Beware the Idols

This week's parasha - weekly Torah (5 Books of Moses) reading - is the famous story of the Golden Calf: The Israelites are in the desert, waiting for Moses to return from the top of Mount Sinai, and they get crotchety and with Aaron's help, they create a new god out of their molten gold - The Golden Calf.

The theme of the sin of idolatry is bold in both the Torah and Haftarah. It is easy to think of these stories as totally irrelevant to us today - we don't worship idols, do we? Tick that one off the list.

Well, not quite:

Thinking about the role of an idol has made me think about what I value, and from where I seek comfort. I am also asking myself what, and to whom, do I give my attention? When I start to ask these questions, I realise that there are many habits that have formed in my daily life that perhaps are closer to idolatry than I'd like; stopping in to that Starbucks for my caffeine fix, watching mindless TV, scrolling through social media, buying something I didn't really need... all these acts are acts that don't reflect what I truly know to be the right thing to do. They are not what life is really about. This is contemporary idolatry. This week's parasha is an important reminder to me that I have a choice where to give my attention, how to fill my day and live my life, where to turn for inspiration. The superficial gods, the idols are out there everywhere, challenging me, testing me to stay true to my values and inner knowing of what is right.