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What comes into your mind when you think about God? We said on Sunday morning that everyone has an idea of God. Out of this idea flows worship, beliefs, values, and traditions. God is the starting point. I was recently listening to a sermon discussing idolatry and the desire to worship that is deep within us. The pastor was sharing a story of a historical figure who worked within tribal groups and how he found that every single group of people he observed worshiped someone or something. The people had not heard of Jesus or the gospel, yet they worshiped idols crafted by human hands or deities represented in nature. All people worship.
We were challenged on Sunday to examine our hearts to see if the God we worship is one we have created or the Holy One who has made us. Idolatry is an easy trap to fall into. It is when we take our focus and devotion off of God and place it on something or someone else that was never designed to bear the weight and glory of the Almighty. Where do we see this?
- Worship of sport
- Worship of family
- Worship of occupation
- Worship of politics
- Worship of sex
- Worship of money
- Worship of pleasure
- Worship of identity
It is honestly too numerous to count!
We read in Acts 17 that the evident idolatry grieved his heart when the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, Greece. It grieved his heart because he saw a people worshipping out of ignorance. They were doing the very thing they were designed to do, but the object of their worship was wrong. Instead of looking to the God of the universe, they worshipped many deities (Zeus, Poseidon) and even the “unknown gods.” Likewise, when we look around our communities and society, we are grieved by the idolatry we see. We see people designed to worship and enjoy a relationship with their Savior, forsaking Him by worshipping the temporary or the created. If it doesn’t grieve your heart, it should!
But instead of cross-examining the world around you, let’s spend some time in self-examination. It is easy to be grieved by the state of affairs around us and to “hate the sin” in others. How is your heart? Does the idolatry in your own heart grieve you? Do you truly hate the sin in your own life? Rest in this for a minute. Sit in the uneasiness. God is jealous for your heart and your affections, and yet we choose other lesser things to give our time, energy, and passions. The idolatry and sin in our lives grieve God’s very heart, so it should grieve our hearts. Take a moment to consider the various idols in your life. Write them down. Tell a friend.
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.” But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him. (Habakkuk 2:18-20)
What use is an idol that we have created? It is worthless and cannot give us what we seek. But the Lord can. The Lord who spoke the world into existence can bring you life, joy, peace, grace, and mercy. He can shower you with his love and compassion. He is supreme, he is sufficient, he is savior. Let all idols be silent before him. That same God came down in the flesh to deliver you from sin and death so that you could enjoy a relationship with him forever. Let us look to him as we throw aside all that prevents us from enjoying that relationship with him.