The Bible says:
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
— 1 John 5: 21
When we think of idolatry we think of an image, statue, or figurine of any particular size and shape that represents some imagined deity that people believe is worthy of worship. Bible readers think of all the idols that the Canaanites worshipped.
They think of the idolatry of Israel and how they worshipped those same idols and for their idolatry were judged by God and sent into captivity. They think about the huge image that king Nebuchadnezzar made and demanded all men to bow down and worship it when the music played.
(Daniel 3)
We think of all the idols of past civilizations that the apostles preached against as they carried the gospel to all the world. And how they turned so many from their idolatry to the worship of the one and only true and living God. (1 Thessalonians 1: 9) History tells us that many were martyred for their preaching against idolatry.
Idolatry is still around to some extent in its primitive form. There are still those who in their ignorance worship in some dark land and bow down to the same image that their ancestors bowed down to.
There are still religions within the civilized world that have their adherents bowing down and paying homage to images, statues, pictures, and icons of all sorts.
So, for most of us the idea of thousands bowing down before some image on the ground cannot be fully grasped. And we think that because this idolatry where people bowed down publicly and worshipped an image on every street corner (Jericho 11: 13) as they did in ancient times and is not happening today that idolatry is a thing of the past and nothing for us to worry about.
But idolatry is just as real and more serious a problem today than in days gone by. An idol or image on the ground is a by-product of the imagination.
Some people imagine with their mind a false god and go as far as to create it with their hands and then publicly worship it. Others do not go as far and just embrace their idols in their heart.
But an idol is still an idol whether it’s in the mind or on the ground.
“An idol on the mind is just as offensive to God as an idol on the ground,” religious autor A.W. Tozer said. “ ... We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”
As a matter of fact I’d say there are more idolaters; worshipers of false gods today, than there were in ancient times. In ancient times the idolater had a name for their idol, but today the idolater has not the faintest idea what to call that which comes between him and God and for which he gives all his time and energy.
But a few are worth bringing to our attention. There is the family, the job, careers, the house, money, and even the church.
There is “another Jesus” that is an idol that we make into our own likeness when we refuse to be transformed into the likeness of the biblical Jesus Christ. (2
Corinthians 11: 4) But whatever it is there’s a simple test to find it out. When God Almighty speaks and reveals His will to us, whatever it is that we then turn to in order to see if God’s Word and will would go against and upset before we do God’s will then that thing is our idol.
Are you an idolater?
James H. Cagle is a Ray City resident who pastored several churches for a total of 11 years. Email him at pastorjameshcagle@ yahoo.c
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