The Idol That Leads You To Unhappiness: Idolatry Series

"For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS, and they have hewn cisterns, broken cisterns which can not hold water" (Jeremiah 2:13). God was horrified at Israel's sin of idolatry. Idolatry is an abomination to God. What is idolatry? It is to give to the creature the worship due to the Creator. Why only God deserves worship? Well, it is his Divine Right. Only He is worthy of worship! We owe everything to Him, and the least we can do is give HIm worship is absolute gratitude. Yet, worshipping God goes deeper than gratitude to God. The essence of worship is the pursue of happiness in God.

Let me explain. The only way to be happy is to worhsip God. God is the only infinite Being, so the created can not be better than Him. It is when you give God your whole heart that He can give Himself to you as Absolute Happiness.

ISRAELS GREATEST SIN WAS IDOLATRY. THEY PURSUE HAPPINESS IN THE IDOLS THAT THEY WORSHIPPED. THIS IS WHY GOD USES THE SYMBOL OF BROKEN CISTERNS. THEY CAN'T SATISFY YOU. "BROKEN CISTERNS" SYMBOLIZES THE FUTILITY, VANITY, AND STUPIDITY OF WORSHIPPING OTHER THING THAN GOD. VERSE 5 OF JEREMIAH 2 DECLARES THAT THE ISRAELITES FORSOOK GOD TO PURSUE EMPTINESS. IDOLATRY WILL ALWAYS LEAD YOU TO EMPTINESS, THAT IS UNHAPPINESS, MISERY, MEANINGLESS LIFE. GOD PRESENTS HIMSELF AS THE GLORY OF ISRAEL AND THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER. WHAT IS GLORY? GLORY IS PLEASURE, WORTH, BEAUTY, POWER, PRESENCE, DIGNITY, AND INFINITY. GOD IS ALL THIS. THAT IS WHY ONLY HE DESERVES WORSHIP. GOD IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER. WHICH MEANS THAT HE IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF SATISFACTION, THE ONLY FOUNTAIN OF HAPPINESS, WHICH MEANS THAT HAPPINESS CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN ONE PLACE: GOD. IT IS NOT MAMMON (MONEY) THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY. iT IS NOT THE IDOLATRY OF SEX THAT WILL SATISFY YOU. NO! ONLY GOD IS HAPPINESS. NOW, THE ESSENCE OF IDOLATRY IS THE PURSUE OF HAPPINESS (SATISFACTION REPRESENTED BY WATER) IN THE CREATED. THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF EVERY SIN, THE VERY NATURE OF SIN. SIN PROMISES YOU HAPPINESS, BUT IT CAN NEVER DELIVER. IT IS ONLY WHEN WE WORSHIP GOD WITH ALL OUR LIFE THAT WE CAN TRULY BE HAPPY. THU, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO BE HAPPY? WORSHIP GOD THEN. WORSHIP HIM ALONE PRIMARILY BECAUSE ONLY HE CAN MAKE YOU HAPPY. DON'T GO TO EMPTY IDOLS TO SATISFY YOUR NEED OF HAPPINESS. AS AUGUSTINE WAS PUT IT: DON'T GIVE YOUR HEART TO NO CREATURE (DON'T WORSHIP THE CREATED) BECAUSE IF YOU DO, IT WILL BE BROKEN (YOU WILL BE MISERABLE-UNHAPPY). AMEN.