Gollum started life as Smeagol, an ordinary hobbit living an ordinary hobbit life. On his birthday, he went fishing with his brother Deagol, who found a ring in the river. But when Smeagol saw the One Ring, he lusted after it. His lust for the ring was a temptation too great for him, and he murdered his brother Deagol for possession. This was the moment when Smeagol started to waste away and become Gollum. Gollum degenerated and became a detestable and repulsive character over the course of time as unrepented sin worked on his spirit.
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)Someone else also murdered his brother after giving in to temptation:
Cain was very angry...the Lord said to Cain... if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain...You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. (Gen. 4:3-14 abridged)Gollum is a vivid example of the absolute corruption of sin and idol worship. We are each born with sin nature, and sadly this affects our relationship with God, our Creator. God created mankind to have perfect fellowship with him, but the relationship was broken when man turned against God in Genesis 3; man desired to "be like God" (v.5). Another way to look at this is that man desired to be his own god and rule over himself. In C.S. Lewis' book Out of the Silent Planet, in which Oyarsu represents God, the wise old sorn Augray says about man,
"It is because every one of them wants to be a little Oyarsu himself"and
"They are like one trying to lift himself by his own hair - or one trying to see over a whole country when he is on a level with it - like a female trying to beget young on herself."I love the way that Edgar Winter has graphically depicted corrupted worship in his book The Tabernacle of David Today. It shows man's attitude of worship degenerating from true worship in spirit and truth which is what God desires (see John 4:23-24) to idolatry and self-worship.
Just as we see Gollum wasting away in Lord of the Rings, so every individual is wasting away whilst wallowing in sin. God, in His lovingkindness, drove the man out of the garden of Eden so that he would not eat from the tree of life and therefore live forever in sin. But it needn't be like that: God provided for reconciliation through the death of Jesus on the cross:
And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (2 Cor. 5:15 NASB)Gollum is not a favourite because I like him; rather, Gollum reminds us to check in on our relationship with God on a daily basis.
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (1 Cor. 11:28)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps. 139:23-24)
"The Worship Evolution" graphic used by express permission of Edgar Winter.