Everybody’s Looking for Something

 

In this dream I have a behind-the-scenes look at an elaborate stage production. The Mistress of Ceremonies wants the costume designer to make her an “original” gown, but she wants him to copy a fashion she saw on Project Runway. It is an Erte style, Art Deco black dress, with a bandeau bra top, straps leading to a halter neck and choker, long crepe skirt, bare midriff with fabric strips connecting the top and skirt, and long black gloves with vertical slits allowing the skin to show through.

The final result is chic and dramatic, but she doesn’t want the audience to know she has stolen someone else’s design. She asks me to find her makeup tray, so I look inside a 1920’s style vanity, but it is filled only with cassette tapes and a recorder. I accidentally start the recorder playing and can’t shut it off. The song is a 1920’s tune that apparently accompanied the model on Project Runway when she showed the original design. The MC is furious because she thinks the audience will make the connection to her gown’s true origins.  

The dream then fast forwards to the final scene of the play, which is set like the Victorian drawing room in the Nutcracker ballet, ready for a lavish Christmas celebration. After the characters parade around and exchange not-so-pleasantries, the MC announces that the world is about to end, and this is their last chance to hold onto what is most important to them.

The final tableau shows each character worshipping their god, pledging their allegiance to what they hold most dear. A middle-aged woman who has parlayed her physical charms into a wealthy but loveless marriage and equally empty affairs draws close to her reflection in a full-length mirror. Her husband reaches lustfully for the young maid, who has her hands in the silver drawer.

The learned professor gets on one knee in a courtly pose and extends his arms to the bookshelf, as if he could encompass all the science, poetry, and philosophy contained in its volumes. While the athlete contorts his muscular frame into a manly expression of physical prowess, the obese glutton stuffs his face at the buffet, and the addict snorts his stash of cocaine. The children grab as many presents as they can, shoving each other aside, and run to the fireplace, peering up into the chimney and hoping they can get more from Santa.

A priest, who was invited to pray before the meal, piously holds his rosary in one hand and his censer in the other, looking upward to heaven yet hoping a crowd will kneel at his feet. Meanwhile, a beggar out in the cold, nearing the threshold in hopes of a few scraps discarded from the sumptuous dinner, flings himself prostrate on the ground and begs God for mercy and forgiveness.

I awoke with the realization that only the beggar, who realized he was a sinner in need of a Savior, would spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus Christ, and that the idol worshippers would all be cast into the lake of fire (Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 20:15;21:8)..

The pattern of the black dress reminded me of a “map” Todd Friel drew on an episode of the Wretched TV show, with the skirt representing the lake of fire, the top representing the “Devil’s Pond,” and the slits on the gloves, straps, and fabric pieces representing the tributaries feeding into the pond and ultimately into the lake of fire. He explained that Satan lures souls to follow the current into these various tributaries and rivers of worldly thought leading to destruction, including sexual immorality, substance abuse, humanism, atheism, pagan worship, and works-based religions.

In the dream, the dress design was stolen but masqueraded as an original creation. Satan is the great deceiver and the father of all lies (John 8:44), and in his desire to be God he imitates Him, from the unholy trinity to his distortion of God’s Word, seen first in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5) and not ending permanently until he is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10) . But all evil deeds are recorded and made known (Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17; (Ephesians 5:11-13), and those who rejected God and His Son will answer to Christ when He reads their sins from the books He keeps (Revelation 20:12).

Except for the beggar, all of the characters in this dream staked their eternal destiny on something other than faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 14:6). The “Christmas” celebration failed to honor Christ, Who came in the flesh (John 1:14) to reconcile sinful man to Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Hebrews 2:17). Instead, it glorified the false gods of this world as the celebrants stumbled into Satan’s traps of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

Falling prey to the lust of the flesh were the drug abuser and the glutton. The middle-aged beauty succumbed to the lust of the eyes as well as the lust of the flesh, worshipping her own image while seeking confirmation of her desirability in meaningless sexual encounters. Her husband, who should have been the spiritual leader of the household (Ephesians 5:23-26), was no better. Small wonder that they had neglected their parental responsibilities of spiritual guidance, and that their greedy children were following in their parents’ footsteps !

Also attempting to satisfy the lust of the eyes and the pride of life was the maid, as those who crave wealth do so for the lovely things it buys as well as for the power linked to prestige and worldly success (1 Timothy 6:10). And the athlete placed his faith in his physical strength and accomplishments to win the respect of others (1 Corinthians 9:25). But we are saved by God’s grace alone, and not by our own works, no matter how impressive (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Thinking himself to be wise by embracing all the world’s writings, the professor proved himself to be a fool, as the world’s “wisdom” is no match for God’s Word. Trusting in evolution and humanism as absolute truth deceives men from realizing their own sinful nature and leads them to deny God’s very existence (Romans 1:21-25; Psalm 14:1; 53:1).

One would hope that the priest would be a better role model than the other characters in this morality play, but he too counted on his own works and self-righteousness (Luke 18:10-14) Vain repetitions in prayer, without speaking to God as a child approaches their Father (Matthew 6:7-9) for wisdom, advice, and loving guidance and provision, are meaningless works. Even worse, he pretended to be worshipping God while seeking only admiration and reverence from others (Matthew 6:1-5), which made him a false prophet and teacher whose only god was himself ((Matthew 7:15;:2 Peter 2:1).

Far outnumbered by those who tried to enter eternity by the broad gate leading to destruction was the beggar. Sadly, those who have been born again (John 3:3-8) and accept Jesus Christ as the only Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6) are in the minority, and even Jesus said that His way is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14). May we renounce our false gods, repent of our sins, and trust in Him to lead us to eternal life!

Everyone is looking for something, but even in this life, nothing satisfies other than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Only He brings joy, peace and abundant life here and now, and unimaginable, everlasting joy and peace in His presence in Heaven. May we tell all we encounter of His goodness and of the satisfaction only He can give!

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Triplets of Idolatry: Like Father, Like Son, Only Worse

King Solomon and his wives in idol worship

King David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), but his downfall began with idleness, lust, and selfishness, and culminated in adultery, deception and murder (2 Samuel 11). Despite these egregious sins, however, he continued to seek after the one true God in prayer, fasting, and worship.

In his private time with the Lord, he interceded for the life of his firstborn child with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:16); he repented from his sins (2 Samuel 12:13); and he begged God to restore the joy of his salvation (Psalm 51:10-12). Publicly, he honored God with offerings, testimony, and provision for His house to be built (1 Chronicles 29:1-8).

Like David, his son Solomon started off on the right foot, seeking God’s will, praying for wisdom, and honoring God by being a just ruler (1 Kings 3:7-14; 4.29-32). But, like David, his lust caused him to offend God in ways that were even worse than his father’s sins.

I say this realizing that God sees all sins as heinous (Romans 3:23), and that we deserve eternal punishment in hell (James 1:15) for even sins that we might perceive as “little,” perhaps telling a “little white lie” that our friend’s dress flatters her, or taking home something small, like a pen, from the workplace.

But James says that if we are guilty in breaking any part of the law, we are guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). Although we deserve hell, God sent His Son Jesus to pay for all of our sins (Romans 3:25), so that all who trust in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) will have eternal life (John 3:16).

So why do I say that Solomon’s sins were worse than his father’s? The first and great commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36-38). Solomon, who began his God-appointed rule over Israel as the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:7-14; 4.29-32), broke that commandment through indifference, disobedience, and ultimately idolatry.

He began well, having completed the building of the Lord’s house, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do. The Lord appeared to him and promised unconditionally that His Name, eyes and heart would always be in His house that Solomon had built (1 Kings 9:1-3).

A second conditional promise was that Solomon’s throne would rule over Israel forever, if Solomon would follow God as David had, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, and obey all of God’s commandments, statutes and judgments.

But if Solomon turned away from following God, disobeyed Him, and worshipped other gods, then God would cut off Israel from the land He gave them, cast out the house from His sight, and destroy Israel’s reputation. All would know that God had judged Israel for taking hold of other gods, worshipping them, and serving them (1 Kings 9:4-9).

Sadly, Solomon did not heed God’s warning. Like his father David, Solomon got into trouble through his lust for “forbidden fruit” – women he should have avoided, for they were not Israelites following the one true God. Solomon himself knew this, thanks to his God-given wisdom. In his writings in Proverbs, Solomon repeatedly warns his son against flattery, seduction and destruction by the “strange woman” (Proverbs 2:16; 5:3,20; 6:24; 7:5; 20:16; 23:27; 27:13)

Scripture warns us not to be “unequally yoked” with unbelievers, because relationships with them entail being joined to unrighteousness, darkness, and unbelief (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

Once we are born again (John 3:3-8), the Holy Spirit enters our heart and we become God’s temple – He lives in us, acts through us, and is our God. Therefore, He demands that we come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).

Similarly, the apostle Paul warns believers against fornication, because our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; we now belong to God, and we were bought with the price of Christ’s shed blood on the cross (1 Corinthians 6:15-20; Hebrews 9:22). Therefore, we should not join our members (mentioned three times in 1 Corinthians 6:15), meaning body parts, to those of a harlot.

But King Solomon loved many “strange” (pagan, Gentile) women, namely Egyptian (Pharaoh’s daughter), Moabite, and Ammonite, as well as Edomite, Zidonian, and Hittite women. God had specifically warned the children of Israel not to seek romantic entanglements with these nations, nor to respond to their advances, for they would turn away the heart of the children of Israel from our true God to their pagan gods (1 Kings 11:1-2).

Solomon disobeyed God’s commandment in a big way, taking on seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. Why so many? Physical desire, no doubt, as well as political ambition in forming alliances with other nations, and pride in his vast power, wealth, and fame (1 Kings 10). Satan’s favored strategy is to appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16),

As God had predicted, Solomon’s wives turned away his heart after other gods, so that his heart was not perfect with God, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He failed to follow God; he built high places for pagan worship; and he allowed his wives to offer burnt incense to their idols, most likely himself participating in this abomination  (1 Kings 11:3-8).

In His third appearance to Solomon, the Lord expressed His anger, because Solomon’s heart was turned away from Him, and he had disobeyed God’s explicit commandments. God’s judgment on Solomon was threefold: He would seize the kingdom from Solomon’s family and give it to his servant, yet for David’s sake He would wait until Solomon was dead and then take the kingdom from Solomon’s son (1 Kings 11:9-12).

If we “follow our heart,” as conventional wisdom encourages us to do, and ignore God’s Word, we may become romantically attached to an unsaved person, at our own peril. Our emotions, desires and rationalization lead us to believe that we can change them, but this is unwise (Proverbs 3:5-6). Certainly we should not stop witnessing to and praying for an unbeliever whom we love, but committing to a relationship with them until they are saved is disobedient to God’s Word.

As a loving Father, God longs to protect us from the traps of this world. If we ignore His Word, we will be unable to lead the object of our affection into a saving relationship with Him. Instead, that person will draw us away from the Lord, and His judgment will follow. Idolatry refers to any object, relationship or desire to which we give a higher priority than God (1 John 5:21).

In Solomon’s case, his physical desires, political ambitions, and ultimately other gods usurped the pre-eminence God should have had over his life (Colossians 1:18). May we remain true to Christ and not fall into Solomon’s trap!

© 2017 Laurie Collett