Whenever a commitment is made to launch a new beginning, some aspect of your previous life has to be left behind. When the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land, they would have to forsake the practice of idol worship. The first and second Commandments state: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves any graven images.”
At Mount Sinai they willfully put their future at risk by creating and worshipping a golden calf. Recklessness and boredom can be responsible for a lapse in judgment which becomes a prelude to sin. Experiencing these conditions can lead to poor judgement, which in turn produces painful and negative consequences.
Getting severely stressed out tends to generate thoughts that “Life should be better,” and “I deserve more happiness.” The golden calf looked really good to the Hebrew people, and they imagined it could be the answer to their problems. Can you imagine that? While God could not negate the consequences of their sin, he was willing to forgive them as they abandoned the worship of idols.
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The Lord said to Moses: "Leave this place, [Mount Sinai], you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants."
~Exodus 33:1 Good News Bible
I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect.
But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take
hold of the prize. My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I
forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead.
~Philippians 3:12-13 Contemporary English Version
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