The word "cast"
has enough meanings to elicit a number of different images in our minds.
It might be that thing made of plaster that your friends signed after you broke
a bone trying to learn to skateboard. The scribbled graffiti on your arm wasn’t
as cool as a tattoo, but probably not as alarming to your mom, either. Or maybe
you think of an ensemble of actors in a television series or a play. And if you
are the outdoor type, you might picture a fisherman launching a bate-laden hook
into the water – something I was better at than actually pulling it back out
with something attached to the end. But
if we look at how Scripture uses the term, we find that we are capable of casting
three things. And what you cast determines a great deal about the quality of
your life.
You can
cast an idol. Though it may sound like what you would like to do with any
number of obnoxious singers on the American TV show, casting an idol means to
actually create an image or object that you worship. God takes idol worship pretty seriously, and
those who put things or people in this life before God are in fact doing some
heavy-duty casting. And the outcome of that endeavor is not good if you read
about how God really feels about this sort of activity.
You can
also cast lots. In other words – roll the dice. People do this with their lives
too, leaving to chance or coincidence some really important decisions that God
would love to have a say in. Few today want to take the time or effort to find
out what God wants. So the alternative of choosing what you think is a good
idea and hoping God is in it seems to be kind of fashionable lately. Look
inside and determine what you’re good at and what you like to do and that is
probably God’s will for you, the itching-ear soothers say. That’s about as
reliable as going to Vegas and betting your future happiness on random
probability. I’d rather go for Kingdom predictability. God still speaks and we
are still required to obey. It’s not as glamorous as shooting craps, but
believe me, it’s got every bit of Vegas’ heart-racing adrenaline, just with a
greater and more reliable payoff.
But you can
also cast your anxieties. It’s Peter who told us to do that. And what a
timeless word, because from the Hippodrome all the way to Hip-Hop, anxiety is
what humanity wrestles with every day. And if we can actually divest ourselves
of worry and care, it is promised that God will lift us up. The picture I have is of a hot air balloon
weighed down with unnecessary baggage and trying to get airborne. When
something is keeping you down, you have to throw the heavy and unnecessary things
overboard. Whatever is dragging you down today, cast it. Because your Savior
can shoulder it, and He really does care for you. What concerns you concerns
Him. It matters. Now is not the time to
cast deities or throw dice, but rather toss distractions. Lose the low
attitude, and gain some altitude. The new elevation will bring a greater perspective
– and we could all use a whole lot more of that.
