The truths in Scripture align with reality, which is why it works! The Bible is not only a unified story that leads to Jesus, but it’s also a roadmap for life. When we place ourselves in the story and correctly apply it to our lives, it works. So, when Scripture speaks against something, we must assume that God is doing so for a reason. His way works; ours doesn’t.
So, let’s look at a topic that we all struggle with: idolatry
First, let’s define this word. According to dictionary.com, idolatry means excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc.
Every single human being on the planet struggles with this; it’s nothing new! Rewind back with me to the book of Exodus when God gave Israel the 10 Commandments.
Exodus 20:4-5
Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…
God placed this commandment on the top 10 list for a reason. Israel had a tendency to FORGET God and create their own idols of worship. These idols would often take place in the form of things they could touch or see — quick, go-to items, that were convenient for them. Any time they resorted to idols though, it didn’t work or end well for them. We could name countless examples throughout the Old and New Testament where humans continued to do the same thing. And the result continues to be the same thing… it doesn’t work! Only God is able to satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.
So, what about today? Well…where do we even begin?! We have a tendency to take man-made things and turn them into idols. We are no different than the people in Scripture are. We take GOOD things and even gifts that God gives us, and we make them GOD things, forgetting that He is the giver of those gifts to begin with (James 1:17).
When those good things don’t deliver like we would like them to, we become heavily disappointed.
It’s normal and appropriate to be disappointed, because we live in a fallen world where things will not always go how we would like them to. These experiences have an effect on us. To what extent should these things effect us, though?
(I don’t want to make a general statement that applies to every situation you will ever go through, but I’m just sharing some general examples here to make a point..)
- When our favorite team looses…
- When the candidate we voted for doesn’t win…
- When we don’t get the promotion we’ve been hoping for…
- When we loose that big game…
- When we don’t get into that dream college…
- When we can’t take that dream vacation next year…
- When we compare our job to their job…
How long and to what extent are we disappointed?
Sometimes God closes a door because He has something better in store for us; He knows what we need and opens the right doors. When we aren’t making things an idol in our lives, we can work through disappointment without being completely crushed long term.
When we are making things an idol in our lives, though, the disappointment takes on a level it was never meant to.
Our allegiance becomes too invested in that organization, sports team, denomination, political party, business, school, relationship, social platform, etc.
Let’s consider something powerful that Paul writes in Colossians 3…
Colossians 3:1-4
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The Apostle Paul is laying down a heavy reminder to the church of Colossae, that their life does not belong to them anymore; it belongs to Jesus! Because of this, they should be changed people, pursuing Heavenly things and anticipating His return. And ultimately, they must remember and live like Christ is THEIR LIFE, as vs. 4 says.
The question we all have to ask is: Is Christ truly our life, or is there an idol that we are shaping our life around?
Picture a beautiful wooden bookshelf, with lots of books on it. Each book represents a different part of your life and something about you. Your family, your job, education, hobbies and interests, favorite college or NFL team, favorite place to visit, and more. Each of these books contribute to who you are and are different components of you.
Our relationship with Jesus cannot be one of those books. Jesus isn’t just one of the books on the shelf, he’s the binding keeping every part of the book together. If you ignore him, and just try to have the “book” without the binding, everything will unravel.
He should drive every component of our lives. We should not compartmentalize Him and pick Him up when it’s convenient for us or only when life gets hard. Every component of our lives should overflow from our relationship with Him, which in return helps us fight idolatry. Christ should not be part of our life, but our WHOLE life!
So, back to how this blog started. Idolatry doesn’t work. Jesus does. When we bring Him into everything, our idols will crash down, our perspective will shift, and our hope will rise. Disappointment may happen and things may be taken from us. But Jesus won’t. And He’s always working a great plan. Our disappointment reminds us that only Jesus is enough. As long as we are keeping Him at the center, everything else will fall into place.
Lord, help each of us to not only identify the idolatry in our lives, but do something about it, through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are better. Amen!
Matthew Weaver 