When strolling through museums in Italy, one sees numerous statues missing various body parts. The one pictured above bears the description: Headless statue depicting an emperor.

The sculptor used a rare type of marble, the expense pointing to the wealth of the benefactor. A powerful man went to great lengths to preserve his image for all posterity to remember him by.

Until his head got knocked off. How did that happen? Earthquake? Barbarians? A tiny fault line in the stone? Dropped during a move? Regardless, the identity rolled off with the head. No one today knows which emperor this statue represents.

The psalmist wrote of idols, words also appropriate for headless statues of emperors: They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

Those who commission statues of themselves eventually turn out just like them—unhearing, unseeing, unfeeling. They join a long list of celebrities who flash and fade.

Instead of creating statues, let us enjoy this blessing shared by the psalmist: May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

We grow hard and lose our heads when we honor ourselves. We flourish, along with our families, as we give attention to the Lord. Enjoy his blessings today as you keep the faith.

Psalm 115 in reading the Bible in 2023