Heart Check

Ps.100:³ “Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. ⁴ Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”

Augustine of Hippo says, “Idolatry is worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped.” Attempting to use The One to be worshipped is the second dimension of idolatry. It is natural for us human beings to want to leverage on the influence in our networks to get ahead, get out of trouble, or to get an advantage. For instance, you are bidding for a contract in an organization where the CEO was your childhood friend. What a lot of people will do is place a call to the CEO and leverage on that relationship. We tend to leverage on the influence of powerful people

Interestingly, when people come into a relationship with God, they come in with the same mind-set. People tend to use God rather than worship Him because that is all they know to do with powerful people and God is the most powerful being. You must have heard Christians in Nigeria say, “God’s leg is very long.” “Long-leg” in Nigeria is a term for the network advantage. So, they see God’s “long-leg” as useful for taking advantage. It all still translates to using God. While God does not mind blessing you, it hurts God if all you will want to do is turn Him into a genie. A genie is a mythical supernatural being that grants wishes. He can make things happen, but sadly, a lot of people think God is just a genie.

It is wrong to use God rather than worship Him. A lot of people get into relationship with God with the intention to use and not to please Him. Interestingly, we are most exposed to this in prayer. We are never in more danger of seeing God as a tool than when we come to God in prayer. A lot of prayers unfortunately, have become genie requests. God, do this and do that! And when we even think God will not do what we ask, we try to blackmail Him or use reverse psychology on God. The difference between God and a genie is, a genie feels he has to prove a point; God does not feel that way. He is I AM THAT I AM, He is God all by Himself.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I declare that by Your Spirit nothing will take Your place in my life. You alone will be my God, now and forever, in Jesus Name. Amen!