The greatest cost is in the drip

I once had a leaking supply line under a sink cabinet at our house. We were not aware it had a small drip causing water to leak behind the cabinet, onto the wall, and under the flooring. What we finally noticed was a swelling of the floor. We eventually had to pull everything from the utility room, replace the floor and an area of drywall all because of a small drip that if detected earlier could have been repaired for less than a dollar. We could have saved valuable time and money if the small insignificant problem had been dealt with in its infancy. What’s your drip? What I’m asking is, what small thing needs to be dealt with now to prevent a greater cost later?

We’ve spent a few weeks on the topic of American idolatry. We discovered how God gave us dominion as a birthright, how easily we can lose that dominion through idolatry and how the progression of that sin transfers our birthright or dominion to our enemy to be used against us. We looked at how Israel attempted to mix pagan idolatry into the worship of God to justify their great sin. When we choose to devote ourselves to something else over God, then that thing is an idol in our lives. We, like Israel, lost our dominion when we chose idolatry. That’s when we stepped away from God. But when we, like Israel, give an idol credit for what God has done, then that’s the moment God steps away from us.

So what is the greatest cost of idolatry? Left unattended, what’s our drip? For Israel, their idolatry issues only worsened, despite the stern warning from the Lord. The greatest cost is not that we may lose our own soul but that we may lose our children in the process. Israel allowed outside influences on the inside of worship, right down to the kings themselves. God warned them not to accelerate their idolatry and invite a spirit of murder upon their nation. Molech was a pagan god of the Ammonites, and the Bible mentions the name eight times in the Old Testament. God begins in Leviticus 18:21 in which the Lord commanded, “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

He warns them of sacrificing their children and even commands those that practice such evil are to be put to death. However, they paid no heed to the Lord until even the highest office in the land had accepted the pagan ritual of child sacrifice. In 1st Kings chapter 11, the great king Solomon in all his wealth, wisdom, and splendor in an attempt to become politically correct and tolerant built altars to Molech himself. Let’s notice together the dangers of “the drip.” The people ignored God’s warning. They accepted the worship of idolatry and even sanctioned it through the king.

Let me explain why this was so detestable to God and evil in his sight. Molech was a large statue built with an iron belly. Fires would heat the iron until it became like an oven. Children would be placed in the arms of this inanimate object to be baked alive, while drums drowned out their cries. Believing the sacrifice of one would secure their fertility and cause them to have more children, thousands of children died in this horrid fashion.

A spirit of murder was upon the nation. Children were dying in the belly of an idol. The king was OK with it, and all this began with a single drip. What’s your drip? Because it’s a common, sanctioned act in America to kill children while in the bellies of their mothers, and the government and society has convinced us this is normal and necessary. Murder is being ordained in the context of convenience today in our land. Israel had progressed and spiraled downward to a point of complete evil in the sight of the Lord. I’ve often said that to go to hell would not be the worst thing in life; taking our children with us would be. If we think of our small drip as nothing more than an inconvenience, then idolatry will not stop until it costs us the lives of our children. I believe with all my heart that a woman has the right to choose but not the right to choose death for someone else. Instead I believe she has the right to choose to say “no” to promiscuity, and the right to choose to raise her beautiful child or give that child for adoption to another wonderful family. But the loudest message is to avoid the greatest cost and deal with the idolatry now before it costs lives.

It is our vision and dream that you walk with us on this journey called life together. You will not be condemned for anything you’ve done; you will only be loved for who God intends for you to be. He has a plan for you, and I believe Christpoint Church is part of that plan. Let’s meet together this Sunday, at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., on the square in Sparta. We all have idols to destroy in our lives, so let‘s grow together. We’re real people, living real lives, serving a real God. Welcome home.