Idol worship is rarely obvious at
first. It happens gradually. We make money. Buy nice things. Spend time with amazing
people. Dedicate ourselves to our work, gifts, crafts, and families. And in the
midst of all those things, sometimes, we neglect God. This is a problem and
totally unacceptable. However, God has a way of dethroning things He allows us
to be blessed with. Some of us lose jobs, which impacts our income and
lifestyles. He strips away different people and relationships we cherish – even
ones we never imagined would end. He allows a child to get sick, a family
member to pass away, breakups, a separation and/or divorce to be final, and
other relationships to fade away because He's God and can do whatever He wants.
He loves us too much to allow us to esteem ourselves, a position, income,
relationships, or material things above Him. Exodus 20:3-5 reads, “You shall
have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the
form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God…” Is there anything or anyone you’ve been idolizing in
your life that needs to be dethroned? If so, do it before God does. I used to
worship friendship. I love having valuable and meaningful friendships in my
life, but I no longer worship them. In the past, I experienced the
repercussions of doing so and it was painful. One by one, I watched God
dismantle different friendships I had, leaving me with open wounds and a broken
heart. Being handled by God changed my entire approach. He doesn’t mind us
having nice things, positions, or people in our lives, but He doesn’t want any
of those things to completely have us or come before Him. Never forget that.
As you embark on your career, I want you to know some things and stay woke about what you’ll be up against. Please understand that no matter what, you have value, and you matter. Always remember that. As progressive as this world and different workplaces may seem, every workplace has a culture. You’ll be in different places where a lot of people who don’t look like you will be in the room. But know that you belong in those rooms too. Spend some time observing and studying those spaces and learn as much as you can. There will be people you work with who will make presumptions about your competence, education, and ability to fulfill your job duties. There will be more who will think less of you because of the color of your skin and try to disqualify you the moment you make an error, mistake, or ask questions about things you may not understand. This will all feel uncomfortable and you may get insecure, feel like you’re all by yourself, and think you don’t belong there, but ride it out...