Outside Reading 3
The Great Divorce
“’But look here,” said I, “if they can get everything just
by imagining it, why would they want any real things, as you call them?’
‘Eh? Oh well, they’d like houses that really kept out
the rain.’
‘There present houses don’t?’
‘Of course not? How could they?’
‘What the devil is the use of building them, then?’ The
Intelligent Man put his head closer to mine. ‘Safety again,’ he muttered. ‘At
least, the feeling of safety. It’s all right now: but later on…you understand.’”
This is an excerpt from the beginning of The Great Divorce. I have been meaning
to read this book for quite some time and this section is the first part of the
book that has caught my attention the most; this conversation makes me think of
idolatry. These houses that bring a false sense of safety and little protection
from the rain sounds like idols. I feel like when someone has an idol, they
often cling to that thing because it brings comfort. Let’s say that Bob and
Sally are both Christians and they are dating each other. Sally has recently been
having a difficult time understanding certain things about God, and she has
been having a hard time hearing from God; at the same time, Sally has also been
experiencing a lot of suffering in her daily life because she is having a hard
time with friends. In this situation Sally becomes dependent on Bob and has accidentally
begun put her relationship with God before her relationship with the Lord.
Sally accidentally started idolizing her relationship with Bob out of a place
of wanting someone to be there and comfort her while she was upset, and because
she felt “distant” from God, she turned to Bob instead. In this scenario though,
one can assume that soon Sally will realize that Bob is not as perfect as she thought,
and he will begin to fail her (because he is a flawed human). This turn of
events leaves Sally sad, hurt, and feeling more distraught than she had
before---this is idolatry. Sally’s relationship brought her a false sense of
security but at the end of the day it could not “keep out the rain.”
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust
in man.” Psalm 118:9
At the end of the day, idols cannot take the place of
God, and while they may bring momentary comfort and satisfaction, that will not
be enough.
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