You become what you worship

The Psalmist here tells us that we become like that which we make and then worship. “Those who make idols become like them …” If the idol is oneself – where we stare into a mirror and gaze at ourselves – we become flat and constrained. If we’re focused on the “what we do,” it’s just a whirlpool leading down and eventually drowning us in ourselves.

But, Jesus. When we gaze at him, worship him, the Lord promises that we become like him. John the Baptist says “He [Jesus] must become greater and I must become less.” YES. When fully trained we become like that which we study – probably not in this life, though. But there is hope for the next.

The scary part is that, as teachers, our children become like their teacher, too. Paul says to imitate him as he imitates Christ. We need to pass that to our children.

Who we are in Christ is the thing; the work flows from there – not the other way around. When we put the “what we do” first, we become like the idol manufacturers and are blind, deaf, and dumb.