Beware the idols around us

Pastor Don Porter

As a new episode of American Idol begins I want to ask, what is an idol and what is your idol? God tells us to flee from idolatry. When God gave the Ten Commandments, He began by saying we should have no other gods before Him. Idols can be a lot of things. Essentially, an idol could be defined as anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. An idol is any object, idea, philosophy, habit, occupation, sport, or thing that has one’s primary concern and loyalty, or decreases one’s trust and loyalty to God by any amount. This can also be ourselves. If we trust ourselves to be able to meet our needs rather than God then we have made ourselves Gods. Alan Redpath defined idolatry this way: “Our god is the person or thing we think is the most precious, for whom we would make the greatest sacrifice, who moves our hearts with the warmest love. He or it is the person who, if we lost him, would leave us desolate.” This definition really opens doors, doesn’t it? A lot of things could qualify as idols in our lives. A person can attend church every Sunday and still practice idolatry. Think of the rich young ruler who would not give his money to the poor and follow Jesus. Is there one thing in your life that, if God asked you for it, you would say, “Absolutely not!” Is there one thing that, if the Lord required it of you, you would say, “Anything but this!” If so, then that thing, that pursuit, or that passion may be an idol in your life. When I first read the Bible I always wondered what the Israelites did which caused God to be so angry with them. At first glance, the sins which brought the children of Israel down in the wilderness don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. But the root problem was a lack of relationship with the true and living God. When Moses was temporarily taken out of the scene when he went to meet with God on Mt. Sinai, the people wanted something to take his place. It was only a matter of time until they were bowing before a golden calf. If you think about it to it, Moses was their first idol, and the golden calf was their second. Moses was like God to them, so when Moses was gone, they created a god of their own making. We do the same when we start remaking God in our own image. When we give God a makeover, when we make God politically correct, when we start changing His Word to fit the morals of our time, this becomes idolatry. We are remaking God because we are not comfortable with what He says. We don’t like His standards. Thus, if we can remake God in our image, we can live the way we want to and do. We want a heavenly salad bar where we can casually stroll up, choose the attributes of God that most appeal to us, and leave the rest behind. It’s religion a la carte. When we mold God and His Word into our image, we do the same thing the Israelites did when they made the golden calf. I read a story Greg Laurie wrote about a man who had money as his idol that went like this. A successful building contractor called in one of his employees, a skilled carpenter, and told him he was putting him in charge of the next house the company was building. He instructed the carpenter to order all the materials and oversee the entire process from the beginning. The carpenter excitedly accepted his assignment. It was his first opportunity to actually oversee an entire building project. He studied the blueprints and checked every measurement. Then he thought, “If I am really in charge, why can’t I cut a few corners, use less expensive materials, and put the extra money in my pocket? Who would know the difference? After we paint the place, no one would be able to tell.” The carpenter set about with his scheme. He used second-grade lumber and ordered inexpensive concrete for the foundation. He put in cheap wiring. He cut every corner he possibly could, but reported the use of higher-quality building materials. When the home was completed, he asked his boss to come and see it. His boss looked it over and said, “This is incredible. You did a fantastic job. You have been such a good and faithful worker and have been so honest all of these years that I am showing my gratitude by giving you this house.” Sometimes our actions say more about what our idols are. There are reactions to our actions. Think about it: every day, what are your actions saying to others about what your idols are?