When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. (2 Chronicles 25:14 NIV, 12-31-12)

Sounds stupid. Take home the gods of the people you defeated. But how often do we do the same?

God rescues us from something the world’s system could not help us with. Then we look to the world to help with our next problem, or turn to materialism or lust or any of the the things the world offers that we know bring only pain or emptiness.

As Jeremiah puts it (2:13):

“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!“

We can be pretty stupid ourselves.

[Father, help me to resist the pull of things that cannot satisfy.]