Bible Reading: Romans 1:21-23
Instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. Romans 1:23
WEIRD: THE DEATH on August 16, 1977, of rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley “morphed” him into something of a god. Shrines built to Elvis encourage worship of the legendary singer often called “The King.”
“The First Church of Jesus Christ, Elvis” is a Web site picturing the head of Elvis Presley superimposed on a painting of Christ. The caption proclaims, “For unto you is born this day in the city of Memphis a Presley, which is Elvis the King.”
Members of the First Presbyterian Church of Elvis the Divine are encouraged to face Las Vegas daily and make a pilgrimage to Graceland (Presley’s home in Memphis, Tennessee) at least once in their lives. One of the ministers says, “Truly, Elvis has a hunka-hunka burning love for whosoever believeth in him.”
The First Congregational Church of Elvis was founded by a hairdresser from West Virginia who claims she has been filled with the peaceful spirit of Elvis.
Most of this Elvis “worship” is done in fun, of course. People say they believe in Elvis like you used to believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy or still do.
Worship literally means to declare the worth of something. That’s where the word worthy comes from. Something is worthy if it’s worth a lot. You declare what a thing is worth to you by its priority in your thoughts and time and by its influence on your decision-making.
It isn’t likely you would ever turn into a foaming-at-the-mouth worshiper of Elvis, or even that you would worship any “idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.” Worship is for God alone. Nobody loves you like he does or has his power, so only he is worthy of your worship.
But there can be other things in your life that carry too much weight. How important is it to you, for example, to spend time with friends or play computer games or watch TV? Is that stuff a higher priority than spending time with God in prayer and in his Word?
Many things can rule your thoughts and time-schoolwork, music, sports activities, a boyfriend or girlfriend. But you can have only one all-important priority in your life, one thing worth your worship. So enjoy your activities. Keep close to people. But only God gets to be King.
REFLECT: What in your life competes with God for your time, energy, and affection?
PRAY: Talk to God about things that might get in the way of your worshiping him.
