idols

I was sitting in a meeting a couple weeks ago with some clients of our company and before the meeting actually started they were talking about the movie Brokeback Mountain (which I haven't seen, but would like to). One lady told how she couldn't get any of her friends to go with her because of their "religious beliefs" (which could be a whole discussion in itself - will skipping out on a movie change anything, except maybe deepening our own lack of compassion?). The guy on my left sympathised and proceeded to recite and espouse one of the great creeds of modern American religion: "You know, you have to be yourself. That's the great tragedy of the movie--that they couldn't live the lives they wanted to live." Followed by a pseudo-responsive reading with the refrain "Yeah, you just have to do for yourself and be what you are." Followed by a closing hymn (not really).

I didn't really enter the conversation--out of fear or lack of a quick, glib one-liner--but it's been on my mind a lot. I think of how Paul and his friends would go into a city and sometimes within a few days would have people riled up enough to kill them. What did they say? Who did they challenge?

When Paul went to Ephesus (Acts 19), they nearly killed him because the spread of the gospel so threatened the demonic values and social conventions and patterns of thought upon which their city was based. "Of course, Artemis is a real god. Everyone knows she's worshipped throughout Asia. (plus it will really hurt business if people don't buy our idols) How dare you..." Or maybe "Of course my life is about me. Everyone knows that the greatest tragedy is if I don't get to do everything I want, say everything I want, consume everything I want. How dare you..."

I wonder what would happen the Lordship of Jesus began to challenge our American idols (no pun intended). I wonder if we might not get a few stones ourselves. I pray that we--that I will have the courage to speak the truth.

Mark