As the Bible teaches, being unwilling to let go of our idols means that we won't worship the One true God, and that we will have to suffer the devastating (and in many cases, eternal) consequences of putting things and finite people in the place of YHWH (Deuteronomy 5:6-8; Ezekiel 16; Jonah 2:8). Over the passed year I've been spending more time in the Old Testament than I ever have before and it's awakened me to reality. From the very beginning, when Adam and Eve chose to trust the Serpent's analysis of God's commands instead of God's direct word to them, idolatry has corrupted man's relationship with our loving Creator (Genesis 3). Following the Fall is account after account of how Israel, the people God chose to reveal Himself to, stubbornly wandered from safety to follow after created things. In doing so, they were also failing to fulfill their purpose, to show the world who God is and in doing so, call people back to their Father. Instead the Israelites chose to succumb to dehumanizing acts such as bowing to stone and wood, even going so far as to sacrifice their children to another nation's "god."
In the New Testament, Paul teaches all followers of Christ that idols are actually demons attempting to usurp worship that should rightly be given to God (1 Corinthians 10:1-21). So when Israel was sacrificing their children, giving their "first fruits" (Proverbs 3:9-10) to other gods, they were actually handing it all over to demons. Let the disturbing reality of that sink in for a minute. Think about all of the evil that goes on in this world, the wars, the death, the torture, and realize that all of the evil acts that we commit against each other are actually a delight to these creatures, demons, that rebelled against God. They rejoice in humanity's demise. Now, look at the fact that any form of idolatry, of worshiping and finding our identity in anything other than Jesus, is actually opening ourselves and our lives up to the influence of demons. This is serious stuff here.
A lot of people tend to forget that idolatry still exists today. Even Christians often think that in the "Western world," which has been committed to naturalism, we don't actually bow down to other gods anymore. For American Christians, our country has supposedly been founded on the faith that we affirm and so we don't need to worry about the actual beliefs and actions of our founders or the leaders that followed after them throughout our history (a view that I find much contention with, but that would take a whole other blog to address, which I might do at some point!). Oh, and we are so far above all of that with our science and advancement in technology. Some might begin to place Jesus Himself on the fringe of their lives, believing that the material world is all that exists. The truth is, however, that idolatry is still very alive and well, thriving gloriously in our societies. Pay attention to how much time you spend doing something without involving God, over and above seeking God and furthering His Kingdom. See what those around you are doggedly holding onto for their sense of safety and security. Whether it be social, spiritual, mental, or physical, there are many things that are not God that people put their hope in. And yes, Christians do this too. It becomes blatantly obvious when you even hint at the fact that someone might want to think about the place they've put something in their lives or wrapped their identities around, that that thing has become an idol to them. Or you might not even be suggesting anything, but expressing your own opinion or a differing view on something and someone will react disproportionately angry to your view. Often, it comes out in a demonization of the opposing view. It is not a pretty sight.
Some of the idols I've come to notice in my own life and in those lives around me span a wide variety of areas. One idol might be an important person in someone's life that they've elevated to a position that that person can't even attempt to fulfill, while another might be a political party or ideology that someone has aligned themselves with. In an affluent country where we can afford to feed all kinds of cravings, yet that is so empty spiritually, it is ridiculously easy to slip everything but God into His place in our hearts and lives. To make an extensive list would really be impossible, given how complicated and complex we are as human beings. But just to give you more of an idea of what kinds of things one might idolize, here is a short list:
- Relationships (Whether it be friendships, romantic, or family)
- Sex
- Jobs
- Money
- Entertainment
- Celebrities
- Comfort
- Knowledge
- Having Control
- Hobbies
- Politics
- "Rights"
- Possessions
- School
- Morality
- Religious leaders
- A Church
- Ourselves or our view of ourselves
It can be a tricky thing, trying to identify our idols. They like to hide under layers of self-justification and denial. We so desperately want to keep them AND try to follow Jesus, but that isn't possible. It can be very much a tug of war. Yet part of taking up our crosses and following Jesus is the laying down of all of the things that we tried to build our lives around previous to our conversion. And laying all of that down, repenting of our idolatry and dying to a self that violently kicks and screams as it goes down, isn't attractive or comfortable. It's a process that requires submission to our humble Savior and letting Him patiently pull our clenched hands off of the things that we can't see are actually hurting us and keeping us from knowing Him. When we start to see that what God is doing is good, though, it becomes a little easier to agree with the demolition He is doing inside of us. It's also pretty awesome seeing what He's done when it's finished, the trust that's been grown in Him. There are a lot of analogies that authors and theologians have used to describe this process throughout history, so I won't attempt any of my own at this time. That and this whole blog was really meant to be an introduction to a talk that I wanted to point you all to. But if you're interested, take a look at this:
Finally, if you want to know more about this idolatry mess, I would seriously recommend you watch this talk by Tim Keller. He is quite gifted at bringing practical understanding to complex theological issues. I learned a lot about idolatry from this talk. Here ya go:
Idolatry is gravely important to address, in ourselves and in others. Yes, it requires speaking the truth in love when it comes to another person's idolatry. But I would encourage you not to ignore either your own or other's idols. Ignoring them could mean not having a real relationship with your Creator, and it might keep someone you love from knowing Jesus at all. So, in conclusion, keep it all in prayer. Let the Lord lead you in the process and take it from me, it's much easier to let Him just cut the ties to your idols, than to fight Him about it. It is all very worth it in the end.
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