What comes to mind when you think of idol worship?
Immediately I think of the children of Israel and the Golden calf that they made while Moses was on the mountain with God. If I think much further, I can come up with numerous OT examples of idol worship but rarely do I venture into New Testament times and even more rare is to contemplate idolatry in modern terms.
Somehow I have regulated the word idolatry to OT times.
How convenient.
Webster defines idolatry as:
1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, &c. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies,the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals.2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.
So, what is an IDOL? just a statue...something tangible?
Webster defines idol as
1. An image, form or representation, usually of a man or other animal, consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity. Idols are usually statues or images, carved out of wood or stone, or formed of metals, particularly silver or gold.The gods of the nations are idols. Ps.96.2. A person loved and honored to adoration. The prince was the idol of the people.3. Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.
An idol is any thing which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures.
So the question I have been pondering the past few days is this - what have I been setting my affections on that has usurped the place of God in my own heart?
Is it my children? homeschooling? church activities? service opportunities?
All those things are good but if God is not what my heart is set upon, they are the Baals of my life.
What about you?
so relevant whether you live in Thailand where people literally bow to physical idols or here in the USA where it is primarily done in the heart. thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I promised another scripture that refers to what we should do with our minds, and in my case can also apply to "idols" if I am not careful. :o{
ReplyDeleteEcclesiastes 12:12-14, "And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment,Including every secret thing,Whether good or evil."
It's easy for us to bow down at the altar of "higher education" and to put too much emphasis on knowledge, learning, education. But, what it all boils down to is what we do in our relationship to God. That's really ALL that matters. Nothing else. Period.
So, knowing my love of books, and my thirst to devour them, I have to be careful not to exchange someone else's thoughts for my own, or their understanding - for the understanding that God Himself gives to me when I read and study HIS Word.
Lori