Author	Thread: Idolitry?
1jon310 View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 22 Dec, 2013 07:08 PM My family was more important to me then God and I did not realize it until they were gone. Much pain involved. So my question to you all, men and women is..... How do YOU know that YOU have crossed the line and now your spouse or your search for a spouse has become idolatrous? r Post Reply
View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 22 Dec, 2013 07:36 PM I suppose one indicator for me is the way in which I react to the ups and downs of good times and bad over the course of that whole thing of trying to find a mate thing. Is my reaction to use it as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ or further away? How do I cope with success or failure? I say that's a pretty good indicator for me. Post Reply
Lukia^ View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 22 Dec, 2013 09:18 PM When you keep them in your mind all the time not even having time for prayer or focus on spiritual matters. Post Reply
dunravin View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 22 Dec, 2013 09:42 PM One issue with the family we are born into or grow with is that each family literally creates its own myths. We all are a part of the myth creation and perpetuation. So that even though there are serious issues that face us as a family we change the context and thereby alter ourselves from the reality of who we are spiritually. Spiritually, if we create a myth we enter into the world of idolatry and something other that who we are and who we worship changes our perspective of our place in time and space. That may sound very convoluted but the function of family is not to be an end in itself , the function of family is to nurture and grow us into functional human beings with a cognizance or awareness of who we are and who we aspire to be. So if we see our parents as something akin to supermen or women we may well aspire to be like them, emulate them and their lifestyles, or take on certain of their attributes and grow into ourselves. We can worship family life just as we can worship money and possessions. Perhaps this is why there are so many Biblical references to striving for riches and the avoidance of such. Jesus said that both mammon and money cannot inhabit the same place in our worship. Family is though absolutely vital to correct social and psychological health. It is the place to learn to be ourselves and grow. To grow emotionally and spiritually. To grow spiritually we must be in a place where spiritual truth is being discussed and taught and learned and practiced. The same is true of emotional and social growth. Idolatry is a word that people no longer give a lot of credence to; it is far more socially acceptable to use words like egotism. The worship of self and that essentially is what idolatry really is ...supplanting the worship of the Father of Lights with the worship of self, in all of its indulgences. What a wonderful question to ponder upon and also to examine in myself. Thank you. Post Reply
View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 28 Dec, 2013 05:48 AM those are nice sentiments about family and how our morals and values are shaped as we see and emulate our parents. in the good or bad lights of how they were taught within their own generation and time. and every generation has different peer pressure and of measurement of what is considered success. like for your dad maybe that factory job was enough to raise 4 kids, as was his modest house, and humble ways enough to be example for you, yet you are bound by what your generation values are set and the measurement of success and pressure your peers put on your time. and if 3 car garages and granite countertops are the new symbols of success, but the want to be like the jones doesn't mean what the jones have is any pinnacle of life, more so the nearest example of status quo, and egoes of men, much as perhaps one brother trys to out do the other, by always one upping him. it creates a false sense of want where the need is not a question, like the guy who has a 35ft boat but hates the water, he has created the irony out of pride and bolstered his image to no benefit of himself or his family. but idolatry is more than just paganistic polishing of the golden calf, or elevating the materialistic possessions to the alter of worshiping them. it is the mocking of God in full sight and knowledge that his first law was put no god above him. that's where it gets to be when God will humble us if we are lucky enough to be humbled from our egos and selfishness and the edge of the bottomless pit. Post Reply
EssenceofOcean View Profile History	Idolitry? Posted : 6 Jan, 2014 01:53 PM It was nice what a person wrote about family. However, it is not always true about family life. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior He became my father. My parent who is reparenting me. He is teaching me things that growing up the people around me did or could not teach due to there own issues. I feel like I am being raised again; it is very interesting, hard, fun, joyful, triling among other discriptions. Thank you for posting this and to the answers given! Post Reply