Lessons I Learned From Idols (Part I)

I have always been so prone to idolize people and things that, at first, I did not recognize it as a problem. This post is the first of two entries dealing specifically with one area of idolatry.

If I had to live my life over again, this is one episode (among too many others) I would wish to skip altogether.

Yet, I would not have become the person I am today without having walked through such a deep valley. I would not be relying on God's strength and clinging to Him with all He's given me.

It all began in the fall of 1983. Having grown up with no electricity in my home, it was always up to me to provide my own entertainment. I would sing songs with my closest siblings, tell stories, read by the light of a kerosene lamp, play hide and seek, or simply indulge in "make believe" games. Those activities kept me interested and grateful to God until something changed in me -- I was introduced to the neighbor's TV.

Lesson # 1: Idols are good things mishandled by people.

TV, in itself, is not bad. However, used inappropriately, it can become as lethal as a viper's poison.

That is exactly what happened to me.

TV became my idol and I clung to it tenaciously. 

It replaced my first love for God, His Word, His mission.

It blinded me from the grace and beauty of God's provision.

Lesson # 2: Idols make people lie.

Living in such close proximity to others in third-world Haiti, the bathroom window of my house provided a bird's eye view of our neighbors' living room where a nice size TV was placed. Back then, the neighbors would turn on their TV from 4 o'clock in the afternoon until midnight . . . or until a power outage decides it is time for all of Port-au-Prince to go to bed. So, quite conveniently, I kept telling my family I "needed to use the restroom."Using the restroom meant standing in front of the window, watching programs, leaving the restroom during commercial breaks, and returning to the bathroom to resume watching TV. 

Lesson # 3: Idols demand to be worshipped. 

Of course, things did not always turn out the way I wanted. There were moments when another family member had a legitimate need to use the restroom. There were also times when the neighbors would annoyingly stand in front of the TV, preventing me from seeing what I wanted to see. I began to despise those little inconveniences and felt as though I was being deprived of my rights.

It took a little while for my family to see through my duplicity and my parents soon ensured that my visits to the restroom were curtailed back to a normal schedule.

Inside of me, however, there was a war going on. I had become attached and, frankly, completely addicted to my neighbors' TV. At school, I braved the snickering of classmates only to find out how a particular show ended. I simply had to know as if my life depended on it. 

Lesson # 4: Idols cause people to forgo caution and wisdom.

One afternoon, it dawned on me that I could simply slip away from my house, go to the neighbors' porch, watch show after show, going back and forth to and from my house when the commercials were on to make sure that I knew when my family was going to bed. My family was the only family I knew that kept an early bedtime.

On one of those trips back to my house, I was surprised and relieved to see that a longtime friend of Papi's had just come for a visit. The two of them were in deep conversation.

Whoa! 
How fortunate I am tonight! 

They'll talk for hours and hours . . . and won't notice if I'm gone. 
Yes!!!

So, I stole myself away as quietly as possible and made myself comfortable in front of the neighbors' TV, no longer checking the clock and no longer worrying about my bedtime.

I was just beginning to feel hungry when the clock struck ten. I hurried back to my house and found that the house was completely dark -- the kerosene lamp had long been out. The front and side doors were both locked. And I was on the wrong side of them.

I was locked out!

Lesson # 5: Idols leave people hanging.

Do I knock? 

No, that would mean revealing to my parents that I had gone out without their assent or consent.

Do I go back and watch more TV?

No, TV watching was no longer alluring to me.

Do I stay out in the dark until morning comes?

Maybe, well, no . . . it was a dangerous world out there for a little 9-year old boy.

I was still debating what to do when a woman saw me and said,

"What are you doing outside at this hour of the night?"

"Oh, just thinking . . . ," came my hesitant reply.

She looked at me, glanced at my house, quickly grabbed my hand, and knocked on the door. Soon, Papi opened the door and I raced inside and hid under the dining room table.

Precious Father, I thank You for revealing to Your children and followers how alluring idols can be. May I learn that You are the only One to be revered and regarded as captivating, may I cling to Your truth, may I worship with all of me, may I embrace caution and wisdom in all my dealings, and may I be aware of Your presence all the days of my life! Amen.