The Challenge

Yesterday we were challenged to change one thing in our life, to be in line with the 10 commandments, and present that sacrifice as a gift to the baby Jesus this Christmas.

At first glance at the 10 it seems we have adhered to all and there is nothing much to change anyway.

But a deeper look does throw up some interesting deviations. Lets look under the hood. 

Take for instance the 2nd commandment. Surely, we do not make nor worship idols. Now when we think of an idol, we envision a man-made figure of wood or stone, or something in nature that we worship. And of course, we do not do that.

Merriam Webster defines an idol as - an object of extreme devotion or a representation or symbol of an object of worship. The Oxford dictionary defines it as an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship; the Bible dictionary calls it an image or anything used as an object of worship in place of the true God.

In short, anything that takes precedence over God can be an idol. For example, say there is a game scheduled on a Sunday, where some top stars are going to play. Many people may forgo church, attend the game and generally have a great day. Do you think we have idolized the game? If we have, we may have actually broken two commandments - the 2nd and the 4th. Check it out. 

Anything that dilutes and defocuses our relationship with God is actually an idol. It could be our children, parents, our wife or husband; it could be a game, a habit, an addiction and something as simple as food. In today's world, I think the most common deviation maybe idolizing ourselves, our job, which though a blessing, can become an idol. And the most common one is Christmas itself. we have idolized it as an event!

When we look at the 2nd commandment with that perspective, see how guilty we possibly are?