The kid is good.

In my previous semester of college, I took an Old Testament History course with one of my favorite professors. I enjoy taking history classes because I am almost guaranteed to learn something that I did not already know. In one particular class, my professor explained the second commandment. The second commandment essentially says do not make any kind of image of anything and worship it--or more simply-put, no idols. I have always thought that this commandment had went along with the first commandment: "Thou shalt not have any other gods before me." My professor then explained that idol worship was not actually worship of an idol. People believed that gods were spirits, not statues made from wood. Instead, they felt that had to pray to the statue in order to have something to focus on. God did not want his people to worship him in that way, for there is nothing on earth that could possibly represent his glory. He wanted their worship to be spiritual.

Well then I did some contemplating for a few days and thought, "I wonder if we idolize the cross in the Christian church..."

Last Sunday, I gave a lesson to my youth group on the second commandment. I gave them the whole history, the application that King Hezekiah displayed when he broke the bronze snake when the people were worshiping it, and then asked them to think of possible idols in their own lives. Not even a moment later, the quiet, witty, and deceptively bright fourteen-year-old spoke up.

"The cross...?"

I was taken aback. This freshman in high school grasped in one minute the concept it took me a few days of which to grab a hold. With my mouth wide open, I stared at him for a minute before choking on my words,

"Yeah, good point."

Kids are smart. Let us never forget that. Though we try to teach them things, let us never make the lessons a one-way street.