Meet My Old Friend Molek

Zephaniah1: ⁴ “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— ⁵ those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molek.

So, my question is, "What's a Molek?" It sounds like a bad haircut from the 80's really. Thing is, when I read this verse, that's the only word with no real point of reference. Of course, I've been told a little about Molek. Less famous than his counterpart Baal, Molek was a Canaanite god who was worshiped through human sacrifice. So basically, to worship Molek one had to reject the authority and rule of Jehovah God and place one's individual experience above the human life of others. Ok.... so now I get it. Basically Molek is where God is taken off his throne, others are objectified, and I am glorified. Wow, so now I know what a Molek is.

A Molek is when we would rather sacrifice the needs of our children and God's call for us as parents, so that we can gratify the cravings of laziness. A Molek is when we sacrifice integrity by watching movies and television that are inappropriate for Christians. A Molek is when we lose our influence, by objectifying and demoralizing women. A Molek is when we hurt God's children through gossip, being judgmental, or by being racist. A Molek is when we love this world so much that we reject the creator of it. A Molek is when we let fear prevent us from being truthful with others about our need for Christ and to cast off the sin that entangles us all. A Molek is when we make worship all about us and not about God and his church. A Molek is when we ignore the hungry, the hurting, the broken as a way to maintain peace in our own lives. A Molek is when we become so self absorbed, that God is forgotten and people are run over.

Yes, I know Molek. Molek is everywhere. According to Zephaniah, worshiping both Molek and the Lord God will result in destruction. We cannot have two masters... so we must decide who we will worship. God or Molek?