Crush The Idols

Wow, the title of this post sounds super Pentecostal. Being at Lee does that to you, I guess... It's been a few days since my last post, so I've had plenty of time to think about what I want to talk about. The problem is, I couldn't settle on a single idea. Writer's block at its finest, people. I've been racking my brain, and it didn't really hit me until Sunday what I would talk about.

I've mentioned Kingdom Players on the blog once before, but in case you don't know what it is...KP is a traveling drama group here at Lee. We're a team of 8 people, and we travel to different churches and events throughout the week doing skits and human videos. I absolutely love being a part of the group. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without it. The only negative thing I can say about KP is this: when you do a drama to a specific song at most services, the song gets really old really fast, even if it's a great song. That is exactly what happened with Jimmy Needham's, "Clear the Stage." (I linked the song, just in case you want to hear it.)

When we first heard the song, we adored it. Beautifully written and melodic, the song has a way of cutting to the heart of the matter; sometimes you just need to clear your stage so God can be center in your life. However, when you hear the song countless times in a week, the message has a way of becoming dim. At least that's how it is for me. I had gotten in a rut with the song where I didn't really hear the message anymore. That was until this past Sunday, when I heard the song with fresh ears. We were performing our drama at a church nearby, and the song had reached the bridge when it really clicked for me. There is a line that says, "Anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol." When I heard those words, it felt like I had been hit in the face with a brick. How many times have I listened to that line and never really took it to heart? The truth of that sentence stuck with me well after the service was over. 

Our heart is where our thoughts are, and God's thoughts are constantly on us. The more I think about that, the more I realize how much we cheat God. I'm guilty of this. I'll ask God all the time to keep me in His perfect will, but seldom do I dwell on Him and His purpose for me. Instead, I allow my thoughts to jump to problems at school, people in my life, my future--things that are out of my control. And whether I like it or not, I let those things become idols in the face of a God who loves me more than anything. 

There is another line in the song that simply says, "You can sing all you want to and still get it wrong. Worship is more than a song." I want my worship to be more than a song, but if I can't keep God at the center of my thoughts, my worship will always be just a song. I'm not saying that we must think about God 24/7 and be super spiritual, never joke, laugh, have crushes, or worry about school work. I'm just saying that sometimes it's a good idea to clear our stages and let God know that He's the one we can't stop thinking of. If we're the center of His thoughts, why can't He be the center of ours?