formerly Akeret haBayit in Training

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Ideals or Idols?

Are your ideals idols in your life? Do you raise them above Torah and above His will for you? Do we sacrifice the wonderful blessings He has for us if we surrender to Him, for living out our own wishes, desires, and high imaginations?
To help us define exactly what might be called ideals in our minds,here's the definition of idea(from which come ideals) and the definition of ideal,(from which may come idols :), from Websters 1828 dictionary-
  • Literally, that which is seen; hence, form, image,model of anything in the mind; that which is held or comprehended by the understanding or intellectual faculties.
  • In popular use, idea signifies notion, conception, thought, opinion, and even purpose or intention.
  • Image in the mind.
Ideal-
  • Existing in idea;intellectual;mental;as ideal knowledge.
  • Visionary; existing in fancy or imagination only; as ideal good.
  • That considers as images, phantasms,or forms in the mind; as the ideal theory or philosophy.
Here's an example-
Ha Shem created you, with green eyes and blond hair. But you think that you can only be beautiful if you have black hair and blue eyes. This may be because of what someone said, an
image in our head, an idea. What we really are doing is not being grateful to G-d for how He created us, what HE created us to be, and how He wants us to look. This can be with anything-clothes,looks,behavior,personality,lifestyle, anything and everything. Even religion can be an ideal. I have , or had, an ideal , which I put as an idol, of how I should look and behave, and what I should be doing, in every aspect of my life. And I am so thankful that He's showed me this, and I am working at it, a process which is almost entirely mental for me.
Here is where the breakage from the bondage of our ideas and ideals begins. We decide if we will surrender. Really think about it- Are you willing to be free from ideas and ideals, from your idols? If you are, there is a journey ahead, a searching,freeing, scary one. Maybe our ideals give us security and foundation, a direction to go in. But we should be following Abba, not ourselves.
Ideals are not the same as principals.Remember the definition of an idea. It is not the same as a principal.
So, are you ready to lay it at His face for a life change?

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