Sacrificing our Kids

Is this the Modern Day Golden Calf?

Psalms 106:34

“They refused to obey the Spirit of God. So Moses spoke without thinking. They didn’t destroy the nations in Canaan as the Lord had commanded them. Instead they mixed with those nations and adopted their ways. They worshiped statues of their gods. That became a trap for them. They sacrificed their sons and daughters as offerings to false gods. They killed those who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong. They killed their own sons and daughters. “

I have always thought the Golden Calf made by the Israelites was a little crazy.  Like, why would you do that?  I would never worship something that I made as a God – especially in the shape of livestock?!  I recently learned that the biggest of all the idols archeologists have uncovered in Israel have been 7 inches tall!  What? Can you imagine bowing down to a man-made 7 inch statue?  What is even crazier is the Israelites also sacrificed their first-born children to these idols.

When I first read this, I thought, “How on Earth could anyone sacrifice their child to an idol?”  Then, I paused.  American culture is really not so different than the idol worship of long ago.  We are even sacrificing our children to our idol worship.

We have become so entangled with our culture that we have created idols we worship instead of God.  Our kids are sacrificed to the idols of money, image, social status, and even to sports, just to spell out a few.  In the name of trying to keep up with the Jonses and pursuing that extra dollar, we lay our children on the sacrificial alter daily.  The biggest idol of all?  Happiness – we think our one short life is about being happy.  We keep thinking that some of those items listed above bring happiness, only to find out they are empty.  That is a lie straight from Satan.  Our life is to bring Glory to God, period.  

I prayed and asked God to open my eyes and show me idols in my life.  I had thought maybe I was not as bad as mainstream culture.  After all, I am a mom who has devotions and prays with my kids each day.  I take them to church and we even have a kid’s worship CD in our car for goodness sakes!  I prayed that prayer and waited about two seconds before God brought to my mind all the nights that I rushed bedtime so that I could sit in front of a TV show that does not glorify God.  I am sacrificing my children’s precious childhood just for my entertainment.  TV is not bad, but putting it in front of bedtime prayers with my child makes it a tool used by the devil.

I recently noticed that my son had started bringing my phone to me each time I left a room.  “Mommy you need your phone.  Mommy you forgot your phone”, he would say as he delivered it again and again.  I realized he had seen me carry my phone with me as if it were a lifeline. I was worshiping an idol so small it fit in my hand. I guess I had better stop judging those Israelites!  I wonder how life would look if I treated my Bible as well as my phone?  How many times would I read it throughout the day? How many times would I check it for answers to questions? Maybe if I start getting my false gods out of the way I will have time for the real God to speak answers of life to me.  

Psalms 106: 36 says “They worshiped statues of their gods. That became a trap for them.”

What would happen if we start perfecting our relationships with our children more than their baseball swing?  What if we started really living our moments instead of constantly posting them on Facebook?  Ask yourself what false god’s you might be serving today.  I for one need to quit putting so much emphasis on these worldly things, as they are only temporary.  Worshiping these false gods entrap us and give us false happiness and security.  I want to stop serving these false idols, and stop sacrificing my kids to them.  Instead, I want to seek Jesus who is the god of true joy and freedom.