By: Obed Pineda
When a person stops to observe the world surrounding him, if that person is upright and humble, he will marvel such as David did and wonder, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him” (Psalm 8:4)? There is no question that the fingerprints of the Almighty can be found upon all of His creation and they are indelible. This outstanding and irrevocable truth can be confirmed by humanity every day “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a, emphasis added). In other words, it is irrational and unjust to deny that the same Creator of the earth is also currently the One who sustains it. Behold the central core of David’s fascination for indeed, he too excitedly promulgated, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men” (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, and 31)! Even though God has never ceased to provide earthly blessings upon all, it is lamentable that there has always been ungrateful men and women who “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:21-23, emphasis added). It is perplexing to understand the logic behind the concept of giving worship to a created thing. Yet, this illogical practice is still prevalent in our current, modern society. The reality of this statement can be verified when one asks one simple question: To whom do you pray? Let us not forget that in the previously quoted Psalm, the sacredly inspired king exhorts mankind to “give thanks to the Lord” which is a direct reference to prayer. However, one must not overlook either that David, too, is very specific as to Whom our gratitude should be given: to the Lord. Unequivocally, David and Paul are warning against the perils and irrationality of idolatry. Both men manifest that a major fact revealed of those who practice idolatry is an ungrateful heart. The apostle to the Gentiles refers to this travesty when he explains that to worship creation equates to “not glorify Him as God.” Essentially, to better grasp the unfairness of this action, this is like a lazy man who wrongfully takes credit for your work and is exalted for it. Thus, the created things (i.e. man, animals, plants, etc…) robs God of what rightfully belongs to Him, when man trusts more in those things rather than Him. Take for example King Nebuchadnezzar’s conclusion as to the reason for his kingdom’s success: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty” (Daniel 4:30, emphasis added)? Jehovah God had already sent a warning to the king via a vision and Daniel’s interpretation to be “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses,” but sadly Nebuchadnezzar only heeded Daniel’s warning for a year before he succumbed to his hubris and was punished for it (Daniel 4:1-37). Undoubtedly, there are many still today who are Nebuchadnezzar, taking the glory that belongs to God for themselves. Those who do so, are described by the Lord Jesus as men who emulate the Pharisee who “stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess’” (Luke 18:11-12, emphasis added). Take note of the delusional image both this king and Pharisee had of themselves. Neither man ever recognized that the glory belonged to God and for this reason, neither man gave thanks to Him for His blessed providence. Curiously, the Pharisee uttered the words “thank You,” but Christ had already exposed that this man was praying to himself. Therefore, we also learn from both men that they were in actuality their own idols, standing in the way of the Almighty’s praise. The mistake of Nebuchadnezzar and the Pharisee was not to feel proud of their accomplishments but to believe that they achieved them without the providential hand of God. This is how modern society is still erroneously worshiping the created thing instead of the Creator Himself. Man is quick to praise and exalt the rapid advancements he has reached in technology and medicine, but always “conveniently” forgets to recognize that it was possible because of what God has already provided. History books make it a point to pay homage to men and women who contributed to these advancements with their inventions and discoveries, but seldom mention that had God not already created it, it would have never been possible to fulfill. This ingrate attitude was the one the prophet Elijah was sent to expose on that memorable day when he valiantly stood firm against four hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal (1st Kings 18:20-40). On that day at Mount Carmel, the prophet of the Lord uncovered fully the lunacy of trusting in anything or anyone other than God. Elijah, incredibly and wisely, did so by demonstrating the true power of true prayer. His lesson began several years prior to this event when He declared against King Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1st Kings 17:1, emphasis added). Elijah first educates Israel and her king that the major difference between Baal and Jehovah God is that God is alive! He follows this fabulous instruction by indicating that where he stood and served a living God, they were serving a god that solely existed due to the figment of their imagination, echoing Isaiah’s description of the ludicrous nature of idolatry (Isaiah 44:9-20). Thus, the prophet establishes as proof of his promulgation his prayer raised to Jehovah God, asking Him to cease and provide rain. This, Elijah does to exhibit two very vital points. The prophet was acutely aware that the prophets of Baal were going to vigorously try to make him a liar by praying to Baal to bring forth rain, hoping that it would happen. Therefore, when this would fail it would immediately unmask Baal as a false god. Secondly, those praying to a false god would be discovered to be false prophets promoting false doctrine, thus bringing into the open their unrighteous being. Hence the explanation provided by James as the reason for Elijah’s triumph to be “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16b-18, emphasis added). Unfortunately, Israel failed to understand this and thus it was necessary for Elijah to spell it out for them at Mount Carmel through his proposition of dueling prayers, declaring “the God who answers by fire, He is God” (1st Kings 18:24, emphasis added). Since this lesson is still true today, let us beware that we are not praying to a god who is deaf, mute, and powerless, revealing our ingrate heart.