Idols Or God?

I think I can say with a degree of accuracy that many of us long fora deeper relationship, even a yearning to love and grasp that which is beyond our `knowing', and that is God.

We fight and struggle so much too come close to the God whom we love, but I wonder if we are fighting the `wrong' fight and using the wrong tools, and more often than not we are left in deep frustration, and a sense of failure.

Perhaps things would be clearer if we could understand that which we battle, for the war was and always will be within ourselves. To seek to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, without recognising the need to let go of the `false idols' that distract us and draw us away from our ultimate goal. Do we recognise these idols?

There are many `idols' which seek to divert or even seduce us away from that which we seek with all our hearts. What are these idols? Only the individual can answer that, these idols can be so subtle that we may fail to even acknowledge let alone perceive them for what they are. So we settle for the lesser gods rather than continue on the arduous journey of discovering `self' and then letting ` the self' go.

We settle for the comfortable, the ordinary and to be asone with everyone. When we do this we fail to realise by becoming as everyone we lose ourselves and substitute a god for God. This will not only lead us away from God, but into dysfunction and disordered love, where we place our security on the opinions of others, and make the impossible demand to be loved exclusively, we then become a burden to ourselves and to others. By placing this 'god' above God, we easily become disappointed , discontented and enslaved, in a failure to identify the false `idol' of becoming as everyone.

There are also times in our journey where we face antagonism from others, and focus our attention on self, and allow our feelings to rule, instead of being in control of our feelings, they become a 'god', and we feed this god by embarking on a journey of `proving'ourselves to whom?

Another `idol' is to believe we have already arrived, and we `know' God and have received all we need, we then become seekers no more, but settle for ones limited intellect, the self has become 'god'.

These `idols' are in everything where we have placed THE greatest importance, within our own merit, albiet: knowledge, material comfort, popularity, achievements, self EGO, power, prestige, dominance and the most seductive the need to control.

Even our prayers can be a god, when the need to be 'seen' as `holy' substitutes for the reality of one's need of God's Grace which is needed so as to become Holy. In order to allow God to penetrate into our souls we must first recognise our own sins and acknowledge that we too have failed God. God cannot fill a vessel that is 'perceived' as full by the soul that relies on it's own distorted 'intuition'.

Religiosity can also become a 'god', when we rely on rituals and thelaw of the Church rather than seeking a relationship with God. All these false gods encourage a false self and a person becomes that which it loves.

In recognising these substitute gods, we then begin the journey of reorientation we are then liberated from these attatchments. It isnot the world that is the problem, but in how we relate to the world, it is a shift in perspectives.

Jesus did not sequester Himself away during His Mission, He was in the world but not of the world, our Lord kept His heart focussed on God the Father. So as in Jesus we are not being called to `cast' aside the world nor abandon the world, God created us to live in the world but not be of the world. In order to be fulfilled in our yearning of God who is Love, we need to identify what is motivating us? Do we seek a 'god', or do we seek God?

The God who transforms, heals, liberates and enlivens us. Or do we wish to remain `comfortable'? Are we seeking what we want or do we ask ourselves, what does God want?