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9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory [or, Glory] for something that does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
*Jeremiah 2.9-13, NRSV
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Anything can serve as a God-substitute. Even a faith in God as a concept or a nationalistic icon can be a God-substitute. Faith affiliation can be an idol. Scripture can be an idol; also, sex, art, music, work, gambling, alcohol, attention to one's physical appearance, sports, a hobby, a spouse or child, television, ... Spirituality, furthermore, can become an idol, replacing one's relationship with God. We cannot be devoted to God-substitutes without harmful consequences, for the DNA of loyalty to God is built into the nature and structure of Life.
Joseph Groebbels disdained his religious upbringing that taught him about Christ. He remarked, later, "It is almost immaterial what we believe, so long as we believe in something."
Groebbels something was someone. He gave his devotion to Adolf Hitler. Hitler became his God-substitute. When Hitler was trapped and suffered defeat, Groebbels killed his family and himself.
Jeremiah spoke, "My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water." Cisterns were like wells; they were dug into limestone to collect water. If cracked, they would lose water. Spirit is saying the people have forsaken the Divine, Who is like a clean, fresh, flowing stream, for cisterns that hold settled water; and more so, cisterns that are broken.
At the beginning of this Jeremiah sermon, the prophet is told to preach about the backsliding of the people: "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown" (v. 2). The people were reminded of a time when their love for their God was first in their lives, but they had compromised their loyalty over time. They had left their first love.
Any substitute for Spirit, the living waters, is a poor substitute. Each day we decide what or whom will be first in our heart. If I am faithful in prayer and spiritual readings and good works, likely, I am still honoring my first love. If I am saying things like "I don't have time," likely, I have opted for one or more God-substitutes and need to pray to recover my first love.
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*Material on Groebbels from Our Daily Bread: June 1997.
*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his wife, Rocio, their two dogs, St. Francis and Bandit Ty, and their fish, Hope, in Southwest Florida. Brian is vowed at Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in Georgia. He lives a contemplative life and inspires others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ. He advocates for a spiritually-focused Christianity and the renewal of the focus of the Church on addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons and empathic relating with diverse spiritual traditions, East and West. Brian has an independent writing, workshop, and retreat ministry, for all spiritual seekers.
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