There'll be no glory

Judges 8:27 Gideon made the gold into a sacred ephod and put it on display in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted itself there. Gideon and his family, too, were seduced by it. So Gideon has been faithful to God -- he smashed the Baal altar and tore down the Asherah poles (these are the holy places of the Canaanite religions) and then defeats the Midianites just as God commanded and ordained. He even refuses the people's entreaties to rule over them as King and says "God will rule over you." But he succombs at the end to this notion of reward. The people are dying to thank him, why not ask for a little gold, just an earring apiece, their pockets are overflowing with booty! And he fashions the gold into a sacred object. And then the trouble begins, because the ephod stops being an avenue to the divine and becomes the end in itself. I wonder what was most seductive about it: was it the skill of the craftsmanship, or just the shine and beauty of the gold itself? Here he had resisted so many temptations, but gets tripped up by his own handiwork. It's as if Gideon was vigilant against thinking he had performed these great deeds on his own, without God, but when it was all over and his guard was down -- the prize, peace in Israel and freedom from the Midianites -- was won, then he succombed to thinking he was pretty hot stuff. Like James Cameron, winning the Oscar for Titanic and succombing to this notion of his own invincibility. And how easy it is to fall into the trap -- you work really hard for something, and you're focused and disciplined and then you accomplish it, and then lose the very qualities that got you there, the focus and discipline and, in Gideon's case (and my own), honoring God first. Prayer: Dear God, It's easy to remember how much I need and rely on you when I'm struggling and to forget when I've accomplished what I want to how much you are a part of everything I do. Remind me to turn to you as faithfully in success as I do in failure, to rely on your guidance even more when I know where I'm going than when I feel lost, because I am more likely then to go off the rails and be seduced by my own knowing and power to move forward. Help me to lay every aspect of my life at your feet and seek your will especially hard when I think I already know what it is. Amen