WHEN THE GODS OF THIS WORLD CATCH OUR ATTENTION
2 Kings 17:12-16 For they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
[13] Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
[14] Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
[15] And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.
[16] And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
When we follow after something or someone we must have it before us. It’s what drives us onward and keeps us steadfast to reach the goal. If we are not careful, things of this world can become objects of our attention and affection. We will start to follow what we place before us and can become consumed by things that rob us of the blessings of God. Israel’s pursuit was vanity which means that in order to follow after their own flesh and worship idols they had to first reject the Word of the Lord. They began worshipping idols which became the object of their affection rather than the Living God. This vain, humanistic desire of their flesh had overtaken them, they refused to hear God’s call to restore them.
Israel turned away from the Word of God and the promise they had made to the Lord and began following after their own vain imaginations. God’s people had a change in direction! Once vanity had caught their eye, they began to follow after it. Vanity and the gods of this world had seized their affections and once it seized their affections, their character and spiritual nature had already began to change. My Christian friend, our character will become the prisoner of our affections. Before Israel could ever follow their vain and wicked hearts, they had to first forsake. A forsaking must take place before a following can be accomplished. Before we say yes to something we must first say no to something else because you can’t have a pursuit without a rejection first.
Our pursuits and desires are a road map to our heart and those looking in from the outside will be able to read the direction our life is heading. The dreams and desires of our heart will weave the garments of our character in time. Before long, the nation of Israel found themselves to be vain and empty of God’s power, blessing and direction. What started out as a harmless look became a way of life. Character doesn’t change overnight. It’s a slow and deliberate process involving choice after choice. Our choices become the stepping-stones to where we are going. Every choice we make comes with a price, the good and the bad. Following Jesus and HIS Word and direction is costly, but rejecting HIM is even more costly, especially in the end. Today, would you forsake anything and everything that has caught your eye, gathered your attention or affections and may be drawing you away from the Lord? If the sweet Holy Spirit has put HIS finger on something, it is only because Jesus has so much more to offer than anything this world can give you.
Bro. Lawrence Longworth
Isaiah 61:1 “the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
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