We don’t have a pantheon of gods and goddesses…or do we? Celebs no longer have fans, they have followers, people. Might I add that some of these constantly sought-after and worshipped celebrities gained their fame by dubious means. I can’t help but think that Paul would look at the Yahoo OMG culture and say, “People of Dallas, I see that you are very religious in all respects. For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found a Facebook page dedicated ‘to an unknown god.’”
Our idols aren’t necessarily made of gold or silver. No, they are hewn from steel and chrome, paper and plastic, collagen and silicone. Our Areopagus may be Facebook or Twitter; places where yeah, we actually do babble about every new thing.
As if our witty commentary on the Two and a Half Men premiere, or glossier hair, or a new Audi can save us from ourselves; our longing to look better, sound smarter, be more famous, or work harder to obtain that ever-elusive acceptance. Oh, how we desecrate our temples in that pursuit.
All God asks is that we repent. Turn away from chasing the idols in our lives, and turn to Him instead, for confidence, for love, for acceptance. A spray tan can give you golden calves; but the Lord can give you dignity as you walk through cancer, strength when you bury your child, hope when you are lonely, and joy as you wait. Sorry, but longer lashes won’t do that.
God doesn’t want an anonymous altar, he wants you.
God does not dwell in temples made with human hands so what are we building for? He loves us because…He loves us. His image is stamped on us before we shellac our faces or climb into our luxury cars. We have God’s love and acceptance. We don’t need golden calves.
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