THE OBJECT OF REVERENCE
God Vs Creation
WHEN famous American athlete Carl Lewis won the gold in the long jump at the Los Angeles Olympics 1984 he was so overwhelmed with gratitude for his victory that he could not resist paying homage to the track he had run on.
The urge to identify and acknowledge one’s benefactor and the longing to shower him with one’s feelings of deep gratitude is inherent in human nature. This is common to all: to rich and poor, young and old. According to psychiatrists, this emotion is not only the deepest of all emotions but is also so interwoven in human nature that it is inseparable from it. It was only natural for Carl Lewis to stoop down and kiss the track to acknowledge his victory.
The urge to identify and acknowledge one’s benefactor and the longing to shower him with one’s feelings of deep gratitude is inherent in human nature.
This is the urge, in fact, to find God, the creator of man, and bow before Him. This urge is ingrained in man in order that he should be able to recognize and worship his Maker. Man, however, digresses from the path of nature. And so, the recognition and submission which is actually due to God are given instead to His creation.
Man feels inclined to adopt someone or something as his ‘God’, since the true deity remains invisible to the naked eye. It is a human failing that man takes more readily to visible or tangible objects. Thus, the devotion due to God alone is offered to someone or something else. The true focus of one’s emotions is man’s ultimate benefactor, his one and only Creator. Recognizing God as the supreme benefactor is true reverence, whereas showing veneration for something or someone other than God is a misplaced allegiance. Man must pass the test of discerning the invisible God from the innumerable visible creations of God.
morning and evening. It is He who sends blessings
to you as do His angels. (The Quran)