In a sense, I am a god. Before you pitch stones at me, let me explain.
I am the center of my universe. Everything I do is about me. I receive prayers in the form of emails and tweets—people asking me to do things for them or thanking me for things I’ve done. If someone says or does something I don’t like, I have the power to strike them down either with my words or with my Unfollows. I can sit on my throne at Starbucks and judge the world or be merciful however I choose.
So you see; in a sense I’m a god. And in a sense you are too.
The thought dawned on me when I was driving home from Starbucks. That morning I’d spent a couple of minutes in reading my devotional and even struck up a conversation with a pastor who saw my copy of My Utmost for His Highest. But as I drove home, I realized the next three hours were spent completely thinking about myself. I hadn’t given God a second thought after I put my devotional away and pulled out my computer.
That’s a scary thought. The scarier thought was when I realized I had become my own god for those three hours. I’m not saying I kneeled down and worshipped to an Instagram photo of myself. But for that whole time my world revolved around me, my thoughts, and my plans. I was a god.
My life is not meant to be lived that way.
You might never experience this. You might filter every action and every thought through your knowledge of the one true God. But if you’re like me, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
We can’t live this way. We have to get off the thrones of our lives. We might not be able to stop the prayers (emails and tweets) from coming our way, but we can look to God as the one who answers and judges. That’s the only way we’ll remove ourself from the throne and put back the One who actually belongs there.