Detecting Idolatry and Living Always and Only for Jesus

Idolatry is easy to see in other people and in other cultures while we are blinded to our own offenses. This may be why the first commandment that God gives to his people forbids them to have any other gods besides Him (Exodus 20:3). Whether an individual or a culture identifies their behavior as worship or not doesn’t mean they don’t have worthless idols or false gods that they are bowing down towards. As we look at Hinduism it is obvious that their religion is filled with idolatry because they identify objects of worship as various gods. Christians call this idolatry because they are not worshipping the true God, Jesus Christ.

However, we can learn a lot from an Indian steeped in Hinduism. Americans don’t see their lifestyles as deeply religious or containing worthless idols but for many who’s life pursuit is characterized by accumulating more wealth and greater possessions need to consider that idolatrous. Anything that has been elevated to the point that it is great enough to live for should be considered a god or an idol. This life that is poured out in obedience and commitment is very religious.

This is the culture that American Christians find themselves in. Americans don’t see our lifestyle as deeply idolatrous but an Indian could look at the material possessions that consume us and see it very plainly.

Not all uses of these things are idolatrous. However, Christians who are immersed in an idolatrous culture need a way to identify whether or not their relationship towards something is idolatry. God warns his people in Exodus 23:24-25a as they are about to enter into a pagan land to live there by saying this: “you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the Lord your God…”

The temptation and inclination for even Christians to slip into an idolatry is always there and something that we must always guard against. If it is our greatest goal to serve Jesus always and only then we must continually ask ourselves how possessions can help us to serve or enjoy Christ more. In this case we are not delighting in the thing itself but it is actually helping us to delight in Jesus alone!

On the other hand, anything that competes with our allegiance to Jesus and fails to compliment our greater pursuit of furthering the kingdom is a hindrance and a barrier. In this case our object of delight has risen to a place of importance in our hearts that it robs us from living the life Jesus calls us to. This is idolatry because Jesus is not the one who compels us but the other thing that does. When this happens, it needs to be recognized as idolatry and repented of.

In short, humans are prone to bow down towards something great and God warns us that our object of worship is not the same as the perverse generation that we live in. Only Jesus Christ is God and he alone is worthy to be worshipped always.

Bowing down to him alone,
Pastor Kevin