Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

When I read the Book of Isaiah I hear the prophet relentlessly declaring who God is: The Lord, the Lord of Hosts, God – the only God, the One who knows the end from the beginning (the Alpha and Omega). Set against this reality he proceeds to warn the people about their wickedness and in particular their worship of idols. Idol gods of wood, silver and gold – things they fashioned with their own hands and intellect and then bowed down to them.

Growing up, the worship of objects made by man’s hands was not part of my culture. Then I came to New York and, depending on where you live or travel about daily, it is possible to see images of various ‘gods’ from different cultures in shop windows. So you can walk in, buy a ‘god’ take it home and build a shrine and then bow down to it. Wow! Friend, if this is part of your background, I do not condemn you for it but I urge you to search the Bible and see what the Lord God thinks about this practice. In Isaiah 46, God is asking his chosen people Israel to see the comparison between him and the other gods they were choosing to worship. The conclusion – God has no equal or rival!

When I consider the wider American society however, I often wonder whether instead of gods that can be bought in a store if there are not many others such as the endless pursuit of riches, sports, television and pleasures. All these are intertwined in some way. Worship is what takes priority most often when you decide what to do with your “discretionary time”. Identify that activity and you will know what your god is. Then there is this thing called “work” which has turned many of us into either slaves or prisoners. With the advent of the internet, social media and cellphones, “work” has now invaded family life and even bedrooms. May God help us to consciously smash these idols to pieces or relegate them to a place in our lives where they do not compete with or steal the worship due to the Lord God!