Articles
Putting Away Idolatry
Worship is the default mode of our hearts. We were made to worship. It comes naturally. What doesn’t come naturally is “how” to worship, or even whom we are to worship. We worship the LORD because He has revealed Himself to us, and taught us how to draw near to Him, just as He had to teach Israel how they might draw near to Him through the tabernacle system.
Since sin entered the world, the worship of God is no longer the default mode of the human heart. Instead, our hearts look for and find anything oth-er than God to worship. One man once said, "The human heart is a factory of idols". What comes naturally is no longer worship of the Creator but rather worship of created things. Identifying Idols The deceptive thing about these false gods we worship, is that they rarely take the form of a little golden statue (at least not in our culture). But they are here and we worship none the less. When we look to a created thing to provide for us what only the Creator can provide (meaning, significance, acceptance, approval, ultimate joy, comfort, secu-rity), not only do we set ourselves up for disap-pointment, but we commit idolatry in the process. Here are just a few questions to help you identify potential idols in our own lives:
What do we brag about?
Where do we go for comfort?
How do we explain or identify yourself?
What do we want more than anything else?
What do would those who know us best say is our passion?
Whose approval are we seeking?
What gets the best of your attention, energy, creativity, and effort?
Good things turned into god things... After working through those questions, a shock often comes at the realization our idols are often good things. A spouse, a job, children, a passion or hobby, your church, your position in that church, your health, your looks, your skill and talent, the list is endless. But one thing that almost all idols have in com-mon is that we begin to form our identity around that thing. When a good thing becomes a god thing, that's a bad thing. When our idol begins to be-come our identity, other questions are even better at helping us pinpoint those "functional saviors":
What, if it was taken from you, would shake your faith in God?
What would make you angry at God or question his love?
What would you give up everything else for to keep from losing?
What do you fear the most?
When we worship idols, we turn to them to provide for our deepest needs, save us from our deepest fears, and satisfy our deepest longings. In the same way, when we worship God, we turn to him to provide for our deepest needs, save us from our deepest fears, and satisfy our deepest longings. And if we're honest with ourselves, only God is big enough to deliver on any of it.
Consider how the following five aspects should cause us to flee from idolatry
once and for all:
Identity - Quite simply, who Christ has made us to be if we are "in Christ"? Scripture tells us that in Christ we are loved by God, forgiven of sin, justified before God; we are new creations. Only by faith in Christ can any of this be true of us.
Acceptance - In Christ, you are completely accepted and completely loved by the greatest and most important being in the universe (Eph. 1:6). This frees you from the idolatry of individualism (which is often a fear of rejection) and the need to hide the shameful things of your life. This frees you from the need to be loved by all, and gives you the ability to speak the truth in love to those who need it.
Significance - In Christ, you are a child of the king. You've been adopted into the royal family of God and you are a co-heir with Christ! This frees you from the idolatry of importance, always needing to be in front of people, always needing to get the credit you are due. This frees you from the burden of building your own empire so you can "leave a mark" or a legacy.
Approval - In Christ, you have the honor and approval of God (John 12:26). This frees you from being a doting parent who wilts at the thought of an unhappy child. This frees you from being destroyed by the slightest critique or criticism, or from the disapproving stares and hurtful comments of your classmates.
Comfort - In Christ, we have available to us a "peace that passes understand-ing". We are given the Spirit of Jesus who is called "the comforter” and “the God of all comfort.” This free us from turning to sin, to food, to substance abuse, to retail therapy, etc. in order to find comfort in times of stress, tribula-tion and anxiety.
We could go on indefinitely, but you get the idea. At the heart of everything we worship is something we want from that thing, and something that we ulti-mately can only get from God in Christ. The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be.
