Nancy Hughes: I don't want to be fake

“Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must
be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them;
they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”
Jeremiah 10:5 (NIV)

As a little girl I used to be fascinated – and a bit frightened – by scarecrows. Even though I knew they weren’t real, every time I went with my grandmother to help in her garden I had an eerie feeling that eyes were watching my every move – scarecrow eyes. And it seemed as if they were daring me to step just one inch closer to the sweet corn growing in perfect rows to see what would happen.

When I asked my grandmother why she put that creepy thing in her garden, she shared that birds loved to come and eat everything she was growing. “But people frighten them,” she continued. “I can’t be in the garden all day every day so I put a scarecrow – a fake person – by the vegetables so the birds are fooled into thinking I am working out there even when I’m not.”

I had not thought of that conversation years ago with my grandmother until I happened to see a huge scarecrow in a garden the other day. A fake person. It also reminded me of Jeremiah 10:5 where Jeremiah talks about idols and equates them to “a scarecrow in a melon patch.”

They can’t walk or talk; they certainly can’t wave their arms to chase off incoming birds trying to eat the produce. And, despite how important their presence is supposed to be, scarecrows do not keep all birds from sneaking in and pecking their way through a fresh garden meal. Scarecrows have no power to do either good or harm as Jeremiah says.

Immediately my Christian faith and witness to those around me came to mind. Am I, like that scarecrow, a fake person? Do I give the appearance of something that isn’t real? Something I am not? For example, do I talk about a deep relationship with the Lord but hide that mine is superficial?

And while I have never thought of myself as an idol, I confess that I have been prideful by considering myself more important than my neighbor. And shared gossip disguised as a prayer request. To be honest, I will confess that I have put the love of money ahead of the love of my Lord more than once.

Pride, gossip, the love of money. All are idols. Worthless objects in my life. Worthless idols that can make my witness – worthless. But because of the power of Jesus and His forgiveness, I can choose to be alive and an example of Him.

No more fake person for this gal. And no more idols. Take that, scarecrow.

Father, I desire truth in my life by throwing out worthless idols and worshiping you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect
Can you think of scarecrows (idols) in your life that you have placed before God?

Have you ever stopped to consider that they are completely powerless?

Apply

Journal your conversations and activities for a day.

If you can write “scarecrow” – in other words, worthless idol, beside any of them, journal today’s Power Scriptures and go to the Lord in prayer.

Power

Jeremiah 10:5 (NIV) “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”

Matthew 15:8 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

I John 5:21 (NIV) “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)