Glory Robbers

On a day of his choosing, King Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and gave a speech to his subjects meant to glamorize and impress. This celebrity-level king allowed the praise and glory that only belongs to God to wash over him. He was hungry for it and consumed it like one who is starving.

The audacity. The gall. The blatant heresy.

But are we really that different?

It has been said that our hearts are “a factory of idols.” Left to ourselves, we will always turn our affections away from God and give them to something lesser. We too are glory robbers.

This can manifest itself in both pride and idolatry. Pride, like Herod, says, “I am like God. I know what’s best. I am the master of my own destiny. I am in control.” We ourselves can commit this cosmic treason any time we seek to take God off of His rightful throne and put ourselves in His place.

On the other side of the coin is idolatry. Where pride seeks to glorify self, idolatry gives glory to someONE or someTHING other than God. This type of glory-exchange can sometimes look very obvious to all, but many times, it can be subtle. It can sneak into our lives without us realizing it.

So, how can we tell if we have fallen into this idol trap? Below are some questions to ask yourself:

-What strikes me with crippling fear at the thought of losing and living without?

-Who or what do I go to first when I’m worried or sad or bored?

-Who or what makes me feel complete, and I wouldn’t be “me” without them/it?

-What makes me say, “If only I had ________________, I would finally be happy.”?

-When I look at my bank statements, where am I disproportionately spending my money?

Psalm 135:15-18 says

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”

Herod became as dead as his idol. He died a slow, gruesome death that sent him to his eternal damnation. But because of Jesus, our fate will not match Herod’s! And that is the very reason why idols pale in comparison to our Savior.

Our idols won’t look out for us. They won’t protect us. They won’t love us unconditionally. They won’t always be there for us. And they certainly won’t die for us.

But Jesus will.

Jesus is better than any idol we could ever fashion. And He alone worthy of our adoration.

-Becky Groppel