When the Gifts Become More Important Than the Giver
God gives us many good things in life—family, friends, possessions, work, talents, comfort, and opportunities. There is nothing wrong with enjoying these gifts.
The danger begins when the gifts become more important to us than the Giver.
Today’s readings from Ezekiel, Deuteronomy, and Matthew invite us to look honestly at our hearts and ask: Is God truly first in my life, or is there something I am holding onto more tightly than Him?
Ezekiel 24:15–24 — When Something Precious Is Taken Away
This is one of the more difficult passages in Ezekiel.
God tells Ezekiel that “the delight of his eyes,” his wife, will be taken from him. Ezekiel is also told not to perform the usual public signs of mourning.
At first, this can sound very harsh.
However, we should not simply understand this passage as saying that God takes away the people we love in order to test our faith.
Ezekiel's loss becomes a prophetic sign for the people of Israel.
The people were about to lose Jerusalem and the Temple—something extremely precious to them. God had warned them repeatedly about their sins and unfaithfulness, but they refused to listen.
Ezekiel says:
“Ezekiel shall be a sign for you.”
— Ezekiel 24:24
When Jerusalem eventually fell, the people would understand that God's warnings through the prophets were true.
There is an important lesson here for us.
We should never tell someone who has lost a loved one, “God took that person away because He wanted to test your faith.” We cannot claim to know God's reason for every tragedy.
Instead, we can trust that even during suffering and loss, God has not abandoned us.
God can bring us closer to Him even through situations that we do not understand.
Deuteronomy 32:18–21 — Forgetting the God Who Gave Us Everything
Deuteronomy describes Israel forgetting the God who created them.
“You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
— Deuteronomy 32:18
God had done so much for His people, yet they turned toward other gods.
This is the danger of becoming comfortable with God's blessings.
Sometimes we pray desperately when we need something.
“Lord, please help me.”
“Lord, give me this opportunity.”
“Lord, help me through this problem.”
Then God helps us, and after some time we become comfortable and begin forgetting Him.
The blessing becomes more important than the One who gave the blessing.
Why Is God Called a “Jealous God”?
Some people struggle when the Bible describes God as jealous.
Human jealousy is often connected with insecurity, envy, selfishness, or wanting something another person has.
God's jealousy is different.
God does not need to compete with anyone. There is only one God.
His jealousy describes His desire for His people to remain faithful to their covenant with Him.
The Catechism teaches:
“The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people.”
— CCC 2110
It can be compared, in a limited way, to marriage.
A husband and wife rightly expect faithfulness from each other. Wanting your spouse to remain faithful is not the same thing as being envious of someone's possessions.
God desires our faithfulness because He created us, loves us, and knows that false gods cannot save us.
Idolatry Still Exists Today
When we hear the word “idolatry,” we might imagine people worshipping statues or ancient pagan gods.
But idolatry can take many forms.
The Catechism says:
“Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God.”
— CCC 2113
Our modern idols can be money, possessions, careers, popularity, relationships, pleasure, social status, power, or even ourselves.
Having these things is not automatically sinful.
The question is:
What place do they have in my heart?
If something becomes more important than obeying God, it may be becoming an idol.
Matthew 19:16–22 — The Rich Young Man
A rich young man approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to have eternal life.
Jesus reminds him about the commandments.
The man says that he has kept them.
Then Jesus gives him a greater challenge:
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor… and come, follow me.”
— Matthew 19:21
The young man walks away sadly because he has many possessions.
His problem was not simply that he was rich.
His possessions had become something he could not let go of.
Jesus revealed what was happening inside his heart.
The Catechism teaches:
“The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.”
— CCC 2544
Jesus was offering the young man something greater than his possessions: a life following Him.
But the young man could not let go.
Earthly Attachments Can Become Idols
We should be careful about saying that every earthly attachment is automatically idol worship.
We naturally love our families, homes, possessions, careers, and other good things.
The problem begins when we place them above God.
Money can become an idol.
Status can become an idol.
Our career can become an idol.
Another person can become an idol.
Even our reputation can become an idol.
Jesus says:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
— Matthew 6:21
Sometimes we do not realize how attached we are to something until we face the possibility of losing it.
We may say, “God comes first.”
But if following God threatens our comfort, money, popularity, relationship, or social status, suddenly following Him becomes much harder.
That is when we discover what our heart is truly attached to.
God Must Come First
Following Jesus does not mean that we cannot own anything or enjoy the good things God gives us.
It means that nothing should take God's place.
Jesus teaches:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
— Matthew 22:37
We are still human. We will naturally become attached to people and things.
God knows this.
The Christian life is therefore a continual process of learning to say:
“Lord, everything I have comes from You. Help me never to love Your gifts more than I love You.”
Reflection Questions
What is most important to me right now?
Is there something in my life that I would find extremely difficult to surrender to God?
Have money, possessions, relationships, career, comfort, popularity, or social status become too important to me?
Do I remember God only when I need His help?
When God's Word reveals something wrong in my life, do I repent or make excuses?
Is there an earthly attachment that is making it difficult for me to follow Jesus?
If I lost some of the things I value most, would I still trust God?
Closing Reflection
God does not ask us to stop loving the people and good things He has placed in our lives.
He asks us to love them in the right order.
Our possessions will eventually pass away. Our status will pass away. Our achievements will pass away. Even the things we desperately try to hold onto cannot remain with us forever.
But God remains.
The rich young man walked away from Jesus because he could not let go of what he possessed.
We should ask ourselves:
If Jesus asked me to let go of something in order to follow Him more closely, would I walk toward Him—or walk away?
May we always remember this simple truth:
Enjoy God's gifts, be thankful for them, and care for them—but never allow the gifts to become more important than the Giver.
No comments:
Post a Comment