Valerie Rae Hanneman
Acts 7:41 (The Message) “That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together”
I have this great hairdo. It is absolutely unique. It is all different lengths - from strands 1 inch long to strands 19 inches long. There are four distinct colors from pale blond to deepest red - including my signature copper orange color. It is a startling hairdo and I get all sorts of reactions on it from people who love it and say that it is “so Valerie” to Carol Robertshaw who warns me not to come near her if she is holding a pair of scissors (she’s joking with me - I think). When people ask me why I would do such a thing to my hair I tell them that I am having a mid-life crisis. I can’t afford a sports car - I am too tired to chase men half my age - so all that was left for me to do was something wild and wonderful with my hair. But the truth is that I love it!
Ilene Luna created my hairstyle for me and she is the only person I would trust to do something as different as this. As part of the process Ilene needed to put hair extensions in my hair to give me the varied longer lengths and colors in my hair. When I commented to her about how real the extensions felt she assured me that they were real human hair. I asked her where they came from, she told me that her supplier purchased the hair from temples in Asia - that the hair came from young women who, after they were married, cut off their long hair as a sacrifice to their gods to ensure fertility.
How sad. How sad that the sacrifice that some young woman laid at the feet of her god along with her hopes, dreams and prayers ended up on the head of a spoiled American woman. (And compared to most of the world population - I am spoiled simply because I eat regularly)
But isn’t that the way it is with man-made religions? In the end - they are just a big disappointment - a waste of our time, our lives and our resources. You certainly don’t get what you are expecting.. And any faith that is not absolutely founded in God’s grace extended to man through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, in our place is just a man-made religious program.
This verse in Acts, spoken by Steven as he was being interrogated by the religious leaders, is a reminder of one of the most inexplicable instances of a man-made religion. The Israelites, fresh from a walk on dry ground between massive walls of water, were waiting for Moses to come down from Sinai where he was meeting with God. They knew that God was up there, they could see the rolling clouds, see the lightning and hear the thunder. They had stood and trembled in fear when God first came to the top of that mountain. But now Moses had been gone to long - and Israel was looking for an excuse to party. And that is exactly what the golden calf was - an excuse for Israel to have an orgy. No one will convince me that Israel truly believed that their man-made religion, centered around that golden calf, was real - but it fit their purposes.
And that is the way it is with man-made religions - it fits our purposes. When people did not want to understand a single, absolutely just God, they created gods and goddesses to explain life - and made sure that these gods and goddesses had all of the moral weaknesses that they themselves surrendered to. After all - if your gods and goddesses are just as immoral as you are - how can you possibly be held to a higher standard in your own actions. You want to indulge in wine to excess - Bacchus is your god. Multiple partners? Zeus was your guy.
This creating of our own gods and goddesses continues today. Different names - but same purposes. These days they are named “bank balance” “keeping up with the Joneses”“chasing the American dream” “bigger, better, more” Too many of us continue to sacrifice our time, talents and integrity to the pursuit of these idols. They fit our religious program.
And our sacrifice to them is worthless. Our pursuit of them leads to destruction.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a God - a single, absolutely just God Who is worth serving and worth sacrificing to. This God - our God - does not have the weaknesses that mar the gods this earth pursues. Sin has never stained Him - He is perfect. Because He does not have the weaknesses that false gods have we do not have to worry about Him failing us. He is not capricious in His actions - being with us one day and gone the next. He is unfailing in His love - He will never turn against us. What is true about Him today is true about Him tomorrow and what is true about Him tomorrow is true about Him for eternity. Because He is absolutely perfect we don’t ever have to sacrifice our integrity to follow Him. He is the one true God and there is no other god who is above Him or even equal to Him.
When we willingly sacrifice ourselves to our God our sacrifice is not tossed on the junkpile, it does not end up on the head of some spoiled person, it is not in vain. It rises up before our God like the sweetest incense and it brings Him delight. I wouldn’t be too surprised to find out that He pokes Gabriel in the arm and says, “Look at what My child is doing!” and all of heaven rejoices. That alone makes any sacrifice worth it.
Who is the god that you serve? To whom are you sacrificing your life, time and talents? Is your sacrifice worth it? Or is it worthless?
LORD God, I have never sacrificed anything to You that compares to what You sacrificed to pay my sin-debt. You are more than worth anything I have sacrificed. I willingly sacrifice everything I am and have to You.
Contact Valerie or subscribe to the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at September 9, 2005 07:56 PM