Fr JOBY KACHAPPILLY
FR JOBY KACHAPPILLY
Fr Joby Kachappilly VC
DUMMY GODS
In his book ‘The Wanderings?’,
Hermann Hesse says, “Each one has his own dummy gods, Bowing before them, they
find solace.”
Children’s god – toy
Drunkard’s god – alcohol
Rich man’s god – money
Politician’s god – power
When we speak of ‘dummy’ of
‘material gods’, we do not mean the supreme ‘God’ nor as though there are many
gods. Anything that a person keeps close to his heart dearer than God is dummy
god. It means anything that has enslaved him. How true are the words of Hesse!
In each person’s life there are some individuals, things, ideals, TV channels,
serials and addictions that give him material comfort and pleasure. All these
are evils that have found abode in his heart with or without being aware of it.
They are actually the material gods or dummy gods. The real freedom is
liberation from such things.
The very first Commandment ‘Love
God above all’ means we should not love anything more than God. A close
examination of our life is essential to find out if there are such things which
make us slaves. We should make out that these are things we should overcome by
waging relentless war against ourselves. “Let
us test and examine our ways” (Lam 3:40).
In the Old Testament, the word
‘slave’ means ‘a person who has been denied his rights’. Slaves were then
recognized by the thread tied around their wrist. There was also the practice of
branding them so that the mark remained permanent. In a similar way, Satan has
bound and branded God’s children making them his willing bondmen, placing in
their hearts certain material gods, favorite idols of dear deities. These
things alienate them from spirituality and God and so there is a need for a
spiritual freedom fight here. Christ himself, who never became a bondman to
anybody or a slave to anything, is the leader of this freedom fight. The
followers must gird their loins and be battle ready at his beck and call.
Only Jesus can give us release
from the material gods to whom we have been bound by Satan with invisible
threads. The words of Jesus are especially noteworthy here: “He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and… to let the oppressed go free” (Lk 4:18-19). Without getting
release from the material gods, we can’t live with the freedom of the children
of God. If in any sphere of your life, there is a deliberate breach of the
first commandment, pray to Jesus for release. All other sins are rooted in the
breach of this all-important commandment.
Let us give God our undivided
love. Let’s abandon the material gods, and adore and follow the true God giving
him a permanent, exalted niche in our heart. “In your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord” (1 Pet 3:15). For that let
us give up our wanton festivities and wear the whole amour of God for a
spiritual struggle (Eph 6:10-17). Then freedom will become the rhythm of life
and the music of the soul. Then there will be prosperity of divine experience
and the fullness of spiritual joy. In this fight, the Mother of the Holy
Assumption will be with us as our guide and help to crush the head of Satan, to
vanquish the powers of evil.
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