I had never really been to a casino before. For multiple reasons I would say: (1) We do not have casinos in North Carolina, except on the Indian reservations, and I have yet to really find myself there. (2) I most surely do not have a poker face. (3) I would never imagine myself overly flourishing in a casino.
But this past Sunday, the casino just happened to be where I was for about half an hour as I was exploring an old city in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with three of my best friends from high school.
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| the steel stacks in bethlehem & also the home of the casino |
I did not know what to expect walking into a casino.
But what I saw saddened me, broke my heart, and then reminded me ever so perfectly of myself.
The casino was full of people with eyes glazed over staring hopelessly at slot machines and tables full of cards and chips. The slot machines were pretty, full of lights and fun pictures. The tables spoke of something serious, yet with the potential to win big and to walk out with heavy pockets.
The people were devoted to the slot machines and to the tables. They stared intensely, longing for something, anything.
Yet not a soul seemed to be happy. The life in their eyes seemed to be dried up and gone. Smiles seemed to be a thing of the past. Their hope was in the slots and in the cards, neither of which seemed to really be delivering.
And as I was observing my heart was overwhelmed with hurt, not because I thought that I was better than any of the people gambling, because I most assuredly am not, but because I am just as much one of them.
I may not be picking up gambling anytime soon (my poker face...bad...terrible), but I am continuously putting my hope in things that will never truly satisfy. I do not mean to, but it happens... and each time I am reminded that those things cannot deliver and they cannot save.
"A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save."
-Psalm 33:17
The ultimate Creator, the one true Triune God, is the only source of life and the only source of real hope. He is the only one who can deliver and who can save.
Yet, we put our hope in other idols everyday. We bow down to things that we expect will satisfy, yet we are continuously disappointed when they do not seem to pay off. Things or people become idols when they begin to push God out of His high place in our life where He belongs. In the end, idols profit us nothing (Isaiah 44:10), they bring us no life and no lasting satisfaction.
I was reminded that afternoon in the casino that my soul should be lifted to no other than God alone. My soul should not be lifted to relationships, social media, material possessions, or anything else that I hope will bring satisfaction. May my soul alone be lifted up to the One who came to save me and the One who calls me His own.
Rather than sulking with frustration towards myself for the idols in my life, I am reminded that we are forgiven as we repent of our sins. Before I even fully recognize the idols in my life, the Lord has already forgiven me and made me clean. "The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)
"Remember these things, O Jacob,
for you are my servant, O Israel.
I have made you, you are my servant;
O Israel, I will not forget you.
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
you sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you."
Isaiah 44:21-22
May the idols in our lives be laid down, and our cross picked up as we follow Jesus.
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