Heartbroken

“You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen.” Ezekiel 16:13

How heartbroken must a man feel after this scenario: he rescues an unwanted baby wallowing in its own blood, left to die in a field. Then after taking care of the baby and providing lavishly for all her needs, when she is a beautiful young lady in fine clothes and jewels, she abandons him and becomes a prostitute! That is the lament of God in Ezekiel 16 about how unfaithful Jerusalem was. After He took care of His people, they sacrificed to other gods. “You used my oil and incense to worship alien gods, and the lovely things I gave you, the jewelled ornaments and embroidered cloths, to make their shrines!” 

I believe many of us make God sad when we give more importance to things and people He has gifted us with, rather than the Giver Himself. Yes, it can be idolatry if we lavish most of our time on working, vacations, hobbies, our families, taking care of our beauty, friends, etc. What do we spend most of our time on? Do we give time for God, for praying, reading scripture, serving His people, learning what He values? 

The way we use our time reflects what we value. How much time do we devote to prayer and reading the Bible? Are there more hours devoted to watching TV, surfing the web, concentrating on our iPhone than getting to know what God says? 

“Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) What we spend our money on also indicates what we value in life. It is good to see our life through God’s eyes. Is He happy with where we put our time and money? Or are we like a prostitute, taking His generosity for granted, and using His gifts to worship at altars of alien gods?