Scripture: Wisdom 13:16
He takes thought for it, rx so that it may not fall, pills because he knows that it cannot help itself, for it is only an image and has need of help.

Thought for the Day: A large section of Wisdom is a rant against idolatry. The author writes that those who pray to idols of any sort will get what they deserve, which is exactly nothing. But the author uses the idea of a helpless doll to imply that humans are also but an image, in need of help. This required assistance cannot be found in idols, but can be found in relationship with God.

Our relationship with God is internal, even though we think of God as an external being. But as soon as we turn God into a being, we’ve created an idol, because we cannot know the face of God. So for us to fully experience God in our lives, we need only go within and pray to that which is the substance of everything, God who is always with us, because God is as much a part of our being as the subatomic particles in our blood cells.

The author of Wisdom warns us that rather than worrying about the symbols of our religion, we need to consider ourselves as the images that need help. We are the ones—all of us, who cannot stand by ourselves, and God is here to help us, if we’ll only focus our attention away from our idols, and in toward God.

Prayer: Compassionate and Merciful God, you are the being that infuses all being, the life that creates all life. May all your creations remember that, when we look in each other’s eyes, we see the One God of all the universes; that despite our very great differences, we are brothers and sisters, united in the eternal now that is your grace. Amen.