America Idol Worship

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1 John 5:21

For Christians, this statement about not worshipping idols would seem slam dunk; the proverbial ‘no duh.’ Of course, it isn’t, but we like to think it is, and because we like to think it is, we define the word ‘idol’ to accommodate our lives accordingly. However, let’s be clear of God’s definition of idol. In Exodus 20:3, we are told “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Here, we are told an idol is the same as a god, lower case ‘g.’  In the Old Testament, we mainly find those gods made by the hands of man from gold, silver, wood and other material. I remember as a boy growing up in Northern Florida, I was given a wood carving of an elongated face and nose of a man. It was called kon-tiki. From what I understand some cultures continue to worship these types of idols.

However, let’s examine this from the words given by Jesus in Matthew 22:37, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” I think it is fair to say that anything that we place before God; which keeps us from loving Him with all our heart, soul and mind, is an idol or god (lower case ‘g’.) Consider what Jesus said about family in Matthew 10:37: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” It is fascinating to note in this verse that Jesus was referring to Himself; which if understood correctly, implied that He too was and is God. Nonetheless, here we are told that no family member should come before God. As for anything else, in Matthew 6:24 we are told, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” This word mammon means treasure or riches. So, if you’ll agree that to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and might means to put everything in our lives behind loving our neighbors as ourselves, I think we have a good doctrinal understanding of what the Apostle John meant as ‘idols’ in 1 John 5:21 and we can move on to the word ‘keep.’

The word ‘keep’ in the Greek ‘phylassō’ means to watch for, avoid, shun and flee from. This verse and word are a command; not a suggestion or something that God just wants us to consider. In fact, the idea of avoiding or fleeing from someone or something that might take the place of God in our hearts, souls, and minds is a extremely deliberate and proactive action. This verse and word do not fit in neatly with those who hold to the ‘let go and let God’ doctrine as if we have no involvement. God does not avoid or flee in this case because He is not tempted. His Spirit will surely warn us to avoid the pitfall; that is if we’re listening. How do we know this? “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) If we don’t obey, we can be certain that He will chasten us; that is if He loves us. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Hebrews 12:6) In Exodus 20:5, we find out why this is true: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ”  While we may not believe that we ‘hate God,’ notice that God calls our iniquity exactly that as we bow down before and serve anyone or anything other than Him. It is interesting to note that we’re living in an age where any action or comment that harms another could be called a ‘hate crime’ as the circumstances demand. Should we not apply the same definition to our worship of any other thing in light of God’s perfections? Are we not jealous when the affections that we long for are given or shown to another? For us, jealousy is a sin, but not for God. For God, it is a most holy outpouring of His demand for our attention, which He will ultimately have either in justice or mercy.