As for Me and My House

            Many families have Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord,” hanging in their homes.  It’s a nice sentiment and a great goal.  Joshua is a little skeptical about Israel’s chances for pulling it off, though.  So, verse 19, “Oh, you say you’ll serve the Lord, but you won’t.  You’ll get pulled into idolatry, and He’ll have to punish you.”  And Israel’s response, “No, really, we will!”

            Why is Joshua so skeptical about Israel’s chances of remaining faithful?  He has lived among them for a long, long time.  He’s seen how well they hold up under pressure, and he sees how they currently live.  Notice how consistent Joshua warns about  foreign gods?  In verse 23, he makes it explicit, “If you’re going to serve the Lord, you have to get rid of the idols currently in your homes.”

            So, if our families are going to serve the Lord, these many years later, we may need more than plaques on the wall.  We’ll have to create atmospheres that are dedicated to the Lord.  This is a little harder than in Joshua’s day.  In Joshua’s day, an idol was a literal statue.  Our idols are more subtle, but they are no less insidious in their effect on our relationship with the Lord.  Someone once observed, “Show me your calendar and your checkbook, and I’ll show you what you worship.”  Ask yourself what dominates your schedule and I’ll bet the top answers are work and recreation.  (In 2009 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average American worked 7 ½ to 8 hours a day, spent 2 to 2 ½ hours on household chores, and spent 5-6 hours on leisure activities—about 3 hours on average watching television.)  Now I doubt the BLS broke out spiritual activities, so they’re probably merged in with the leisure activities.  Still, there are an awful lot of other things vying for our attention.  (Consider how hard it is to find time to do these daily readings!)

            A really good question we may ask ourselves is, “If we are serious, that our households will serve the Lord, what ‘foreign gods’ will we need to put away to make that happen?”