Gold Cows

2 Kings 10:28-31

So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

Jehu was a military leader who overthrew the king of Judah as well as the wicked queen mother, Jezebel. In his zest for religious purity, he killed the worshippers of Baal as well as destroying the images erected to their god. However, he did not remove the other idols from the land. While images of Baal were destroyed, the golden calves were left undisturbed.

Jehu easily recognized the sin of others yet he could not see the same sin in himself. He believed the evil of the Baal worshippers deserved punishment but that his calf worshipping sin should be ignored by God. I must admit that Jehu’s golden calves are alive and well in me. I am indignant when others treat me badly but I minimize my rudeness as “just having a bad day”. I gossip about others while being upset that they have spoken harshly about me. I even justify my lies while calling other liars “commandment breakers”. My golden calves remain undisturbed while I try to tear down the sins of everyone else.

It is time that we quit looking at other’s shortcomings and instead uproot the sin in our own hearts. All idols must be destroyed, even the ones we secretly cherish. It is time to stop scrutinizing people and begin looking at ourselves in the shiny, golden calf mirror.