The Sunday Sermonette – Who But A Fool!
Ancient Athens is often cited as the cradle of Western civilization due to its profound contributions: the creation of democracy and the origin of an interest in philosophy, the arts, and the sciences. During its Golden Age, under the leadership of Pericles, a noted general and politician, Athens created countless architectural masterpieces, including the resplendent marble Parthenon.
In 447 B.C., the architects Ictinus and Callicrates began work on the Parthenon, the largest Doric-style temple of its time. It was designed without straight lines or right angles and with slightly tapered columns, which gave the temple a symmetrical appearance. The temple’s interior, too, was no less magnificent.
The renowned sculptor Phidias filled the interior with more columns and a monumental gold and ivory statue of Athena, for whom the city was named. Her idol was worshipped with rituals and animal sacrifices. During these celebrations, the temple was adorned with sweet-smelling flowers. Smoke from fragrant incense drifted upward as chanting temple priests filled the room with music.
The ancient Greeks, a deeply religious people, worshipped many idols of gods and goddesses, believing these idols would answer their prayers and protect them. Looking at their worship, we might say, “Those idols were only wood, glided and adorned.” Perhaps, in our piety, we might quote Isaiah’s words in the Good Book, “Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit!” We are more learned than that! Aren’t we?
Yet, today’s idolatry, while not involving sacrificial animals, shares a common denominator: Self. We now bow down to the God of Self, which takes on various forms and provides only temporary contentment and peace.
First, Self leads to the worship of the Goddess of Materialism. She feeds our hungry egos by temping us with the latest “toys” and the desire to buy more “stuff.” She smiles because she knows we will never be happy indulging our materialistic desires, so we’ll continually return to her, feeling guilty and begging at her feet for forgiveness.
Second is Self’s worship of the double-headed God of Pride and Ego. Adoration of this god creates an obsession with our jobs and careers. We work many hours overtime, even on weekends and vacations, struggling to take the next step up the ladder of success. We fool ourselves into thinking we do it for our family’s future. But in reality, we do it to fuel our pride, to puff up our egos, so we can say, “Wow! Look what the God of Pride and Ego did for me.”
Last is perhaps the most seductively devastating—Self’s worship of The God of Arrogance. Oh! How he sneers when we follow his demand to exclude our family and friends, thinking we are better than them, above them in everything. Then, cunningly, the God of Arrogance replaces them with lesser gods: alcohol, drugs, debauchery, and food. He knows we have unlimited access to alcohol and drugs, knows sex is cheap, and food is delicious.
He also knows our lack of self-control is spurned by our insatiable desire to “eat, drink, be merry.” We care about nothing except ourselves. We want to become gods and goddesses, too. However, this is nothing new. In the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Eve to eat the “apple,” he said, “If you do, you’ll be like God.”
The worship of Self is the basis of all modern idolatry. In Isaiah 44, the Prophet describes how people make their own gods and how foolish that is. We only deceive ourselves if we expect our created gods to empower our lives and save us. Who but a fool…
Ponder this and go forth.