A lot has been spoken about sin: attitudes and behaviors that God detests; things that separate us from God. From the beginning, God defined man’s sin in terms of idolatry; the practice of placing greater affinity in, or identifying more with things that capture the heart than God. Reality is idols are images. Having an affinity or attraction for them dulls our senses and numbs our conscience. This is because God created us with an inner organic need to worship. We will, therefore, worship God or some other gods. Worship, therefore, is the beat key of life. It will set our direction and pace in more ways than we would like to think.
Why? Father God loves His creation and is jealous of His relationship with you. That’s why His covenant word says: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:3-5).
More than physical things, idols truly are images we place on things. They become attitudes we exalt. They become masters over us. They rule and influence our lives more than we think.
RELEVANCE
As soon as I became 12 my father called the local newspaper delivery service. I wanted to be a newsboy and deliver newspapers. Earning money is necessary and important. We all have to do that. I learned to be responsible. But later in life I began thinking vain imaginations about making money. It became an idol.
I also grew up going to religious school and synagogue. I enjoyed reading my Bible. As things would have it, though, money and other images became idols. In high school I was drawn to gambling on race horses. God got jealous. In time He won out. He won my heart. He reclaimed me for Himself, to enter into an eternal relationship with Him. He brought me to faith in Messiah, Jesus Christ, who I learned to serve as LORD. I learned, as did Peter– painfully– the value of keeping myself from idols.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen (1 John 5:20-21).
REFLECT AND RELATE
What things grip your heart? Ask God to reveal how much of a hold they truly have on you.
All God requires is honesty before Him. As we push back and put away the idols and images we uphold, He responds filling us with greater replacements; things of real eternal value.
REFERENCES
Genesis 35:2-3; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22