IMAGINE HAVING THE world’s most valuable masterpiece, a work of art that would bring thirty or forty million dollars if you auctioned it…

Then imagine that instead of taking that masterpiece to the auction, you took it to a pawn shop, pawned it for twenty bucks, and blew the whole wad on crayons and paper so you could decorate your own walls.

Or imagine being offered a lifetime pass to the city’s best buffet spread, only to reject it in favor of one meal at a truck stop. Silly? Ludicrous? Absolutely insane? All of that and more. People with even an ounce of sense don’t squander glory on garbage. But that’s what idolatry is. That’s what the people of Judah were doing in Jeremiah’s day, and that’s what we do with alarming ease today.

Think about how much God is worth. He can create anything, so whatever we have, He has something better. He governs and sustains everything, so every circumstance we encounter must bow to Him. And He has promised lavish blessings for eternity, so all our cravings will be exgtravagantly exceeded by His good gifts. Logically, there’s nothing we would take in exchange for a relationship with this God. Practically, that’s exactly what we often do. Chris Tiegreen, “Garbage and Glory,” The One Year Worship The King Devotional, June 5

Mike Benson