Pick 'n' Mix

2 Kings 17:33

And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.

2 Kings 17:38-40

Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.” But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices.

Who remembers visiting the "pick 'n' mix" at the cinema? You grab a big paper bag and fill it up with all the various multi-coloured sweets on view. Then you scoff them down as you watch the movie [after choking at how much it cost]! In the dark it's hard to tell which kind of sweet you're eating, but it doesn't matter, as long as it tastes good.

That's fine where sweets are concerned, but not so with with the "gods" we worship.

The people of Israel weren't in the dark, they had seen the miracles that the Lord performed on their behalf. Yet the memory faded and other so called gods seemed more alluring, leading them to mix worship of the Lord with other "gods".

Our Lord isn't a pick n mix God. He wants to be first as the commandment states:

Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Today, our society says it's okay to have a bit of every religion, hence, making gods in our own image and design, instead of seeking out the true and living God, who made us in His image.

Moreover, many folk proudly state there is no God and wear their atheism as a badge of honour.

But worship goes on in every heart, because we were created for that purpose.

"Gods" come in all forms: work, money, pleasure, sport, music, hobbies, possessions, sexual relationships or even the family. Whatever absorbs the heart becomes an idol, just as much as bowing down to a golden calf or worshiping at some foreign shrine.

I need to guard my own heart from a "pick n mix" mentality, watching what absorbs my time and heart.

Once we have come to Jesus, we need to keep that singleness of purpose and not water down the Truth of the Gospel.

Paul warned about this:

Acts 20:21,26-29

I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

Stay true to faith in the Lord Jesus as declared in the scriptures and don't let your heart be led astray or beguiled by false gods.