Scriptio: My Heart Is An Idol-Making Machine

God is showing me that I can either worship Him or other people’s opinions, but I cannot do both. I think this is part of what it means in Exodus 34:14 (NIV) when it says, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” We cannot serve more than one master, and I have been bowing down at the alter of human opinion for far too long, and God is allowing me to suffer until I return to worshiping Him. . 

Worrying about what other people think of me, whether they like me, are mad at me, or if I have done or am doing something wrong, has put me in an overstimulated state of reactivity. Instead of living in the stillness of God’s love and grace, I frantically try to anticipate what others need or want so that I can meet those needs and wants, or avoid them altogether. Not only does this lead to my being unhappy and anxious, but it is an impossible task. 

It is impossible to please everyone. In fact, my experience shows that people are, by and large, never truly satisfied. This is as true for me as it is for anyone else. No matter what we have, we always want more, better, or different. What, then, would make me believe that I am capable of pleasing, or at least not displeasing, the people around me? 

“Our hearts,” as Father Mike Schmitz says, “are idol-making machines.” They look for anything and everything to worship other than God. Even the holiest of lives is fraught with innumerable temptations intended to distract from God’s truth and love, and this has been true since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the garden. 

The tragedy of all of this is that I have all that I need in God, but I constantly seek “not God.” By worshipping, or at least fearing, other people’s opinions, I put my life, well-being, and happiness in their hands, and, just like I will let them down, they will let me down. Only God can satisfy our deepest needs and desires, and to seek elsewhere is idolatry.  

In Isaiah, we are told, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God (Isaiah 45:5).” This means that anything we worship besides God will separate us from God. I can either serve the Lord or I can serve the world, but I cannot do both, and only one of them has the power to grant me freedom, peace, and salvation.