Once these things had come to an end, Paul, guided by the Spirit, decided to return to Jerusalem, taking a route that would carry him through the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. He said, “After I have been there, I must visit Rome as well.” He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he remained awhile in the province of Asia. At that time a great disturbance erupted about the Way. There was a silversmith named Demetrius. He made silver models of Artemis’ temple, and his business generated a lot of profit for the craftspeople. He called a meeting with these craftspeople and others working in related trades and said, “Friends, you know that we make an easy living from this business. And you can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods. This poses a danger not only by discrediting our trade but also by completely dishonoring the great goddess Artemis. The whole province of Asia—indeed, the entire civilized world—worships her, but her splendor will soon be extinguished.” (Acts 19:21-27, CEB)
This passage hits on a point that I think we do not really think about. What is a god?
Notice I said god, and not God. There is a difference. God is the creator of everything that has been made, and god is anything in our lives that gets in the way of God.
Silver statues, boats, homes, comfort for us and not others, power. All of these are gods and people make money off of them and use them to keep others in place.
I have preached for stewardship campaigns before: “Show me your checkbook and I’ll show you your god.”
We all have god(s) that keep us from following God. We need to identify them and ask for help to lay them aside.
Lay aside your gods and follow God, loving all of God’s creation.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 