I’m a Lord of the Rings fan. In the Two Towers, a creature named Gollum is introduced. Gollum appears in The Hobbit too, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, and comes under the spell of a golden ring. He originally had a different name, but killed his brother to get the ring, then becomes a weirdly distorted version of his former self, all caused by his great obsession with the ring, which both of his personalities call “Precious.”I have never personally known anyone who has used meth, but I have seen photos of people on meth. It seems to me they are a bit like Gollum, a twisted version of their former selves. Their appearance greatly changes, as did his. Something besides God has become their “precious” and taken over their souls. It is killing them.

God created man in His image. Man has a higher position than animals in God’s creation. But man is born under the curse of sin. And that has to be dealt with. We can’t maintain His image without Him in our lives. Like Gollum, we become distorted and twisted if we do not behold Him. We become what we behold. Whatever is “precious” to us will take possession of us.  Like Gollum, we become a slave to whatever our obsession is.

But God has made a way for man to be free. The first step in becoming the image of God is to receive the forgiveness of sins that Jesus paid for us to have and come into a relationship with God. Be transferred from the darkness and come in to the light, where God is. Let Him become your “precious.” Everything changes!