Aliens and Gold Cows

“November 9, 2004.” A date etched in my mind only because of an orange sticker stuck to the game’s case, warning merchants not to display the game until its official release date. I was a youth ministry intern and a Bible college student on November 9, 2004, the day that Halo 2 was released. I wasn’t much for video games, but Halo was the rage and I played it often with the youth that I worked so closely with. Before I knew it, I was as obsessed with Halo as much as they were. In fact, I was determined to get my hands on Halo 2 before they did!

In my quest to save earth from the alien forces and vicious parasites known as the Covenant and the Flood, the game became a parasite as destructive as the fictional ones I was fighting in the game. Reality and its responsibilities took a back seat as I was swept away for hours in a fictional world. I was sobered one occasion when I reasoned with myself that I would play just one level before tackling my college paper due the next morning.

It was only 5pm and the evening was young. Time evaporated as I fought heroically against alien foes hell-bent on wiping humanity from existence. I was convinced that my life and death campaign had only taken about an hour but the clock on the wall punctured my false perception and rudely ushered me back into reality. It was 3am. Finally looking at the clock was like experiencing a bucket of cold water while in a deep sleep. I knew I was in trouble. Not just regarding my college paper, but I knew I had allowed a fun pastime to become an all-consuming obsession.

It was in this moment of self-reflection that the words of Rev. Charles Stanley echoed in my head, “What competes for lordship on the throne of your heart?” I heard these words in one of his radio sermons when I was just a kid and that question still convicts me- better yet- haunts me even to this day.

In Exodus 32, God’s people turned their backs on God when they grew impatient as they waited for Moses’ return. Idle minds demanded to be entertained and in a display of pride and arrogance, they crafted a god they could see and give their devotion to, a golden calf. It’s tempting to visit the story and look at these people as pathetic for casting their adoration to a hand-crafted cow, but a gold cow can take on many forms. Anything that robs God of our devotion stands as an idol in defiance to Him. Maybe the only thing that’s pathetic is not knowing that an idol has been crafted in our hearts and has dulled our spiritual focus and robbed God of our devotion.

The question proposed by Rev. Stanley is sobering but it accomplishes the needed task of evaluating the devotion of our heart.

"What competes for lordship on the throne of your heart?"

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This blog is a refelction on last week's Highpoint Kid's lesson, "The Golden Calf"

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