Twisted Religion

The twisted practice of religion described in today's reading reminds me in many ways of Christianity in America today. People are in a sort of religious culture, but it's undefined and "everyone does as they see fit." For example, in the reading, when Micah restores to his mother the silver he had stolen from her, she says she is dedicating it "to the LORD" for her son to make an idol. What? Then Micah hires his own wandering Levite to be his personal priest against God's commands for how Levites should serve and how worship should be conducted. The motivations of this "priest" (a descendant of Moses) are revealed when he steals Micah's idols and other religious items to serve with some of the tribe of Dan where he'll be given more prestige. These members of the tribe of Dan, by the way, use God's command to defeat the Canaanites and take over the land as an excuse to attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people outside their own allotted territory.

In a similar way many today people will say they are worshiping God as Christians even as they disobey him. Everyone does as they see fit and rationalizes their actions to fit comfortably within their own self-defined faith life. In this way they have God serve them rather than having to themselves submit to God. So how do we avoid going down this road ourselves? As God told Joshua and the Israelites upon entering the Promised Land: "Do not let this Book of the Law [God's Word] depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. They you will be prosperous and successful."