Tonight we started talking about idolatry and how it can be seen in the lives of everyone around us, even our own. We first talked about how everyone everywhere worships something or someone, whether or not they have ever heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We talked about the Bemba tribe and their belief in a god named Leza who lives in the sky and controls the thunder, as he is the source of all magical powers. We talked about the Kuikuru peoples who believe that the sun, the older twin brother of the moon, is who created them. They believe in animal and tree spirits and have a tribe with doctor who can speak to those spirits. They hold festivals to the dead with music, singing, and wrestling matches. They believe that when someone dies, they must overcome dangerous obstacles and hazards in order for their soul to reach the village of the dead in the sky.
Then there are the Yawalapiti who believe in many spirits, hold many festival rituals, and also rely on a witch doctor for healing, both physically and spiritually. The Aguaruna tribe focuses mainly on magic and uses charms and special songs to aid them in their hunting, gardening, and other activities. Similarly, the Chimila peoples hold religious ceremonies to, they believe, control the weather. Lastly, we talked about the Paresi people who believe the woods and rivers are full of spirits and that they originated from a rock where two serpents were who decided whether they would be boys or girls when they were formed.
Most importantly, we looked at pictures of people from each of these tribes and, in many cases, they looked just like we do. Nothing they wore or looked like indicated that they were any different than we as believers in Jesus Christ are. Yet the differences are ones that determine whether we will spend an eternity in heaven or an eternity in hell.
We discussed then what our rituals and beliefs as Christians are. We talked about communion and the sacraments. We talked about what they represent and how in taking them we are fellowshiping with Christ and nourishing ourselves with His blessings purchased on the cross for us by His shed blood. We also talked about the celebrations we have in our faith with Christmas and Easter. We talked about baptisms and baby dedications.....all religious ceremonies portraying our Christian faith and belief system.
To close things out for the week and just sort of give everyone something to think about, we had two tables set up before the kids got there. On one, we had a Bible, a devotions book, a communion cup and bread, a pack of Scripture memory cards, a Christian magazine, a tithes and offering basket, some missions newsletters, and a Christian music CD. On the other table we had some silly bands, a teen gossip magazine, a Disney movie, a car, money, a secular music CD, a Webkinz, sports memorabilia, a trophy, a bottle of wine, food/candy, a picture of our friends, nice clothes, a superhero action figure, and more.
We talked about how the one table represented the table of the Lord and all the things on it we could feast on. The other table represented the table of demons and all the things we so often choose to feast on instead. We made sure the kids understood that the majority of the things on the "demon's" table were not bad persay and were even ok to have and enjoy. The problem arises when we place the importance of those things above the importance of the things of God and we desire them more than we desire the things of God.
The kids were curious as to why there were so many more things on the table of demons than the table of the Lord and we discussed Matthew 7:13-14 - 13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
We gave the kids a lot to think about tonight and just left them with the two tables as their visual to think about until we meet again next week. We did ask them to start thinking about what was most important to them and, if they had to, which table they would be able to place those things on, the Lord's or the demon's.
