Flee American Idols!
One of the parts of the Bible that seems difficult for many Christians to relate to is the topic of idols. When God tells us in His first commandment is to have “no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3-6), and then speaks to idolatry in the second commandment, we often do not find ourselves convicted.
In the Bible we specific references to idols we have never heard of like Ba’al, Asherah, Molech, Chemosh, Dagon, the Host of Heaven, and Marduk. When we learn that these idols are connected with Satan and the demonic (Deuteronomy 32:16–17, 1 Corinthians 10:19–20) most of us feel even more removed and safe from the sin of idolatry. While we may not be tempted to bow down to small figurine statues of the demonic, we are often tempted to the similar pursuits, sacrifices, and motives. Here are some ways to check yourself from the most common forms of idolatry in America today.
1 John 5:21 “keep yourselves from idols.” (ESV)
What are you seeking? Choosing idolatry is not an accident. The devil can’t make you do it. Idolatry is a choice of pursuing something or someone more than God. Is can look like treasuring religious objects like images, statues, necklaces, jewelry, relics, and good-luck/superstitious items when God warns against the trust in such possessions. Idolatrous pursuits can also be self-focused with pride over one’s achievements, possessions, public image, or religiosity. Another avenue of pursuing something above God can come in the form of nature-worship where we give more attention to the creation than the Creator. Or sometimes we find ourselves worship humans more than God when we give more time, attention, and affection towards family members, co-workers, celebrities, politicians, athletes. Check your heart. What are you pursuing for happiness, belonging, and purpose in life?
Romans 1:23, 25 [they] “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie & worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator”
What are you sacrificing? Idol worship always involved bringing an offering of some sort. Likewise, we make sacrifices in our relationship with modern idols. Sometimes it looks like sacrificing purity by indulging in sexual immorality/fornication or pornography in order to find the pleasure and happiness that we feel we deserve. Sometimes family is sacrificed through infidelity, abandonment, abuse, divorce, or abortion in order to get the “freedom” to live life the way we want to. Not only does idolatry involve the sacrifice of sexual purity and family, it sometimes looks like the sacrifice of time through misplaced priorities, over-committal, constant busyness, and work-addiction. We also often give too much money towards funding our preferred lifestyles while giving little to God through His church. Finally, we might even sacrifice our health through gluttony, laziness, and addictions in order to prioritize the idols of our life. Are you making any of these idolatrous sacrifices?
Philippians 3:19 “their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
What are your motives? The reason people bowed down to idols in biblical times was more an issue of the heart. Like us, they wanted things they didn’t have: pleasure, power, prosperity, and health. Similarly, the “lust of the eyes” and “desires of the flesh” are often our motives as we chase food, sex, entertainment, sports, and leisure. We covet the power, prestige, and fame of others. We want wealth and will find shortcuts through dishonesty, cheating, and gambling in order to “make it big” in life. We look for quick ways to weight loss and good health and expect modern medicine to lengthen our lives as we try to avoid our fears of aging, dying, and death. Why do you do what you do?
Exodus 32:6 “the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
Unfortunately, idolatry still plagues us today in what we seek and sacrifice as well as in what motivates our hearts. May we be like King Josiah who destroyed all of the idols in his realm of influence (2 Kings 23). Let’s identify the kinds of idolatry we are tempted towards, and instead return to seek the Lord with our whole heart as our Lord calls to us saying, “seek me and live” (Amos 5:4).
Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
What troubles you about our nation today? Have you noticed that America has elevated many false “gods” over and above the One, True God? Here are some of the false “gods” our nation has been pursuing:
1) The god of Cultural Religion - Prioritizing external moralisms over an internal faith relationship with Jesus.
2) The god of Universalism - Disbelief in Hell, wishfully thinking that everyone goes to Heaven.
3) The god of Rationalism - Treasuring human wisdom while ignoring God’s Word in the Bible.
4) The god of Pluralism - There is no exclusive path to God, there are many ways to God.
5) The god of Relativism - You be you. The belief and practice that everyone can self-determine their own moral standards of goodness.
6) The god of Individualism - You only live once. Love yourself before God and others.
7) The god of Materialism - Find pleasure and identity in the accumulation and pleasure of stuff.
8) The god of Money -Thinking that finances and resources are the path to satisfaction.
9) The god of Success - Finding identity in one’s power and privilege over others.
10) The god of Entertainment - Filling our eyes and ears with worthless things on our screens.
11) The god of Family - Caring more for our relatives than God. Making a good thing a god thing.
12) The god of Insurance - Finding our safety and security in our policies over our Protector.
13) The god of Sports - Overvaluing the bodies and recreational opportunities God gives us.
14) The god of Health - Fearing death. Avoiding death at all costs.
15) The god of Death - Justifying murder through abortion and euthanasia (assisted suicide).
16) The god of Government - Caring more about our political party than Jesus. An attitude of entitlement and expectation.
17) The god of Sexual Pleasure - Whatever feels right its right. Fornication. Living together. LGTBQ+. Porn.
18) The god of our Bellies - Living for the next meal. Gluttony. Obesity.
19) The god of Vanity - Prioritizing physical external appearance above our spiritual inner beauty.
20) The god of Unforgiveness - Cancel culture. Bitterness. Hate.
21) The god of Racism - Thinking better of yourself than another because of your skin color.
22) The god of Addiction - Alcohol. Drugs. Abuse of painkillers and antidepressants.
23) The god of Over-working - Escapism. Neglect of family. Identity issues. Enslaved to debt.
24) The god of Under-working - Laziness reigns. Dependency accepted. Responsibility avoided.