Holidays: Ideals can be Idols

Holidays can be wonderful. They offer a special time to spend with family and friends, enjoying the relationships God gives us. They can also be times of disappointment and unmet expectations.

I recently had a great holiday, well, really, it was the day after Mother's Day, but that's close enough. I was able to spend time with all three of my sons, and my grandson. We spent the day at Disneyland with Ben, Bobby, and his wife Christa, and their son Tyler. The picture to the right is Ben, my youngest, me, and Bobby, my oldest. On the left I am enjoying a silly moment with my grandson, Tyler. That evening we had dinner with Billy and Cory. Sorry, no pix.

Mother's Day is one holiday where it is very easy to make the ideal an idol.

Maybe you are not a mother, but greatly desire to be one. That desire can become an idol of the heart with little or no effort, and Mother's Day becomes a day of self-pity.

Maybe your ideal Mother's Day comes from a Hallmark commercial, complete with breakfast in bed, flowers, lunch or dinner at your favorite restaurant, and new jewelry. When that ideal fantasy doesn't become reality (I can almost guarantee you it won't!), your day is ruined. You spend the day regretting what you don't have instead of rejoicing in what you do have. Your ideal has become an idol.

Maybe your Mother's Day includes a family celebration with multiple mothers, so you have to serve instead of being served. You respond dutifully, but perhaps also resentfully.

Maybe you are struggling with a difficult child, or a wayward teen or adult child, and your frustrations and disappointment dominate your holiday.

Maybe your children are grown and gone, and none of them, or not all of them, will be with you on Mother's Day. For most moms, having all the children and grandchildren around her would be the ideal holiday. If that ideal has become an idol, the day can be filled with dissatisfaction and discontent when the crowd is small or non-existent.

The possibilities are abundant, our hearts are idol-factories. So we must guard our hearts. As the next holiday approaches, we must search our hearts for any idealistic and idol-istic expectations, and confess them as sin. We are then free to enjoy the opportunities God gives us with thankfulness, not disappointment. When we focus on pleasing the Lord, and not ourselves, we can always have a happy holiday.