June 4: Material Girls (and Guys)

Read Psalm 135:15-18

They called her "Gucci Girl," they explained, because "just look at her. Every item of clothing she's wearing has an expensive label."

She didn't seem to be embarrassed by this observation. In fact, she grinned sheepishly as she pointed to a little designer logo on her shirt and the designer name on the side of her shoe. Her friends were right. Her outfit was 100% label. In fact, her outfit was 100% her. She got her identity from being the girl with all the right clothes.

Here was a girl who had become a living, breathing mannequin. When she got up in the morning, she didn't get dressed, she got decorated! She had made that scary, weird slide from being a person who acts and thinks to becoming an object that people look at.

According to Psalm 135:15-18, that's the way idolatry works. We actually become like that which we worship. We stop living life as a human being and become an object. We have mouths, but we don't speak; we have eyes, but we don't see; and we have ears, but we don't hear. We become just another beautiful face staring out from the pages of the "catalog," so that people can decide whether or not we're worth buying.

Think About It

Do you want to be an object or a subject? a beautiful statue or a living being? The psalmist warns us to be careful. We tend to become what we worship. The next time you're looking through catalogs or walking through the mall, be careful not to fall into the trap of idolatry. It steals our humanity and makes us objects.

Pray About It

Lord, help me to see the pockets of idolatry in my life. It may be the clothing I wear or the identity that I put on—but, Lord, help me avoid that trap.

Daily Reading Plan—Read 1 Timothy 4



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