“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.”
Acts 17:16 (NLT)
Paul wasn’t just bothered by the idols in Athens, he was moved. Being troubled wasn’t the finish line for him, it was the beginning of obedience. He didn’t just sit there and pray about it, hoping God would fix it on His own. He did something about it. Paul went where the people were, and he spoke to anyone who would listen about Jesus.
The Athenians were never satisfied because they were addicted to the latest thing. The new ideas tickled their ears. They spent all their energy chasing new thoughts, hoping the next one would finally deliver. Nothing ever fulfilled them, so they kept reaching for more. The Athenians seemed to exhaust all their energy talking about the new instead of doing the old.
And that’s the danger still for us today. Idols don’t just sit on shelves, they steal real life. They rob us of what God designed us for and keep us from relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Idols keep us busy, but not alive. Idols encourage us to worship the wrong source.
I see Athens in America, and I see it in the Church too. The never-enough mentality, always hunting the newest theology, the latest book, the next song, and the best sermon. Today I want to notice the idols around me and be troubled enough to abandon them. I want to rest in the truth of God’s Word, seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and worship the only one worthy of my praise. Let’s throw out the new and get back to the old by simply doing what Jesus did. That is the one idea that still matters.