It didn’t take all that long before Israel was pining after a god they could recognize, an image that they could see. That Moses guy, well, he was a long time coming down from the mountain, and he left them alone. Well, not really. The elders and Aaron who had ascended the mount with Moses, had had a fellowship dinner in the presence of God, were among them. It was rather amazing that those who a month earlier sat in the presence of God would not have had something to say about making an idol. Instead, they threw their accumulated wealth in with those that grumbled, the gold collected by their Egyptian neighbors just as they left during the Passover, and out popped a golden calf. The way the story is written, Aaron the high priest was also something of a craftsman. He fashioned the idol, then proclaimed to all the assembled people that this was the god who delivered them. I guess he forgot that the firstborn of the cattle of Egypt had perished, too, along with those of humanity.
We are prone to look at the Israelite’s shortsightedness and proclaim them idiots. It is wise of us to remember how frequently we break our own resolutions. It is our nature to be fickle and chase after the wind. We know that power corrupts yet seek it at every turn. Our proclamations that God is in control are usually answered by behavior that denies that. We make for ourselves “idols of gold” in the form of fashion, fame, cars, and homes, yet proclaim ‘Christ first’ to our last breath.
This is very much the reality of the cultures that Paul addressed. Consider his admonitions toward obedience and love in the context of a culture that was prone to various forms of idol worship – not unlike our own. Now, consider the culture that he was calling them to enter. It is well defined in Matthew 5-7. We start with the beatitudes. Our attitude stays religious if we focus on the attributes, poor in spirit, mourning, humility, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, a merciful nature, purity of heart, peacemaking… With those, we can say of ourselves, ‘look at me, I’m a good Christian.’ Hungering, though, points us to the second part of each phrase. Can we say of ourselves that we hunger for the kingdom of God, for comfort to be given to others, for this whole earth to be under the loving and wise guidance of Christ-like individuals – those who sacrifice for the benefit of all? Is our goal to be pure in heart, or is it to see God?
Our calling is to dwell in the Lord’s kingdom now, not to wait out this troubled life. In our families, amid our friends, in our churches, offices, schools, wherever, we are to create a corner of kingdom-ness. Seek first this kingdom and God’s righteousness, that is when peace, mercy, and inheritance come.
Would you rather own a fancy car or inherit the kingdom of God? They are exclusive in that the goal of the former is a man-made delusion toward happiness, while the latter is a promised joy regardless of the material surroundings.