The Danger Of Falling Away

Those who follow a legend have a daunting task. Consider Joshua who followed Moses of whom it was said he knew God face-to-face! But Joshua had been a careful student learning from the mentor who instructed him. Joshua isn’t remembered as a lawgiver as Moses was. Not really a King John or Thomas Jefferson giving great legal documents, but more like Patton driving the German army out of North Africa. He would be the general who brought the people into the land of promise.

Just before his death Joshua took on another role—that of priest (Joshua 24). He prepared the people spiritually for their sojourn in Canaan as God’s people. He challenged them to recommit to the Lord in their lives.

Strangely, Joshua exhorted the people to put away their “foreign gods.” How can this be? These are the people whom God liberated from slavery and shepherded through the wilderness. They had passed through the Jordan and defeated Jericho. And these are the people who had idols among them?

Perhaps some of the Hebrews were making a calculated judgment. They ostensibly served God but also thought they’d seek the blessings of other gods if they existed. Or maybe some of the Hebrews really were unbelievers and didn’t worship the Lord. Joshua didn’t explain this to his readers.

But what we see is a falling away from faith if God’s people had idols.

An idol today can be anything that takes the ardor and affection belonging to God. It could be fame, fortune, power or possessions. And scripture is clear that we must love God with all of our hearts, minds, soul and strength. And if we don’t grow in faith, we become complacent, susceptible to falling away.

In the film, “Days of Wine and Roses,” the great Jack Lemmon portrays a hard-drinking man, Joe, who falls in love with the beautiful Lee Remick, a non-drinker. Joe then convinces Kirstan that she’d like the taste of alcohol if she put a little chocolate in it. In time, the pair move from the two-martini lunch to full-blown alcoholism. At film’s end, Joe finds sobriety through a support group, while Kirstan fades into the darkness of disease.

I wonder if Satan might do something similar with us spiritually to make us fall: Let’s put a little chocolate in that and it won’t be so bad. Everybody’s doing it. It won’t hurt. It’s no big deal. You’re an adult now. Your decisions are yours alone.

And on it goes.

And yet the word of God speaks a clear word. Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need,” (Matthew 6:33, NLT). -30-

“Reflections” is a weekly faith column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church, Alabaster, Alabama. The church’s website is siluriabaptist.com.