En Theos

Aaron made a golden calf and the people became very excited. They build an altar in front of it. And began to celebrate. The celebration was so loud, that when Moses and Joshua came down the mountain, Joshua though they were being attacked by an enemy. But Moses said, “No, it’s neither a cry of victory nor a cry of defeat. It is the sound of a celebration.” (Exodus 32:18)

The problem was, they were getting excited about the wrong thing. Enthusiasm is not a bad thing, as long as we are enthusiastic about the right thing. The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words: en Theos, which literally means in God. Don't miss the irony of the word-play. The more we get into God the more enthusiastic we become about God.

Too often we, as Christians, focus on what is wrong with mankind in general, and with ourselves in particular. But I'm not sure the problem is that we don't feel bad enough about what's wrong with us. I think a bigger issue is that we tend to not feel good enough about what is right about God. You see, you can't feel good about what is right with God unless you are into God! And when we are in God we will be enthusiastic about God. It is a perpetually growing chain...the more we are into God the more we will be enthusiastic about God, which will drive us to be more into God.

One of Satan's greatest tools is to keep us focused on what is wrong with us, and in doing so, we fail to see what is right about God! Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right about God. Don't let what is wrong with your church keep you from worshiping what is right about God. Don't let what is wrong with our nation keep you from worshiping what is right about God.