Idolatry

³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

~ Exodus 20:3-4 (KJV)


The first and second of the Ten Commandments deals with where we place our reverance. Worshiping false gods and idolatry. Now, the typical image you may have in your mind of this is perhaps of someone sitting in front of a little gold statue, with incense burning, offering prayers up to the little statue. Yeah, this is idolatry, clearly, but there are other ways that you can do this without even realizing it. It can come in subtle forms, and you won't even be aware of it.

I wonder how often in our regular lives it may be an issue without our even knowing it's an issue, without us even realizing we're committing it. Maybe we're committing idolatry, putting gods, in some form, before our Heavenly Father and we don't even know it.

Let's stop for a moment and consider where we have our focus placed in our lives, and to what extent it's placed. Like, let's take money for instance. How important is money to you? Now, obviously it is important to a certain extent. We do need to work to earn a living and to get by, but beyond that, beyond the point of what is needed. How much of a focus do you have on it? How much of a priority is it in your life?

Let's take a somewhat dramatic, unlikely example. Let's say that someone tells you that you can take the next 30 minutes, and spend it with or for God in some way (in any way, really). You could read the Bible, pray, do a devotional, or you could witness to someone who needs to hear the word of God... Any particular way, or even a combination of these ways, but just spend the next 30 minutes with God or for God. OR, they say that they will simply give you $30, for no particular reason, but just give you $30. Only, the catch is, for some reason (whatever that reason may be), you won't be able to have that time. You won't be able to dedicate any of this time to God, but you'd have $30. Which would you choose? Would you choose the time with/for God, or would you choose the money? If you decide to take the money, then guess what? That's putting money before God. That is idolatry, putting money as a 'god' before the Father. We don't think of it that way a lot of times. A lot of the times I doubt we think about it at all, but that's what it is.

It's the same thing if say there's someone very important to you. Whether it be a good friend, a spouse, a family member, but for some reason they're very important to you. Or maybe you have a hobby that you're passionate about, that you just love so much. Perhaps even something you own, like an antique pearl necklace, an heirloom that's been passed down the family for the past few generations, but something that you have that's in your life in some way that you're very passionate about. This isn't to say that any of these things in and of themselves are in any way wrong, but the question we need to consider is, how do these things rank in our lives? What kind of priority do you place on them? How does that priority to them compare with how we rank with God? Do they occupy a larger place in our hearts than God does? Do we spend more time thinking about these things or these people than we do about our Heavenly Father? Do we spend more of our energy putting it into them than we do the Savior? If the answer to any of these questions is YES, then without realizing it we've made these things gods and idols in our hearts.

In all things God should be placed first. God should be first in our lives, first in our actions, first in everything we do. And if there's anything that we have in our lives that is taking away from that, preventing that, then we need to prioritize. If there's something in your life, a particular thing that God wants you to do, or a particular thing He wants you not to do, and this thing or person that you love stands against what you know God is wanting, what's going to win out? In such a situation, which one wins out? The correct answer should be God. It should be that God wins out. God should come first in all things. The family that puts God first will be blessed. The business man or business woman who puts God before the bottom line, will be blessed. Now, I'm not saying to neglect your business or anything like that, but there are those who will do anything and everything to get ahead in business, no matter who or what they hurt, or no matter how it's going to effect their relationship with God, or even someone else's relationship with God.

We really just need to stop and think about how things rank in our lives, and how they rank in our hearts... The place that they have, and the place that God has. Then think about how we may need to change that. Remember, God needs to be first, in all ways, and in all things.

Have you considered our celebrity culture that exists in our society? The media, the t.v. or the movies. Just going to the store you'll stand in line and there's all these magazines that have all the details from the stars. Everything from the glamour of the red carpet, to even the most mundane details of say, what they were ordering at a restaurant or buying at a drugstore. We'll turn on the t.v. and come across updates of the latest celebrity gossip and rumors such as, "This one's dating someone new. This one's now in rehab." If someone wants to sell a product, all they need to do is find the latest Hollywood 'It' girl and convince her to attach her name and face to this product. And, the next thing you know, it's basically a sure thing, the next can't miss item. Have you ever stopped to wonder about this? Is this not idolatry in a more subtle form? Think about it. I'm not saying that watching a movie or reading a magazine in and of itself is idolatry, but there's so much focus put into Hollywood, and into the lives of the stars. People wanting to know every last detail, everything they can possibly find out. The moment a certain name perhaps comes across the t.v. their attention is immediately on it. Some people will even readily refer to certain people, certain celebrities, as their idols. This is something that's worth considering.

Again, you don't have to be sitting in front of a little golden statue, praying to it and lighting incense to be committing idolatry. It can be more subtle than that. It can be in many different forms. You don't even necessarily have to realize that it's occurring. You can be breaking this commandment even on a daily basis and not be aware that you're doing it. I'm not saying that any of this is sinful in and of itself, but how much focus and attention do we give these things? How important are these details to us? How important are the lives of the stars, the celebrities, to us? Maybe to the average person it's not a big deal, but there's a huge celebrity culture and there are a lot of people who get really sucked up into it. The idea of meeting, perhaps, a certain star, is enough to make a person speechless. They don't know what to say. They're embarassed. They're just overwhelmed at simply meeting someone who's, really if you think about it nothing more than another human being who happens to have their face on t.v., appear on the news, and yet they're given such recognition, such importance and attention for nothing more than being famous. Again, my question to you is, if you think about it, is this nothing more than a subtle version of idolatry? If so, then it's something we should keep in mind and be cautious of. Whether it be dealing with how much focus and thought and doings of Hollywood, or even just someone maybe even more local who happens to have the esteem of the people in some way, having built themselves up. Remember, no matter what position they hold, no matter what they've done, or how much they have, they are simply human. They're no different than you are in the grand scheme of things. The only difference is the way people regard them.


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