Idolatry... Alive & Destructive

Idol Factories… part 1

Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good." Jeremiah 10:5

As we begin 2012… let us make a conscious effort to keep ourselves from idols.  Idols, you say?  Yes idols.  This is John’s advice to believers in the 1^st century.

 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21

 

“To summarize, idols will inevitably involve self-centerness, self-inflation, and self-deception.  Idolatry begins with the counterfeiting of God, because only with a counterfeit of God can people remain the center of their lives and loyalties, autonomous architects of their futures.  Something within creation will then be idolatrously inflated to fill the God-shaped hole in the individual's world.  But a counterfeit is a lie, not the real thing.  It must present itself through self-deception, often with images suggesting that the idol will fulfill promises for the good life.”  (Guinness & Seel 1992, 33)

Idolatry in America is a way of life and it competes with the One who is Life.  I think is we take a moment to reflect we will discover that as followers of Christ there are distractions, detours and disasters that we must avoid as we fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus.  Idolatry is a “HUGE” theme in the Scriptures, and we’re not just talking about golden idols, though gold is always an idol.  Consider with me over these next few blogs about the dangers and influence that idols can have in our life.  There are at least 5 (many more I’m sure) recurring areas of idolatry, here are the first 2.

1. The first idol that is common among nonbelievers in America is riches.  We live in a society that promotes the concept that "He who dies with the most toys, wins."  When in reality, "He who dies with the most toys, wins nothing."   

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:21-24
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:19-24

2. The second area of idolatry deals with  the relational idols that keep people from coming to Christ.  These include, but are not limited to…

(1) issues of power that seeks to control other people

(2) issues of pleasing other people, which becomes a fear of man

(3) issues of victimization, in which the idolater escapes responsibility, because it's always someone else's fault.

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:26-28

But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame. Isaiah 42:17

 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. Psalms 106:36-38
"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Habakkuk 2:18

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Psalms 96:5