Leaning

There is a theme that is woven in the fabric of capitalism that disturbs me more with each passing year - I will call it the do-whatever-for-the-dough (money) age.  This ideology implies that an individual should be willing to investigate all avenues and opportunities to bring in the desirable income without yielding to any legal or moral roadblocks.  As a matter of fact, in many respected business' it is commonplace to have this down to be able to compete with the other sharks.  And obviously the rappers love to use this attitude to validate how serious they are about their financial security.  Most recently Ace Hood has released the same song under different names back to back (Hustle Hard and Go N Get It), where he emphatically proclaims that his struggles have lead him on a no holds barred mission for the cash.  He displays this by scoring a hit, repackaging the hit to steer away from the lack of creativity he may have, and selling it back to the consumer.  Shameless attempt to say the least.  Still, when most of us think about this "whatever-for-the-dough" notion, we tend to think about the individual or group who projects the viewpoint as evil and vile--particularly when it comes out the mouth of a music artist or a large business executive.  However...


Among some other works, I'm reading the book of Judges in my personal study time.  For those who don't know, this work highlights some men and women God chose to give the responsibility of leading Israel away from idol worship and into monogamy with Him.  At the time, this young nation was deeply involved in the admiration of several pagan deities.  With the admiration came some regionally common practices of worship that included self mutilation, orgies, and child sacrifice.  To read about the actions of the Israelites and the audacity to pronounce these "images" as God at that time was appalling; until I did more research on the idols being worshipped. 

Baal, Ashtoreth, and Asherah where the prominent gods of the Canaan region during ancient Near East times; and the Israelites, forbidden to uphold any "god" but Yahweh (Jehovah) worshiped them as well.  Why?  Well, these gods were perceived to be very important forces to the agricultural way of life for the cultures in that area of the world.  Keep in mind that agriculture was the most common, and in many cases the most lucrative industry of the day.  Therefore, if a certain 'god' was geared to produce results that would support and enhance a families farming or herding lifestyle, then most people did what they felt that had to do for the dough.  Please remember, the common man didn't (or doesn't) wake up and say, I wanna worship this statue of a sex organ.  On the contrary, wealthy, educated, and socially respected people in mass were telling the common man that the statue was the reason their crops were coming in so bountifully--and hence got them paid.  So when the rich man tells the common man, "make your kid walk through a fire to please Baal and you can receive a large harvest", the common man does that to eat.  When the respected man tells the common man, "join us and shout to Ashtoreth because the important people in this town do it", he does that too because it's what people do to be socially well connected.  Sound familiar?

How many men and women have sacrificed family time to stay at the office a little later for that yearly bonus?  How many men and women have paid dues to professional/social clubs to make sure their shoulders stay rubbed with the big wigs in their field; meanwhile they neglect child support payments and tithes?  How many people join fraternities and sororities (and endure physically and mentally abusive and demeaning acts) to enhance their favor pool in the professional world?  None of these people would outright say they worship their job, their club, or their social network; but their outward devotion certainly implies they do.  This, my friends, is idol worship.  More appropriately, this is polytheistic pagan worship; for many of those who run to these things for dependence regarding their daily lives also profess Jesus in certain circumstances--and therefore they worship many gods.

Worship is a not a mind state, but it is a deliberate act...

Let's worship God today...

Peace