A Soapbox?

“Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed. [Exodus 22.20]

At first glance, most pass off this command as a problem of the distant past. Besides, very few are purposefully building altars, killing animals and offering that blood to strange gods...

But, what if the "sacrifices" people make are of a different nature? What if those sacrifices are sacrifices of time, money and allegiance? What if those sacrifices are not unusual religious practices but instead very common and accepted convention we engage in every day? What if the modern false gods of today are alive and well cloaked in the conveniences of debt, insurance, medicine and technology?

It doesn't take creative license to see how many sacrifices are made every day to debt, insurance, medicine and technology! A vast majority of people today are beholding to these "conveniences" having been subtly ensnared by their "bait" of comfort, ease and unearned reward. Debt, insurance, medicine and technology all offer "blessings" otherwise promised by God (not ironically promised in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading right along with the subject passage above):

“You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. [Exodus 23.25-26]

The 'benefits' listed in Exodus 23.25-26 broadly portray health, wealth and well-being - all of which are conversely promised by debt, insurance, medicine and technology without allegiance to God - without serving only the LORD God.

So, back to the 'sacrifices' people make today... What is a sacrifice? According to Merriam-Webster.com:

1 : an act of offering to a deity something precious especially : the killing of a victim on an altar

2 : something offered in sacrifice

3 a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else

3 b : something given up or lost (the sacrifices made by parents)

Look particularly at the third definition (a:). How many people today, in the name of 'immediate gratification,' are quite literally 'slaves' to expensive prescriptions, exorbitant premiums or suffocating interest? God never attached such bondage to His blessings!

What's more, for anyone paying attention to advertisements today, it's the companies promoting debt, insurance, medicine and technology that unashamedly present homosexuality and alternate lifestyles as normal in stark contrast to what the Bible clearly teaches! Only a person deceived by Satan would believe this is a coincidence ("you won't really die...")!

This is not a "soapbox." It is instead an exposé of modern society's duplication of Israel's infidelity!

Father, may our eyes be opened to the dangerous trap we have allowed ourselves to be drawn into - all for the sake of getting what we want without obeying You to get it. May our hearts be enlightened to what it means to serve only You and may we enjoy Your blessings by our obedience to You and not by the sacrifices we make to false gods! So be it!