Photo: David Shankbone
I made very brief reference to this photo a couple of days ago when I linked on Facebook to an article that featured the image.
I can't get it out of my mind, and the more I think about it, the clearer things get. It's absolutely astounding. I'm not going to say anything else about it; instead, I'll let some others speak to us.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them......
When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, "Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt—who knows what's happened to him?"
So Aaron told them, "Take off the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me." They all did it; they removed the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands and cast it in the form of a calf, shaping it with an engraving tool.
The people responded with enthusiasm: "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from Egypt!"
Aaron, taking in the situation, built an altar before the calf.
Aaron then announced, "Tomorrow is a feast day to God!"
...
"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.
(Sources: Exodus 20:3-5, Exodus 32: 1-5, Matthew 6:24)
I was thinking about this in a different context earlier today. Keep seeing tweets about abandoning major banks as part of the OWS protests. The proposed alternative is to switch to smaller, local banks and credit unions. In essence, I'm hearing the alternative is to throw our lot in with each other.
That said... when it comes to worshipping this false god, there is no Moses to come down from the mountain and smash everything to pieces and set things right. So how do we be Moses to each other?
Posted by: Erin Wilson | November 06, 2011 at 12:06 PM
well said.
Posted by: robert | November 06, 2011 at 12:08 PM
...wild are the gods we create, and keep creating, and re-creating. Thanks for the refocus. Thankful for you, Mr. Todd.......!!!
Posted by: Wes Roberts | November 07, 2011 at 07:39 AM
Yeah - always thought of it like that. Also, Americans tend to criticize middle eastern countries (minus Israel) for their statues... But look at Mount Rushmore!!!!! What is THAT? Rushmore is bigger than any Saddam Hussein statue ever was.
Posted by: yshekster | December 14, 2011 at 09:56 AM