When traveling overseas, you may have seen a variety of pagan gods and deities represented by various kinds of idols. You may have even visited a pagan temple and seen large, ornate, and impressive looking idols. I suspect that no matter how impressive, you weren’t tempted to bow in worship to those man made structures.
But we are made to worship, and the nature of the unredeemed heart and the flesh is that we are always tempted to worship replacements of the one true God. And that is idolatry. Dave Furman helps us identify potential idols when he asks, “What thing, if you lost it, would make all meaning and significance and hope disappear from your life? What thing, if it were absent, would destroy your life? What’s your worst nightmare?…What has the power to ruin your day? The Bible says it could be an idol.” [Kiss the Wave]
An idol is something apart from God that tempts you to say, “If I have ______, my life will have meaning, and I will have value and significance.” So idols are everywhere:
- Entertainment/recreation — “I must have fun and life must be fun.”
- Ease and the avoidance of complications — “don’t hassle me.”
- Fear of suffering — “I must avoid being hurt…”
- Work / status / position so that “I will be worshipped and adored.”
- Love of money or possessions
- A biblical marriage, children, or home
- Athletic abilities or hobbies
- Being in control — “I am king for the day and king of my realm”
- Performance / perfectionism of myself — “I am adequate for all things and must be respected as adequate.”
- Expectations for and the performance of others — “my friend must _____, or I will judge and punish him.”
While we aren’t tempted by physical idols of Babylon, we are tempted by the new idols of the new Babylon every day. We are surrounded in the world by temptations for idolatrous worship. And our hearts are invariably tempted towards idolatrous worship.
How will we fight against idolatry? While I have read numerous books, articles, and blog posts on the topic, two principles are especially helpful.
First, always be on guard for idols that distract you from devotion and obedience to Christ. Always be asking, “Is this biblically true? If I continue cultivating this desire will it lead me to increased faithfulness to Christ and His commendation of my obedience as a faithful servant?” It is for this reason that Zechariah (10:2), Isaiah (44:9ff), Jeremiah (10:1-5; 23:9ff), Ezekiel (34:1ff), the Psalmist (115:4-8), John (1 Jn. 5:21), and a host of other biblical writers have warned their readers of the importance of being attentive to idolatrous worship.
It is every believer’s responsibility to watch over his heart (Prov. 4:23; 2 Cor. 13:5) and keep from being deceived (I have culpability if I have allowed others to lead me from the truth).
Second, cultivate an affection for Christ that keeps you from being distracted by idols. If you love the original, you will not be distracted by the surrogate. So Charles Spurgeon wrote,
Hence love to Christ is ‘the best antidote to idolatry;’ for it prevents any object from occupying the rightful throne of the Saviour. The believer dares not admit a rival into his heart, knowing that this would grievously offend the King. The simplest way of preventing an excessive love of the creature is to set all our affection upon the Creator. Give your whole heart to your Lord, and you cannot idolize the things of earth, for thou will have nothing left with which to worship them.
Idols abound. The heart and flesh are invariably enticed by a variety of those idols. We fight against and replace those idols by feeding our minds on the goodness and wonder of our great Savior — desiring and being content with Him above all.
Words of Grace 