10 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. ² In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. ³ All of them ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵ Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

⁶ These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, ⁷ or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” ⁸ And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

⁹ Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. ¹⁰ And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. ¹¹ These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

¹² If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. ¹³ The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

¹⁴ So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. ¹⁵ You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true.

1 Corinthians 10:1-15

Dear God, I am teaching a Sunday school class this week and I want to pass one something that you have been teaching me over the last three years: identifying and getting rid of my idols.

In modern America, I don’t have little statues I worship. We’ve reasoned ourselves beyond that. Some people have even “reasoned” themselves beyond you. But what even those people don’t realize is that they have reasoned themselves into something that they will look to for their fruits of the Spirit. Especially for their peace.

Maybe I should start there. Maybe I should start with what it is that makes worshipping you and loving you, even in the midst of trials, so amazing. When I go to Galatians 5:22 and consider the fruits of the Spirit, I think that peace is that special thing we are looking for in our lives. Peace within ourselves. A stillness in our souls.

I think the heart of the message is in verses 7-10:

“Do not be idolaters, as some of [the Israelites who left Egypt in Exodus] were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.’ We should not commit sexual immortality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel,”

This paragraph makes me wonder why I do this. What is it that drives me to idols? What is they offer me that I should only and can only find from you? I think the answer is peace. Yes, by worshipping you the fruits of the Spirit will naturally grow in me and out of me: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Those are amazing things for anyone to exhibit and give to others, but all but two of them are outward-focused. Joy and peace are part of my internal make-up. They are the well that is in me. And when I am truly in relationship with you, your joy and a peace that passes all understanding is what grows in me.

So what if all temptation is designed by Satan to pull me into seeking joy and peace apart from you? Could this possibly be the center of any sin that tempts me? If I want to steal something or take something that isn’t mine, do I think the having of that thing will bring me some level of peace or joy? If I am tempted to kill someone, do I think the elimination of that person will bring me peace or joy? If I commit adultery or even look at pornography, is there something in my brain telling me to find joy there? The same goes for just about any other sin. Slander/gossiping. Lying. Unforgiveness. Even skipping the Sabbath.

When I was growing up in Baptist and Fellowship of Christian Athletes circles, one thing they used to tell us about was our “God hole.” I would hear people say that we all have a “God hole” in our hearts that nothing else can fill. And our temptation is to look at the world and try to find things in the world to fill that “God hole,” but nothing ever fills it. Only you do. As I sit here and think about this now, and as I’ve thought about this topic all week, I wonder if that God hole isn’t simply the joy and peace that only comes from you because you are the only thing in all of the universe that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Making you my God and rejecting these temptations fills my “God hole” (i.e., gives me peace and joy) completely and can keep it filled regardless of my life circumstances.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, as I pray this morning, it feels like you are teaching me that temptation is all about directing me to one idol or another and leading me away from you and looking for alternative things to put in my “God hole.” It’s amazing how effective the temptation is. I wonder why that is. But let me just start my repenting for my idolatrous heart. I am sorry I look to anything else at any time of day or day of the week that will give me something only you can give. I am sorry I try to make myself and my pleasure my god. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your presence.

I pray all of this in the name of the one true God, my Father, my Jesus, and my Holy Spirit,

Amen