crummy gods!

My son recently had a crying party; one of those snot-slinging, can't catch my breath, I'm trying to quit but can't meltdowns. M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N. Upset, distraught, emotionally torn.

No he wasn't in the floor of the cereal aisle spinning in circles because he didn't get his way. He wasn't throwing toys at me in the doorway because I told him to clean his room. It was just some twinge that triggered an emotional response. And when I asked him what was wrong he simply couldn't find the words to express why.

It happens to all of us.

So then the questions started firing on all cylinders in my head. Was it something I did? Was it something I said? Am I bad parent? Is this the product of poor decisions made on my part? Have I ignored his mental and emotional check engine light?

"My son is my world! He means everything to me! I won't let anything get between him and me!" It's statements like these and others just like it that I've said, heard from others, and often read on social media from parents just like me.

But I started to realize that I've placed an unfair weight, a heavy burden, on my son that he was never meant to carry. That my happiness, my purpose, and my dreams should be placed on him to satisfy the deepest parts of my being.

Nobody can live up to that; no child, no spouse, no significant other. No career, no car, no other possession.

Singles believe a relationship will cure their loneliness. Students think a career will satisfy their need for purpose. Spouses believe a new relationship or a child will heal the wounds of brokenness and unhappiness. But it doesn't work that way.

These are all crummy gods!

There's something inside all of us that we need. We need to belong and feel accepted. We need to feel safe and secure. We need to be free and able to explore. We need to find purpose and fulfillment.

And we go about this epic search in the wilderness places of this world hoping we will find the answers to all of life's questions. And we make functional saviors out of people, places, and possessions that can never fully satisfy.

We would never admit to bowing down to idols by worshipping anyone or anything like the carved images of Baal, Ashteroth, or even the golden calf, but if we're honest, we spend much of our lives placing our trust in crummy gods like our spouses, children, careers, and awards.

Our lives will never be happy and our souls will never be satisfied until it finds rest in knowing that Jesus Christ is the one and only source that our souls crave. We will never be more accepted, more secure, more free, or more fulfilled until our lives are hidden in Him.

When our identity is found in Christ then our behavior will be a reflection of Him to whom we belong.