The Idols in Our Lives

God’s been showing me things in my devotionals lately about the idol worship in my life. There are a lot of idols that were hanging out that I just never had time for (my schedule being an idol in its own). My idols were just out there waiting for me. It’s probably why the Apostle John says in 1^st John 5:21, “… guard yourselves from idols,” because he knew that idols would eventually distract us from what mattered most.

Tim Keller, in his book “Counterfeit Gods” defines an idol this way: “An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”

For example, the amount of free time I now have because well, everything is closed, has really opened the doors to streaming TV. I can now watch all the shows I’ve never previously had time to watch. There is nothing wrong with watching TV on it’s own. But now that there are no people to meet or places to go, Netflix and whatever else is streaming, is streaming all the time. Not that I’m actually watching all day, but it’s on in the background, softly dulling my attention and distracting my thoughts. Before I knew it, I have two or three screens up around me all playing different things at the same time and I’m on another device trying to find what to play next.

Many of us have idols in our lives, if left unexamined, are actually ascribed a power over our lives they were never meant to have. Look at what the Prophet Jeremiah says about idols in our lives:

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
    and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
    for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
    for they cannot do evil,
    neither is it in them to do good.

Jeremiah 10:5 ESV

The purpose of a scarecrow is to strike fear in the hearts of animals, and some unsuspecting humans. They strike fear because the people or the animals imagine a potential danger from the scarecrows in the fields and keep them from the real prize – the delicious cucumbers growing freely in the fields. That’s what idols do. They capture our imagination and strike our hearts so the real prize is lost on us. In our case, that is the love of God that fulfills our lives as his children.

The truth about idols is this: they cannot speak, they cannot walk, they cannot do evil, but they can’t do good either. They have no inherent power except what we give to them, yet we ascribe to them a power they don’t deserve. There is something wrong with that. It should be clear that nothing that we have to speak for, carry, and impute as good or evil deserves a place in our hearts and minds.

Let me name five everyday idols that are given power because we allow them to occupy our hearts and minds, keeping us from seeing what matters most:

1. Self – People are inherently self-centered and self-focused and so looking to improve self at the cost of others for your curated social feed is an idol. Not sure? Ask yourself: have you taken more time getting the perfect picture than you did being present?
2. Money – People will do just about anything if it means they can make money off it. Money is a great asset, but not at the cost of your soul. Ask yourself, what have you done for buck? Did you lose a little piece of yourself for that extra dollar?
3. Sex – These themes dominate music, movies, video games, TV shows, advertising, and even everyday life. They grab our attention and captivate our imagination so we seek them out.
4. Creature comforts – There are illicit drugs or pharmaceuticals, but also, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. Sometimes we even use comfort food (pizza, chips, etc) to feel better about ourselves and/or situation.
5. Relationships (kids or spouse) – Spouses and kids are great, except when they are used to anchor our identities and perpetual hope. Like when your kids leave you to go be independent and you’re spiraling. That’s because they were an idol in your life.

Idols have no power and no value except what we ascribe to them with our heart’s attention and mind’s imagination. If that is true, then what idols have you been giving life to? Better question: what idols do you need to destroy in your life so that you can give God, who loves you, your attention and imagination? If you are looking your life to be fulfilled by meaning, purpose, and peace, then seek God, because there is none like our God.