Worship
Read Acts 17:16-34.
What we worship or who we worship tells a lot about us. I've been privileged to travel to many different places in the world, particularly places with Biblical roots (including Athens), and in each place we have taken time to explore the faith or religion of the people who once lived there. It's fascinating to learn how particular animals or particular stories or items became so prominent in ancient cultures. But we study such things because, as I said, what we worship tells a lot about us.
In Athens, Paul encounters an altar "to an unknown god." It's a fascinating altar that, perhaps more than any of the rest, says a lot about the Athenians. They were so concerned (or afraid) of offending a god they had forgotten that they worshipped something they did not even know. This was the altar to the "Just In Case We Missed One" god. So Paul steps up to the challenge: "In fact, Athenians, you did miss one. You missed the Only One."
While we think our culture is mostly unreligious, the reality is we have altars set up all over the place to the gods we worship. What do you think future archaeologists will say about our time and culture?
It appears, due to the many shrines they built to what they called "fast food" that these people worshipped at the altar of convenience and speed. There are also many shrines to something called "low cost" and "planned obsolescence." We've found many signs that say "Wal-Mart," and though we're not sure what that is, it obviously was a significant place of worship. We also found a lot of technology—things called phones and tablets and laptops and smart watches. It's obvious that these things ruled much of their lives and commanded a significant amount of loyalty. It seems they were rarely if ever without these objects of worship.
Who or what we worship—who or what occupies a significant amount of our time—says much about us. What do your gods say about you?
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| Mars Hill, Athens - 2014 |
In Athens, Paul encounters an altar "to an unknown god." It's a fascinating altar that, perhaps more than any of the rest, says a lot about the Athenians. They were so concerned (or afraid) of offending a god they had forgotten that they worshipped something they did not even know. This was the altar to the "Just In Case We Missed One" god. So Paul steps up to the challenge: "In fact, Athenians, you did miss one. You missed the Only One."
While we think our culture is mostly unreligious, the reality is we have altars set up all over the place to the gods we worship. What do you think future archaeologists will say about our time and culture?
It appears, due to the many shrines they built to what they called "fast food" that these people worshipped at the altar of convenience and speed. There are also many shrines to something called "low cost" and "planned obsolescence." We've found many signs that say "Wal-Mart," and though we're not sure what that is, it obviously was a significant place of worship. We also found a lot of technology—things called phones and tablets and laptops and smart watches. It's obvious that these things ruled much of their lives and commanded a significant amount of loyalty. It seems they were rarely if ever without these objects of worship.
Who or what we worship—who or what occupies a significant amount of our time—says much about us. What do your gods say about you?
So true. It’s kind of scary, isn’t it?
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