Laughing at your gods

In the 1989 baseball movie Major League, there is a character named Pedro Cerrano, a Cuban ball-player who practices a strange religion that is a mixture of Santeria, Voodoo, and Catholicism.  The movie pokes fun at religion by having the Cerrano character light candles and offer a cigarette to his idol Jobu.  At one point, Carrano's batting average is so low that he considers sacrificing a live chicken to Jobu.  The team captain intervenes, and produces a bucket from KFC to appease Cerrano and, presumably, Jobu.  Hilarious.

In the tenth chapter of Jeremiah, verses 1-5, the prophet pokes fun at some of the major religions of his day.  He outlines the manufacturing process of the idols some people worshipped:

• A woodsman cuts down the tree
• A craftsman carves out the shape of the idol
• A goldsmith overlays it with gold
• A weaver dresses it in colorful cloths
• The user buys it (or trades for it), and if it wobbles, he will nail it to the shelf so it doesn't fall over

And this is what you worship?  An icon that can't even stand up by itself?  A similar scenario is described in Isaiah 44.16--a man cuts down a tree and "Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.  He also warms himself and says, 'Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.'  From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.  He prays to it and says, 'Save me; you are my god'."  How ludicrous!

And this is the god that you rely on for your sustenance?  What power do you think it has over your life?  "Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.  Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good." (Jeremiah 10.5.)  If your god can't speak, why do you seek counsel from it? If your god can't walk, why would you seek guidance and direction from it?  DUH!

And yet, see how our own society today does the very same thing. 

 This is what the Lord says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them." (Jeremiah 10.2)

How many of you follow your horoscope?  Do you think the stars hold more power over you than God does?  You say, "Oh, I just read it for fun."  But if some Zodiac book says that your sign doesn't get along with a Taurus, do you avoid dating anyone born in May?  You are actually following the created, rather than the Creator.  Don't you see how silly that is? 

The stars can't "talk" to you.  You have to consult a newspaper, written by someone you don't know.  Tell me, what is the difference between a modern American following the horoscope and a backwards African tribe following the words of a witch doctor?  It reminds me of the story of a young man coming home with a fresh, shiny tattoo of a Chinese character.  His father looked at it, and asked what it meant.  The boy answered, "It means Happiness and Strength."  The father nodded, knowingly, then asked, "Do you speak Chinese? Do you read Chinese?  Then how do you know it doesn't say, 'with two you get egg roll'?"

Just like the young man had to rely on the tattoo artist for a valid interpretation of the Chinese character, horoscope readers must rely on "experts" to read the stars for them and give an expert "reading."  And you trust your life to these people?

Now you may say, "Blynn, I don't put any stock into that Zodiac stuff.  If I work hard and pay my taxes, eventually I will be able to retire and draw Social Security.  Isn't that the American Dream?"  Well, the Bible says nations will fall and governments will be overthrown, but the Word of the Lord will last forever.  We, as a Nation, have been taught to put too much trust in our government.  What started as a "safety net" for impoverished elderly folks has become an entitlement for all.  Now, instead of believing that my health care is my and my family's responsibility, there are those in government who are preaching that health care is a right.  Some are predicting that this mind-set will bankrupt this country.  Who will pay for your health care if the government goes belly-up?  What will happen if China or some other emerging power from the East rises up and overthrows us, either militarily or economically?  What if we allow a domestic version of the Muslim Brotherhood to take over Congress?

There are those who truly believe in diversity as the end-all and be-all philosophy of the ages.  Those who bow at the altar of diversity preach that no single religion or government or race is any better than any other.  If everyone accepted everyone else as they are, it is said, then we can all get along and achieve world peace.  But while the politically correct are burying their heads in the sand, our enemies are plotting evil against us.  While the New Age followers are busy denigrating Christians for their "narrow-minded beliefs", the Muslim nations are engaged in Jihad, until every "infidel" is converted or slaughtered.

Do you really believe that Diversity will save the human race from itself?  Not to mention the legions of demons engaged in spiritual warfare against us.  Again, if we put our trust in anything other than Almighty God, then we are doomed.

Then the end will come, when He (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.  (I Corinthians 15.24)

Those who give power to the stars will stumble; those who give over all authority to governments will grieve; those who hand over dominion to the PC police will perish.  Only those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, will survive.