Jeremiah's idol comedy might be the Bible's sharpest: like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.

Then he turns to the LORD, King of the nations, and the laughter becomes awe. Today, sort your fears by which category they belong to.

The scarecrow test is portable: does this thing I fear, or serve, actually have legs? Most anxieties, like most idols, must be carried everywhere by their owners, propped up, nailed down, fed with attention, while doing neither harm nor good on their own power. Meanwhile the living God requires no carrying and does all the carrying.

Colossians shows the freed-up life: ordinary households and workplaces re-aimed, everything done as for the Lord. When the scarecrows lose their grip, even your job becomes worship. Sort your fears today. Bow only to the One who trembles the earth.