Too Many Lovers

“Too Many Lovers” By Paul Taylor Introduction I needed a car part in a hurry. The auto parts store was on an access road that was no longer easily accessible because of a recent makeover to the intersection. My solution was to cut through the parking lot of a local fast food restaurant which emptied out onto the access road, and there I was -- at the auto parts store. After all, I was in a hurry. Thinking back, I remember seeing a police car sitting nearby and thought nothing of it at the time. However, just as I was turning into the auto parts driveway, I discovered that same patrol car was now behind me and had his emergency lights on. How odd, I thought. I wonder what that is all about. I was about to find out. The officer approached my window and his first question was, “Do you know why I stopped you?” My response was both surprised and truthful. “I haven’t got a clue!” It turned out that my little shortcut was against the law. “Against the law? You’ve got to be kidding!” I discovered that police officers with their emergency lights on who stop cars are in fact “not kidding.” Not only was he “not kidding,” but also my decision to take that short cut had a $120 fine attached to it. I was floored! I had no idea that my little maneuver was wrong! But not knowing it was wrong didn’t exempt me from the consequences of having to pay the fine. I like the privilege of driving, but it comes with the responsibility of learning the rules of the road. My ignorance did not excuse my wrongdoing. My mistake is certainly understandable, but the truth was -- I had broken the law. This experience showed me that I always have a choice in life. If I wanted to avoid the pain of paying tickets in the future, I needed to learn the rules of the road and obey them. If I want things to go well in my life, I need to learn the rules and principles God has woven into the Christian life, and I must obey them. My other choice is to muddle through this Christian life wondering why I suffer over and over and secretly curse God under my breath for being hard on me. Being a Christian does not exempt any of us from learning and following the “rules of the road” that God built into life. The number one “rule of the road” is illustrated throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelations and clearly stated in Exod. 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” To ignore or be ignorant of this command may be the primary reason you, your family, your business, and all of society is suffering right now whether you know it or not! This book specifically reaches out to people who call themselves Christians, but whose lifestyle says something very different. It is not directly aimed at those who do not know the true God and are ensnared in the sin of idolatry; that problem is far more obvious but no less critical. God’s desire is to have His children see the truth, repent, and come back to Him as their “first love.” Listen to the problem from God’s perspective as recorded in Isaiah. 29:13, The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. What we are really saying is, “God I love you but… I need someone or something else.” So we find other “lovers” that eventually consume our time, money, affection and attention. In God’s eyes this is simply adultery in the form of idolatry, or having other lovers. When we repeatedly give the best of ourselves to what God created, instead of the Creator himself, it tells Him He isn’t our first love anymore. There are many, many Christians in the Church today who are practicing idolatry and don’t realize it is really spiritual prostitution. But our God isn’t afraid of sin or sinners. In fact he is a compassionate and merciful God who may be saying to you today, “Do you know why I stopped you?” We may even sense his anger, but it is the anger of a loving God who hates to see his children damaged by sin. Like any good father, He wants his children to have the best, but it just so happens that HE is the best! Like a good father, He is jealous for your love. He is jealously calling out to everyone who calls themselves by His name, to turn from the other so called “lovers” and come back to Him. This is such a foundational issue that it’s no wonder that our idolatry is currently shaking the foundations of the earth itself and we are oblivious. With the world in a growing crescendo of crisis, the Earth itself is in a state of upheaval from the threats of global warming to the meltdown of society. Crisis is nothing new to the earth, but is it possible we are blind to the greatest crisis of all-the curse of idolatry which is growing at an alarming rate within the Church itself? In short, whatever or whomever people have trusted in -- apart from the one true God and His son Jesus -- is being or will soon be shaken like never before. Historic institutions, political parties, and even governments themselves that seemed immovable are coming apart to show that they are false saviors who didn’t deserve our highest trust or devotion.