JOHN PEARCE ONLINE

Five Minutes with John Pearce


What god do you worship?

What is your god? That question may come as a surprise to you. But the fact is that we all have some kind of god. A god is whatever is supremely important to us, whatever absorbs our time and attention, whatever we give our life to.

For some people, their god is money. They will do practically anything to get it, working night and day and sacrificing many pleasures for it. It is the way by which they judge their value in the world, and whether their lives are successful or not. The dollar sign is this god's symbol and the bank is its temple.

For others, their God is knowledge. They are always trying to learn, devouring books and getting themselves plugged into such things as the Internet. And by it they want to achieve mastery over their world. The alphabet is the symbol of this god and the school is its temple.

For many individuals, their god is sex. They glorify it with the name of love and chase it from one person to another. They dream of it, sing of it and live for it. Nothing will make them happy untill they get love. Listen to the country music songs, and you will see what I mean. For these people the heart is the symbol of this god and the bed is its temple.

For others of us, their god is alcohol. They would rather have a drink than a new suit or a good meal. Time off for them is just an opportunity to go the tavern. They will do anything for a high, even at the expense of their health and money. And if necessary to continue the habit, they practise lying and denying and blaming other people. But their god must be continually satisfied. The bottle is its symbol and the tavern or liquor store is its temple.

For some, their god is luck. They are always looking for the right combination of numbers or the proper signs in the sky. Every week they make their contribution at the lottery booth, and hope that their god will remember them for their faithfulness. Crossed fingers are its symbol and the horoscope its temple.

For many, their god is sports. They are glued to their TVs during the games, they carry their team's name on their clothing, and they know all the statistics about their favourite players. The sports pages in the newspapers are their favourite section. The temple of this god comes in different shapes, the hockey rink, the curling rink, the basketball court or the football field - to name just a few - and their symbols are a puck, a football, a basketball or whatever.

One could go on and on. But I think I have said enough to show that various gods are worshipped among us.

But what did the Lord, the Creator of the universe, have to say? Just this. "Thou shalt have none other gods before me." That is, we are not to let any one or any thing or even any pastime come between us and Him. In fact, He said that He was a jealous God. He wouldn't brook any competition.

Does that mean that He is mean-spirited (which is what some people assume)? Of course not. On the contrary, He realizes that these so-called gods are false, that they promise but don't deliver, that they lead us down rosy paths which end in disappointment and destruction. So He warns us against them for our own sake. It isn't so much that He would get hurt as that we would get hurt.

So let's check the gods we worship. And let's chuck out all these false pretenders, these time-sucking, life-sucking things and activities, from the temples of our hearts. And let us worship the Lord our God.


The Rev'd John Pearce is currently priest-in-charge of the Parish of Kent in New Brunswick (Diocese of Fredericton). Before that he served for a number of years as assistant priest in the Parish of Petite Riviere and New Dublin in the Diocese of Nova Scotia. He was originally from the Diocese of Montreal. Father Pearce has written numerous articles and books on many aspects of the Christian Life.
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