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.
I’m a Black educator in my fifth year of teaching middle school English, and in my third as the 8th Grade English PLC (Professional Learning Community) Lead. And while I genuinely enjoy the purposeful work I get to do, seeing the growth of my scholars, and continuing to hone my skills in a content area I’ve loved since I was a little girl, I’ve had to confront some unpleasant experiences in this space. I’d been through much worse when I was an academic advisor at a Christian university. Racism, sexism, harassment, and workplace bullying were sadly norms in that environment. However, some of what I’ve experienced as a Black educator hasn’t been normal … It doesn’t seem normal to be the only Black educator in my department – in a predominantly Black school. One of my Black colleagues once said, “It should look like a Tyler Perry movie in here.” But it doesn’t. It didn’t feel normal being reprimanded in a meeting (during my second year of teaching) by an administrator who went in on...