To an Unknown God
I had the privilege to visit my cousin Ganda and see my brothers in Thailand this past week. In that short period of time I was there, I can say that this was a trip I won't be forgetting anytime soon. It's always a blessing to spend time with family on Christmas day, and I'm definitely grateful for that.
While I was going throughout Thailand I encountered a lot of temples and statues dedicated to buddha. This is not surprising since over ninety-percent of the population is buddhist. Then I went into a temple named Wat Po. As I went in there I was greeted by a humongous buddha that was positioned sleeping. Well, isn't that interesting. Buddha gets tired here and there, he needs his beauty sleep. But then I went into one of the main temples and saw dozens of Buddhist monks chanting prayers of some sort simultaneously. Then the thought hit me!
These men are dedicating their lives worshiping a statue that can't do anything for them! They're trying to find peace by emptying their thoughts in hope to somehow reach nirvana. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever. It reminded me of Acts 17 in which Paul is seen encountering the Areopagus people. These people are pictured worshiping in an altar which has an inscription "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD". They don't know what or who they're worshiping, but nevertheless they'll keep worshiping.
To me that was ridiculous, but then I realised that don't we often do the same things. It may not be a golden statue but it can be a hobby, person, career, etc. We dedicate more time to it then we do to the Lord. If that's the case then that object or thing is basically an unknown god to you. It may not have that title but that is what it is. How can I criticise these people for worshiping a golden statue but not realise that my golden statue is just in another form.
As I thought it through, it humbled me. Every time I saw another buddhist monk I realised that I too am responsible for worshipping unknown Gods. My unknown God may not be as tangible as as a golden statue, but if it's prioritised more then God, it's an idol. So I hope that we all can take time to search our hearts and clean up the unknown Gods that may be in our lives.
