WHAT ARE YOUR IDOLS? by Mary York for Core Christianity
Scripture paints quite a picture of idolatry in both Old and New Testaments as God’s people are continually surrounded by those who sacrificed to images of wood and stone. In ancient Israel, idolatry looked like altars to Baal and Asherah poles built to worship Canaanite gods. In the New Testament, it is compared to greed (Matt. 6:24) and gluttony (Phil. 3:19). Idolatry often keeps company with witchcraft (1 Sam. 15:23, Gal. 2:20), and is listed as a sin of the flesh. With this perspective, it’s easy to see how Christians have limited the scope of idolatry to only the visible worship of another god or the manifestation of sinful pursuits. It is even easier to see how the modern believer might think herself free of such a sin.
But idolatry looms large in the church today. We have simply stopped learning how to recognize it.
What is idolatry?
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In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller says that 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.”
This definition broadens the initial perception of idols being limited to pagan statues or disdainful attitudes like greed and arrogance. It’s important to understand that our idols are often good things that God has given us, twisted by our sinful desires to become something we worship or in which we place our trust, happiness, or identity.
How do we recognize when we’ve turned something into an idol? There are a few common red flags.
What do you worry about?
Often, our worries tell us where our idols are because they reflect a lack of trust in a good God who provides. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples that worrying cannot add a single day to life, and that God knows our needs (vs. 25–34). Why then do we put our hopes in things that moth and rust destroy, things which are temporary? We’re told instead to store up treasures in heaven for “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (vs. 19–21). When we’re consumed by worry over our finances, our children, our education, or relationships, we’re letting our hearts refuse the comfort of the LORD who says he will provide for us.
