Idols.
They’re kind of unfamiliar to our modern, western culture. Or are they?
Apparently, you can buy this fertility idol, and others like it, on Etsy for $50. Maybe they’re not so unfamiliar after all.
I’ve been studying the life of Moses this past school year. You can’t scratch the surface of the Old Testament too long before you run across God’s opinion about idols and their place (or should I say, lack of place) in the lives of His people. His second commandment to Moses on Mt. Sinai was implicit:
“You shall not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”
-Exodus 20:4
For the most part, I feel pretty good about myself when I read passages concerning idols and idolatry. I don’t have an ugly, headless, nude figurine enshrined on the hearth in my living room. I don’t bow down to a wooden statue that vaguely resembles Jabba the Hutt. And I don’t utter prayers to a slick, golden calf.
Check the 2nd Commandment off. I’m good on that front.
Not so fast, Liz.
This year with Moses has given me a new perspective on the word idol:
“Anything in creation that is inflated and takes God’s place in our lives”
Ouch. That’s gettin’ serious. Can we just stop talking about idols now? I’m getting uncomfortable. If we don’t talk about it, then we can claim ignorance, and ignorance is bliss, right?
Um, wrong.
When I look out at the horizon of my life, there I find potential idols of which I must be wary. For the most part I’m able to keep them at bay and give them their rightful priority. But as I’ll soon explain, one slipped in on me.
The first potential idol I have to watch out for are my kids. As a mother, it’s really hard to not let them become inflated in my life. There is so much responsibility wrapped up in them, and they depend so much on me, and they are so cute and cuddly (except when they’re not), and it would be so easy for them to edge God out.
To counter this natural tendency, I make sure to spend time making God a priority. On a semi-consistent basis, I try to study His Word and write out my prayers to Him. Sometimes the kids will stumble downstairs in the morning, still groggy with sleep, and find me wrapping up my time spent with Him. I trust my actions will speak louder than my words concerning the importance of cultivating a relationship with God over any other earthly relationship.
A second potential idol I try to dodge is the health bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be healthy. We eat our share of produce and I try to number the amount of processed foods we consume. But I know myself all too well. If I decided to jump on the health kick, it would suck me in. I’d be consumed by the vortex of whole organic foods, Cross Fit memberships, and weird Shakelogy drinks. Nope, I can’t partake in that business. Other people may be better at balancing their health pursuits, but it would consume my thoughts and produce inordinate amounts of worry concerning the amount of GMOs and carbs I’ve consumed. Plus, that kind of lifestyle is expensive, yo!
Now let me tell you about my Ugly Little Idol that came to my attention a month ago. It was right around the time of Indiana’s RFRA junk. I really wrestled with all of that mess. However, after reading this blog by Brandon Andress, I started to see things in a different light.
http://brandonandress.com/2015/04/03/i-dont-need-your-legislation-a-good-friday-litany/
(*Sorry, I don’t know how to do the fancy “click here” links so just bear with my long link.)
Anyway, Andress’ point (if you don’t want to read his blog) is that Christians don’t need legislation to protect their rights. He says it best:
And I certainly do not need any legislation to pronounce the freedom I already have, and will continue to have, despite my changing circumstance or situation.
For if my loving of friend and enemy offends or is a crime, then arrest me.
If praying or blessing offends or is a crime, then imprison me.
If my Kingdom values (which always looks like Jesus) offends or is a crime, then ridicule and ostracize me.
If standing up for the oppressed or marginalized, or by associating with “sinners” and outcasts offends or is a crime, then spit on me.
If honoring God with my entire being (my words, my life, my all) offends or is a crime, then beat and give me your most severe punishment.
If patterning my life after Jesus and going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, and giving the shirt off of my back offends or is a crime, then crucify me.
-Brandon Andress
His ideas struck me. Even if all my rights as an American citizen were stripped away, I would still bear my rights as a follower of Christ – the right to love, the right to do good, the right to stand up for the weak, the right to look like Jesus. I quickly realized that my citizenship in God’s Kingdom of souls is far superior to my citizenship here on this dusty earth. My rights in God’s kingdom can not be taken from me nor do they need protection.
Wow.
What an awesome realization.
But then I realized my rights as an American citizen had become something of an idol. These rights were inflated and given more weight than they deserved. My citizenship here on earth overpowered my citizenship in heaven and the call on my life to put others before myself. When I look back at my thinking in the past, those times when I claimed it was “my right” to do such and such, or have this or that, I cringe at the ugliness of such an attitude.
And if that weren’t enough to convince me, at the time of all this pondering, I just happened to be studying 1 Corinthians 9 with the kids, The Rights of an Apostle, where Paul talks about not using his right as an apostle to insist on monetary support from his Corinthian brothers and sisters:
“But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”
-1 Corinthians 9:12
I like his words, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
I think I’m done with the bloated priority I place on my rights as an American. I’d rather put up with anything than hinder the growth of God’s kingdom. I still have the right to love, the right to do good, the right to look like Jesus. These can’t be taken from me. What more do I need?
So, I’m casting that Ugly Little Idol out on its butt. Be gone from my heart!
And while I’m in the cleaning spirit, God, can you place Yourself in that empty spot, please?
Photo by Leonardo Pallotta, (CC BY 2.0)
The Consecrated Bird 
Thank you, Liz, for both reading my post and sharing how it is changing your perspective. I love it! Brandon
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