Board index ‹ Assorted Bible Questions

[Pink Lady]

So, the lesson today was on Idols and how you should not put them before God. The definition that was given was: Anything you look to for what only God can give you - joy, security, peace, meaning, significance, identity, salvation, and so on- becomes an idol.

So, in my debate.. wouldn't that be everything? Your money, Your house, Your family?

So what? We should give everything like that up?

I don't see how giving all of that up would make things easier on all of us.

To we just give all of it up and focus primarily on God?

Maybe, I'm not understanding this right. But the way that he talked about it made it sound like that. Our minister makes it sound like everything we do is wrong. If we are not focused 100% on God with something then we are doing everything wrong.

Maybe it is time I find another church that can put things in a better way and light for me. Because, it seems like the minister that I listen to now just doesn't understand how to word things right.

[jimwalton]

“Idolatry” is such an old concept. How do we make sense of it in our era? As you mention, typically when anyone talks about idolatry they mention anything that are "idols" in America: money, possessions, sex (porn industry), entertainment and entertainers (movie stars, pop artists, and bands), music, food, drink, alcohol, sport stars, fun things (boating, skiing, etc.), success, accomplishments in any field. And, as you say, that means we'd have to give up everything, so that doesn't make any sense.

I've also heard people say that in the church we have another set of idols: our denomination, our church, our pastor, our sound doctrine, spiritual gifts, our ministry, our good morals, our family, our children, our parents’ approval, even our spouses. The list is almost endless and the guilt is a huge burden to carry.

To me, actually, this list is so common and so generalized, it's meaningless to me. I don't know about you, but it’s meaningless to me. We are told the logic of idolatry is, "What are the things we put before God?" I’m not convinced that was the logic in the Bible. Of course they had money, possessions, sex, food, drink, and entertainment, but none of those things are ever called idolatry in the Bible. Idolatry was something else, and to me that's a clue.

To me idolatry is this: What is it that we depend on rather than God? In what do I put my trust? What do I count on to get me through? What do count on to help me through life? Four things come to my mind:

ONE: Education. I think education is an idol, not because you put it in front of God, but because that’s what you depend on to get you through. When you need a job, your good education will get you one. When you have a problem to solve, your good education that taught a few of you how to think will be able to solve it. When you are really really stuck, and really really down, you’ll think your way out of the mess. That’s what I’m talking about. You don’t need to depend on God, or trust in him, because you’re educated enough to take care of it yourself. Already I can hear the protests: Are you telling me that education is not important? Are you telling me that I’m not supposed to care so much about education, school, and training? The answer is no, and no. That’s not what I’m saying. Here is what I am saying: Our education system is so good, and it is so beneficial to us that we depend on it and trust in it rather than in God. What I think is that we put our faith in our education. Our education will get us a good job that will allow us to buy stuff and be comfortable. Our education enables us to think through our problems and arrive at solutions. If we lose our job, our education and work experience are good enough to get us another one.

Here’s what I’m saying: Don’t put your faith in your education, lest you fall into idolatry and say, "My education has produced the good life for me."

Why do you go to school? Lots of people think (and you’ve been trained to think this) that you go to school to get an education, so you can get a job where you make money so you can buy stuff and live a comfortable life. But I’ve read the BIBLE. The purpose of an education is not to get a job. Instead we should get an education to serve people and equip them to serve people in the name of Christ and to share his passionate love. God has created you for something more important than to acquire a lot of things. God created us to do something splendid.

TWO: Economics. The second thing I think we trust is money. Hey, we're capitalists, after all. Money can solve anything, right? I’m not saying you treat money like a God (remember). I’m saying that when it comes right down to it, what you think meets your needs is that you have money to buy things that make you comfortable, to buy things that help you solve your problems, and to save your neck when you get in trouble. But read Lk. 16.13. You can’t serve both God and money. You can't put your trust in both God and money. One is the true God, and the other is an idol. Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be.

THREE: "The System". Courts, laws, police, policies: our accepted way of doing things. We live in America, and we trust "the system." We believe in it. If I get in trouble, the system will help me. The system will protect me. The system stops abuses. The system will work. At any time, I can get justice, or help, or protection. And that may be true; it probably is. But that’s not the point. Just like with education and economics: they are good and helpful things, but where do you put your trust?

Do you trust in the courts, or in God? Who protects you: the military, the police, or God? I think you'd say "God" because you know that's the right answer, but I think your faith is in the military and the cops. Look at Ps. 121.1-3. The system is there, and they help you and protect you, but it’s really God.

Nehemiah: they help swords while they built, but they put their trust in God, not their swords.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, put their trust in God, not the system.

FOUR: Medication, If you're depressed, take a pill. If you're sick, a pill. If you have ADHD, a pill. If you want to be more alert, a pill. If you want better performance, a pill. Don't get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with taking medicine. Medicine is a good thing. Medicine is a benefit. But in what do you put your TRUST? That's my point. If you trust in medicine, your trust is misplaced. You USE medicine, but you TRUST God. Cf. James 5.13-15a.

Why do I say these things are idols? Because you worship them? No—because that’s what you trust to help you when the going gets tough. In the old days, when the crops weren’t growing, who did they trust to help them? When someone was sick? When an army was coming? Idolatry is not when we love something more than God, it’s when we put our trust in something other than God. Therefore, I think that idolatry is alive and well in America, and in the church. I think it’s easy for us to think in natural ways, and to think these things are what are actually making our lives so safe and productive. And they are, but they’re not.

That's my two cents. I'll be curious to hear your reaction.

[Pink Lady]

And you just used one word that he completely left out...Trust.

Not once did he mention anything about putting trust in those things before God. He just made it sound like all of those things didn't need to have a place in our life.

Your explanation was ten times better.

[jimwalton]

Well, thank you. I'm glad it was helpful.