I went to the rental center at DFW airport Wednesday afternoon, and in the middle of the building, propped in the air is this bronze bull. It struck me as odd because I did not believe any of the companies had a bull as their mascot, and then I laughed to myself a little based on a message delivered a few days earlier.

Last Sunday, Pastor Jonathan Evans gave a sermon from 2 Kings 13 about Joash missing out on his victory because he didn’t shoot all the arrows. It was a sermon I had heard before, but Jonathan added context as to why the king was down to 50 horseman, 10 chariots, and in need of a spiritual victory. He referred us back to 1 Kings 12:28 when a previous king of Israel, Jeroboam decided to sin against God, “So the king consulted, and he made two golden calves; and he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” It goes on to say how this angered the LORD (rightfully so), and other kings followed in his example, so Israel was defeated over and over by their enemies until all that was left, was surely not enough.

It is very easy for us to make idols out of anything…other people, jobs, relationships, possessions, drugs, alcohol, sex, ambition, political parties, and of course, money! Jonathan had mentioned the Bull of Wall Street, that’s why when I saw the bull in the rental center I chuckled. It made me wonder if people who are believers stop to consider the symbolism of things. Are we even aware when the stage is set for us to easily engage in idolatry? Idols are easy to identify. They move us out of alignment with God…His word and/or His will. It’s important to note how the consequence of sin was not limited to the one king, it continued down the line. As a rationale thinker, I would assume the first of the Ten Commandments is the most important. If you’re not sure about whether there are idols in your life, you can always ask the Holy Spirit to show you. Just be prepared to accept and act on what is presented to you. I hope you have a wonderful week!

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” – Exodus 20:2-6