Push-Button God

This morning I counted 6 remote controls in my apartment. I have, for example, one for the TV, another for the VCR, one for the DVD, and yet another universal one that eliminates the need for two for the TV and VCR. I like remotes. In fact, I found myself spending 5 minutes the other day searching for a remote when I could have simply turned on the CD player by hand. There is something about that element of control. There is a semblance of power in wielding a device that allows one to manipulate yet another device from a distance without wires. We humans long for control. It doesn’t stop with electronics though. If we can control something or someone, then that something (or someone) will not pose a threat to us. All we need is the right “remote” for the person or situation, the power will be harnessed, and all will be well.

I am reminded of the story found in 1 Samuel 4-5. The Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Hebrews by the Philistines and taken to the temple of Dagon. (Dagon was a fertility idol in ancient times depicted as having the upper body of a man and whose lower body was like a fish.) The ark was placed within this temple in the territory of the Philistines as a sign that the God of the Hebrews had been powerless before the forces following Dagon. The LORD, in the eyes of the Philistines, had been delivered to them by their god. Dagon was their “universal remote control.” Push the button, and control is given.

God had other thoughts.

In 1 Samuel 5:3, we find that the next morning Dagon was lying face down before the ark…prostrate…as in “bowing down.” The Philistines evidently didn’t grasp what God was trying to say to them, so they set Dagon up again and went about their way. The next morning, Dagon again was on the ground, but this time his hands and head were broken from the body. In ancient times an enemy often had his head and hands removed to assure that he was indeed dead (II Sam. 4:12). God was sending a clear message, “Dagon is a dead thing with no power before Me.” The LORD then sends a plague as judgment upon them, and they send the ark back to the people of God.

Is there something in your life that you have placed God alongside, and you think that it’s bigger than Him? Maybe you haven’t intentionally constructed an idol, but you have allowed a problem to get so large in your mind that you honestly believe that God can’t handle it. There have been situations where I placed something alongside Him, and, by comparison, the problem looked larger to me than God Himself.

Or perhaps you have tried to use a situation to manipulate, cajole, and persuade God to act on your part. Maybe you are attempting to have a God for your life that you can easily control, a God with a “push-button omnipotence.” You may see God as one that you can reach for Him only when you think you need Him. You may “point” God at a situation like you would direct a remote control and expect Him to work quickly.

God will not operate that way.

The morning comes, and that which you thought overruled the Almighty will lie broken before Him.

What’s your “Dagon?”

Dustin C. George
Minister to Single Adults
www.sevierheights.org