He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).
1 Kings 18.2
A good reminder, this morning, that even the gifts of the Lord can be misused. That which was holy and set aside for a good purpose, that which was intended to bring us back to the Lord, can become that which keeps us from Him. No practice or tool or ceremony or book or camp or feast or fast or prayer- none of these hold our hope or our life, our true salvation. They are intended to bring us to Him, the Author of our salvation, as He desires to be found. They are intended to place our focus back on him. The moment they become our focus, they switch from being blessedly helpful to incredibly damaging. We can make idols out of 'sacred' things just as well as we can make idols from 'secular' things*. 'Sacred' idols are often simply harder to see, because they appear so nice and religious. But do they point us to Christ, and set our faith on Him? Do they bear in us true love for the true God, and love for His people? If not, it's time to kill the snake. It was never meant to be the point- it was always meant to point to Jesus.
I like snakes, personally. But sometimes they got to go.
*I don't actually believe in much of a division there, between sacred and secular. If creation does not do so, surely the incarnation trumps gnosticism. And if that requires clarifying, let me know. It would make a good post later.
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