Our Fickle Hearts

                In the book of Exodus, we read about Israel’s escape from Egypt and its wandering in the wilderness. In Exodus 24, Moses presents God’s covenant to the people and they declare their acceptance of it. God has already demonstrated his power and presence to the people. They were overwhelmed by God’s glory, so much so that they begged Moses to speak to God on their behalf. They were afraid to approach the glory of God. You would think that they had enough evidence of the reality of God to follow Him wholeheartedly the rest of their days.

                Then we come to Exodus 32. God had called Moses up on the mountain to speak directly with him. Moses was absent from the camp for a long time and the people became restless. They came to Aaron and demanded that he give them new gods to follow, because it seemed like Moses had abandoned them. So Aaron makes a golden calf and the people begin to worship it, instead of God. Just as this is all taking place, Moses returns and the wrath of God breaks out against the people. In the face of God’s anger, the people repent and return to God.

                As I read this story, I wondered how the people of Israel could be so blind. I wondered why they would turn back to idols, when they had experienced the power of the Living God in their lives. As I reflected upon this, I realized that we are just like the Israelites. We mimic their experience, on a smaller scale, regularly. We regularly shift our focus from the intangible to the tangible, from the eternal to the temporal.

                We gather together on Sunday morning for a time of worship. We sing songs of praise to God, we pray for His blessing and intervention in our lives, we listen to His word. We are often moved within our soul. In those sacred moments, we determine to live our lives for Christ. Then Monday comes. We reenter our normal routine of life, and without even noticing it, we begin worshiping the golden calf. It may be in the form of money or power or prestige. We quickly forget our experience of corporate worship in God’s presence. We become pragmatic and practical, and enter the rat race of chasing after false gods.

                I have intentionally stated this in very black and white terms. I know that it is not that simple, and that our spiritual pendulum may not swing quite so far. But, I was made aware of how easily I can slip away from Christ and be enticed by the golden calves of this world. I am reminded that I must be intentional about walking with Christ on a day by day basis. I am reminded of how quickly I can put my trust in tangible things rather than in Christ.

                Our defense against the golden calf is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We need to reconnect with Him daily, even multiple times each day. We cannot rest on past experience. Each day we must renew our commitment to Christ, because he is the source of our life.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.