Foolish Idolatry

Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

I have a confession to make - I found a new idol that has controlled my mind. You will never guess it, and you might even disagree that it is an idol. I am not trying to convict you about any idolatry that you might foster, but I must admit that this idol almost forced me to give up my faith in God completely. Perhaps my admission will help you, but I suspect it will make you sad or even upset you. Please at least give me a moment to explain myself, and try to read what I am trying to say rather than impose your instinctive interpretation on what I am saying. I have a friend on Facebook who helped me see this idol by his focus on it trying to convince me to worship it his way. 

I see this as an idol because I substituted its words for the true wisdom of God instead of seeing it as one tool to help me see God more clearly. When I found this idol to be flawed I decided to reject my faith because I had built my faith on it, but I believe I have found a better way. My idol was indirectly given to me by my parents, though I am sure that they did not intend the consequences that followed as I focused on this item for building my life of faith. This idol was not an issue until a series of events shook my ideas of God and I turned to this idol for reassurance, but all I found were problems and contradictions. 

What is this idol? The Christian Bible. It is a book written by men for the instruction of men with inspiration of God, but I mistook the Bible for the complete word of God. I am learning that the Bible is a starting point, but also that God had revealed Himself all over His creation. I have found that neither of these form of revelation are complete, but that they are guides to a deeper walk with God. Many have been praying for me on this journey for which I thank you, and I certainly beg for your continued prayers as I continue to grow in this walk.