You may have seen that over the past week pop music superstar Taylor Swift has been involved in a trial in Denver, Colorado. She was being sued because she reported a radio DJ of inappropriately touching her, he subsequently lost his job, and therefore he decided to sue her for millions (totally makes sense to me). The most interesting thing about the trial was the daily line of fans to watch it. Swift fans (seriously known as Swifties) drove hundreds of miles and stood in long lines for a chance to see the back of her head in a court room. Talk about devotion! Actually, as far as Swift fans go, that’s hardly intense. One fan built a 35,000 piece Lego sculpture of her in his backyard. When techno artist Diplo (rival of then Swift beau Calvin Harris) mocked her on Twitter he received legitimate death threats. And, every week, Swift receives dozens of expensive gifts from fans all over the world. Talk about a devoted fan base!
I’m guessing few readers of this blog are Swifties, but I’m quite sure there are things you are highly devoted to. It may be a sports team, NASCAR driver, hobby (hunting, golf, your Harley, etc.), or any number of things. It’s not necessarily bad to be devoted to any of these things. I actually think it quite healthy to have a hobby and a variety of fun interests. Where we can run into problems, however, is when we trade in God for the things God created for us. And, if we are being honest, this is a problem most of us run into. We turn down opportunities to serve God to spend time on our hobby. We skip Bible study to watch a sporting event. We don’t truly tithe, not because we don’t have the money, but because we choose to spend it on things God created instead of on God. If we are being honest I think we’d have to admit that we are not fully devoted to God, but rather find ourselves routinely trading God in for things that are far less great and important.
The Apostle Paul summed this up in his typically amazing (and blunt!) way:
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Romans 1:21-22, 25
I love that line: we exchange God’s truth for a lie and worship the creature rather than the creator. This week, ask yourself: am I truly living FULLY DEVOTED to God, or am I overly devoted to lies and created things? What do you need to change this week in order to be more devoted to your creator, sustainer, and savior?
