Links for today’s readings:
Read: Ezekiel 14 Listen: (4:09)
Read: Philippians 1 Listen: (4:03)
Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 14.1-5
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’
Reflection: Scrupulosity of the Spirit
By John Tillman
The elders appeared before Ezekiel with something they thought was a secret—idols in their hearts and wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.
These exiled elders may not have had physical idols in the temple (as in Ezekiel’s previous vision) but they had them in their hearts.
Do we appear before God in this way? Do we trust God but keep our idols? Do we seek God’s truth or do we have “stumbling blocks” before our faces? Do we stumble trying to justify a policy, a position, a sin? Do we stumble looking for biblical backup for what we already worship?
Recently, Russell Moore discussed the term “moral scrupulosity” with Alan Noble. Moral scrupulosity describes a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder in our spiritual lives. A person suffering from OCD may compulsively wash their hands over and over, even when there is no sign of them becoming contaminated or dirty. A person with moral scrupulosity may compulsively obsess over whether they have really confessed and repented enough for God to forgive them even when there is no sign of sinful actions or thought patterns.
Having written recently about “secret idolatry” and “stumbling blocks” in our hearts, I want to be careful not to send anyone into a spiral of moral scrupulosity. Neither do I want to inspire people to use freedom to enable sin or to shrug and say, “God will forgive me,” while making no effort to obey.
God’s answer to those who seek him with idols and stumbling blocks sounds harsh but there is grace in it. The purpose of his harsh answer is to win back our hearts. He reveals our inner idols so that we can repent. He wants us to come back to him free of our idols. God wants more than to forgive us of sin. He wants to free us from its grip.
So examine yourself, inside and out, with sober judgment. Ask that your idols be revealed. Trust the scrupulosity of the Holy Spirit, not your heart’s obsessions. Deal with what is revealed and joyfully return to the Lord.
Do not give yourself excuses. But do not excuse yourself from God’s grace.
Renounce prideful self-sufficiency. But do not embrace incapacitating self-doubt.
Humble yourself. But do not spiral into self-loathing.
Confess sin. But avoid obsessive self-flagellation.
God’s mercy should set us free, not bind us.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Small Verse
Open, Lord, my eyes that I may see.
Open, Lord, my ears that I may hear.
Open, Lord, my heart and my mind that I may understand.
So I shall turn to you and be healed.
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more about Grabbed by the Hair
Embarrassment leading to purification is a blessing. Complacency that leads to destruction is a curse.
Read more about Idolatry as Parody
Don’t we make idols of the things culture tells us are important?…pay and sacrifice, expecting these things to protect us, guide us, lead us, teach us?
