"When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, 'Come make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'"(Exodus 32:1)
The story of the golden calf is one of those that I can still see the picture of from my children's bible story book. Pretty impressive thing they made. Wow they had a lot of gold. The story of course is there as a warning against idolatry, one of the 10 commandments. Funny thing is that they hadn't gotten the 10 commandments at this point, but I digress.
While I'm not sure you can violate a rule that you don't know exists, the story for me also points to a deep human need. A symbol of some kind that makes us feel secure. When we watch our lives take a turn that we aren't equipped to deal with quite yet, we attempt to find some kind of touchstone to keep us centered, to perhaps makes us feel secure through this tumultuous period. The reality of life is we make "golden calves" all the time.
The biggest problem is these creations tend to replace the trust we have that God is truly present with us. And then grows into something bigger than just a security blanket.
Ask yourself if you have any "golden calves" in your own life? Is there something that makes you feel secure even though it too could disappear or perhaps cause you more pain than it is worth? When we seek to hold onto these safety devices, we miss the real security that comes from loving and being loved by God.
Blessings,
Ed
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