The Idolatry of Autographs

Ok, enough of the bible. Just kidding God! However, here is a brief interlude of the real world.

So over the weekend, the family took a trip down to Clearwater, FL and spent some time at Phillies' Spring Training. Being so close to the players and seeing them getting ready for baseball was just the thing I needed to throw off the chill of winter, even though it was chilly in FLA. The first day at Clearwater, Sam and Liddy scored big, they both got autographs by Cole Hamels. Their smiles lite up the sky and I must admit was almost as excited as they were.

I have never been an autograph seeker myself, but I do recall on festival when I was little that was at Jeannes Hospital in northeast Philly. Larry Bowa and Gary Maddox came and signed autographs and so I brought my glove and had them both sign it. It was great. Seeing Sam and Liddy reminded me of how I felt that day.

Of course the joy of Sam and Liddy's experience was overshadowed by the idolatry of autographs. I call it idolatry because for the most part, it was adults that were seeking the autographs and I have no doubt in my mind that they would have punched, kicked or even bitten Sam and Liddy if they thought that such behavior would give them an advantage. On several occasion  grown men pushed Sam out of the way so that they could stand on the gate waiting for Ryan Howard to come out.

Now I could just rant about the lame behavior of professional autograph seekers, and they are lame, but it misses the larger point. Idolatry is any behavior that leads us to forgot God and God's teachings. In this instance it was autographs, in another scenario it could be guns, while in another it could be a phone. When we raise up objects so that they become more important than people and God, then we have an idol.

Perhaps we all need to think of those things that we have turned into an idol, those things that keep us from real human interaction and with an honest relationship with God.