0 Chapters0 Books0 People0 Places

What You Worship, You Become.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Technology?

Babel was humanity's first tech project. The Bible warns about tech becoming idolatry.

Psalms 115 — The things you chase will shape you into their image

6 min read

Key Takeaways

The dead are silent, but you're still breathing — the psalmist says the time to praise the living God is right now, not in some future season when you feel more ready.

📢 Chapter 115 — What You Worship, You Become 🪞

This starts with a line so good it says it twice. "Not to us, Lord. Not to us." It's a song about where glory actually belongs — and what happens when you aim your life at the wrong thing. The psalmist takes one long look at the difference between the living God and the dead objects people build with their own hands, and the conclusion is devastating: you become what you .

Inside this Chapter

Hope Faith Identity Gratitude Comparison

Questions about this Chapter

application

What Does the Bible Say About Technology?

theology

What's the Difference Between Sheol, Hell, and Gehenna?

Share this chapter

Link copied!

If you've ever poured yourself into something that left you emptier than when you started, this psalm has something to say to you.

Not to Us 🙌

The opens with a declaration that strips everything back to what actually matters:

"Not to us, Lord — not to us, but to your name give the glory, for the sake of your faithful, unshakeable love and your trustworthiness.

Why should the nations look around and say, 'So where's their God?'"

That opening line lands with more force when you say it twice. The repetition isn't an accident. It's emphasis. It's the psalmist catching himself — making sure this lands before anything else gets said. Not to us. This isn't our story. This isn't our highlight reel. Everything good traces back to one source, and it isn't us.

And then that question from the watching world — "Where's their God?" — becomes the setup for everything that follows.

Dead Things on a Shelf 🗿

The psalmist answers — and there's no anxiety in it. Almost amusement:

"Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.

Their idols? Silver and gold — made by human hands.

They have mouths but can't speak. Eyes but can't see. Ears but can't hear. Noses but can't smell. Hands but can't feel. Feet but can't walk. Not a sound comes from their throat.

And the people who make them? They become just like them. So does everyone who trusts in them."

Read that last part again. You become what you . The walks through five senses — sight, hearing, smell, touch, movement — and says the have none of them. They're props. They look impressive and do absolutely nothing. But here's the part that should stop you cold: the people who give their lives to those dead things go dead themselves.

The idol doesn't come alive. You go numb. That's not ancient history — that's a warning for anyone building their life around something that will never them back. The career that needs one more promotion. The number that needs to go a little higher. The approval that's never quite enough. Whatever you orient your life around will shape you into its image. Choose carefully.

Trust Him — All of You 🛡️

Now the shifts into a call and response. The psalmist calls out three times — same invitation, same :

"Israel, trust in the Lord — he is your help and your shield.

House of Aaron, trust in the Lord — he is your help and your shield.

Everyone who honors the Lord, trust in the Lord — he is your help and your shield."

Three groups. The whole nation. The who serve in the . And then — everyone else who fears God. The circle keeps widening. It's like the psalmist is scanning the crowd, making sure nobody thinks they're excluded. And notice: the promise doesn't change based on who you are. Same God. Same help. Same shield. Whether you're leading from the front or quietly trying to follow from the back row — the offer is identical.

He Hasn't Forgotten You 🌱

After the call to trust comes the reason it's safe to:

"The Lord has remembered us — he will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless everyone who honors him — the small and the great alike.

May the Lord give you increase — you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the one who made heaven and earth."

"The small and the great." That's not a throwaway line. In a world obsessed with reach and influence and follower counts, the quietly insists: God's attention isn't based on your platform size. Both remembered. Both . Both seen. The person nobody follows and the person everybody knows get the same God paying the same attention. That's not how anything else in life works. But it's how he works.

From Right Now to Forever 🎶

The closes by pulling the camera back — all the way back — to , earth, life, , and everything after:

"The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth — he's given it to us.

The dead don't praise the Lord. Those who go down into silence are silent.

But we — we will praise the Lord, from this moment on and forever.

Praise the Lord!"

There's something quietly urgent here. The dead are silent. They don't sing. They don't . But you? You're not silent yet. You're here, reading this, breathing. And the psalmist says: while you still have breath, use it. Don't wait for a better moment or a bigger stage or a season when you feel more spiritual. The time to praise the living God is right now. And the plan is to never stop.

That's the whole psalm in one sweep. goes to God, not to us. The things we build with our hands will never save us — and if we're not careful, they'll slowly make us as lifeless as they are. But the God who made and earth? He remembers. He blesses. He shields. And he's worth every bit of trust you can give him.