Thou Shalt Not Worship False Idols

To worship someone or something is to devote our time, our energy and our attention to that person or thing. A false idol would be an object of such time, energy or attention, particularly an object which can have no real impact in our lives. I believe one of the most common false idols that we can “worship” is our own past, or alternate present or potential future selves. So often we get caught up in spending our time, energy and attention in dwelling on longing for who we used to be, or imagining how much better our life might be if we had made different choices, or worrying and fretting about what our life could look like in the future if our fears come true. When we worship these false idols, these false images of what our past, present and future might have been, could be, or may yet be, we are wasting precious strength and resources that could much more profitably be used to make the best version of our present, so that when this moment passes, we are less tempted to regret that we wasted it, or speculate on how it could have been different and better. We can and ought to remember the past and cherish the good memories and learn from the bad memories, so long as we are not spending an excessive amount of our time, energy and attention worshiping the false idol of our past. And we can and ought to make goals and plan and prepare for what tomorrow may bring, so long as we are not spending an excessive amount of our time, energy and attention worshiping the false idols of futures that will almost certainly look different than what we fear they might. As far as wasting our present imagining or longing for a different present, one shaped by different choices or decisions of our past selves, there is nothing to be gained by spending any time, energy or attention on this particular false idol. The more we devote ourselves to worshiping the one True God, the more He will invite us to live fully and completely in the present, “taking no thought for tomorrow”, nor “having put our hand to the plow, looking back”, but devoting all of our time, energy and attention to helping our Heavenly Father to bring about His work and His glory.