Category: Idolatry

The Newest Thing in Idolatry-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”- Isiah 42:8-9 NASB

Idolatry is about more than bowing down to a creepy little statue. 

Even back in the day when people bowed down to creepy little statues all the time idolatry was still about more than bowing down to a creepy little statue (Psalm 135:15-16, Revelation 9:20). It was about what the creepy little statue could do for you. All the creepy little statues offered something. Some (most) offered sexual freedom, others offered spiritual protection, safety or financial success. 

People still practice idolatry. 

 Although, the age of creepy little statues pretty much ended (at least in the west) with the dawn of the Christian age. Idolatry is best defined as being devoted to something more than we are devoted to God. Conversely, idolatry can be defined as depending on an object, substance or person to give us something we should only get from God like comfort, peace or a sense of significance (1st John 5:1).  Anything can become an idol. Drugs, alcohol, sex, fame, careers, money, families and children are all things we commonly put ahead of God or look to give us a sense of significance or personal peace (Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, 1st Corinthians 5:11). 

 Idolatry is more complex than it used to be.  

Idolatry is also getting more complex all the time. Instead of worshipping creepy little statues, substances or material things, modern people have put a new spin on idolatry. We have taken a whole bunch of ideas God came up, twisted those ideas into something God never intended and then we love the twisted version of the idea more than we love God’s original plan. Christian’s and non-Christians are alike are guilty of these spiritual and moral shenanigans. 

This creates all sorts of problems. 

When non-Christians do it, they simply bully people into accepting the new definition of the old word. They mock and humiliate anyone who disagrees with them. This effectively keeps truth from being told which inevitably leads to spiritual decay and moral bondage (Isaiah 59:14-15).  When Christians change God’s ideas it leads people away from sound doctrine into a wish-washy feel-good kind of faith that is incapable of saving anyone from anything. Following are ideas that have been changed to the determent of us all:

Love-

It’s hard to argue against love. After all, God is love (1st John 4:8, Zephaniah 3:17). That being said, the biblical definition of love (1st Corinthians 13) is very different from the moral free-for-all our culture defines as love. Truth-be-told and view of love that encourages something (anything) the Bible forbids is an idolatrous impostor of love that poses moral danger to anyone who buys into it. 

Kindness- 

The words “be kind” are everywhere. They are plastered all over tee-shirts, bumper stickers and throw pillows. Christians and non-Christians alike love to talk about kindness but it doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Old fashioned biblical kindness is awesome (Acts 9:36, Ephesians 4:32). It means doing the same types of things for other people we would like done for ourselves, forgiving others, loving like Jesus loved and assuming the best in others whenever possible (Luke 6:38, Galatians 5:22). Authentic biblical kindness is meant to point people to God and His offer of salvation which is the epitome of kindness. The new definition of kindness demands people be allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. No one is ever allowed to give correction, words of caution or punishment, even if a person’s actions cause harm to themselves or others. This type of kindness actually the exact opposite of biblical kindness because it sends people to hell rather than pointing them to God. 

Peace- 

Worldly peace is all about an absence of conflict. Which often means one party simply acquiescing to the demands of the other in an effort to avoid further conflict and/or keep themselves out of trouble.   Biblical peace is rare in our fallen world even amongst Christians.  Biblical peace comes as a natural result of both parties being in alignment with God and His values (John 16:33). Any peace that does not consider what God would want for all parties involved is not true peace. It’s false peace. 

Compassion- 

Compassion is a deep awareness of another person’s suffering accompanied by a desire to alleviate it (Matthew 9:36). There are two common types of suffering in this world. This first is suffering due to circumstances beyond a person’s control like natural disasters and trauma. The second is suffering that comes about as a result of bad, stupid or sinful choices. Everyone agrees the first kind of suffering needs immediate relief through acts of kindness and generosity. The second kind of suffering is where things gets squishy. Godly compassion in these situations always involves helping people to see their need for repentance and real lasting change. As a result, biblical compassion often leads people to Jesus. However, idolatrous compassion seeks to make people feel good about bad choices and remove any conviction a person may feel for their sin. Without conviction no one will come to repentance (1st Corinthians 7:10). 

The twisting of ideas has transformed our world. Moral responsibility is a thing of the past and things that were once unthinkable are now commonplace. However, it’s never too late to change direction but it has to begin with God’s people. 

The Big Uglies that Lead to Bigger Trouble-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new- 1st Corinthians 5:16-17 NKJV

Most Christians get what sin is.  

The most basic definition of sin is disobedience to God’s commands. We sin when go our own way and do our own thing with no thought to God and His will for His creation (us). Because we are endlessly creative in our degeneracy it is nearly impossible to give an exhaustive list of ALL the possible sins. Some classifications of popular sins would include sexual immorality, deceit, murder, and idolatry. 

Here’s the thing though: 

Sin is much more complex than a simple act. There’s always a lead-up. No one just wakes up one day and out of the clear blue sky decides “today I will commit murder”. The book of James tells us that sin has roots. James calls these roots “desires”. Some translations use the word “lusts” (James 1:15, James 4:1). 

I call them the big uglies. 

The big uglies are the attitudes and aspirations that, if left untended eventually give birth to life destroying sins like adultery, bitterness, murder, greed, deceit and slander. If we allow ourselves to entertain these attitudes sin is without question knocking at our door (Genesis 4:7). 

The top five spiritual uglies are:

Pride-  

Pride is perhaps the most pernicious of the uglies. Pride was the sin that transformed Lucifer into Satan (the deceiver) and got him thrown out of heaven (Ezekial 28:12-15, Isaiah 14:13-14).  Pride is easy to spot in others but difficult to see in ourselves. Prideful people see themselves as more important than others and therefore entitled to certain rights and privileges others are not allowed.  Prideful people are reluctant (to the point of unwillingness) to admit wrong even when it’s painfully obvious, they are wrong. Prideful people (sometimes called narcissists) refuse to humble themselves, or admit fault (Proverbs 29:23, 1st Peter 5:5-6). Prideful people believe in their heart-of-hearts they are better than others. This makes them unforgiving and unwilling to extend grace (Matthew 6:15, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:4). A prideful person will do ANYTHING to save face and come out on top. Anything includes (but is not limited to) big sins such as lying, controlling others, slandering and boastfulness (Leviticus 19:16, Psalm 101:5, Romans 1:3, Revelation 21:8). God despises pride (Proverbs 6:16-19, Luke 14:11). 

Rebellion- 

Rebellion is the stubborn rejection of legitimate authority. Rebellion is the big ugly sin that led to the fall of mankind (Genesis 3). Rebellion is closely related to pride. Rebellion begins with a prideful belief that “I know what’s best” and usually ends with a determined unwillingness to take “no” for an answer. Rebellion eventually manifests itself in open defiance towards all authority including God. A rebellious person has an “it’s all about me” view of life. They have no respect for authority, rules or the needs of others.  God puts rebellion in the same category as witchcraft. Rebellion is ultimately a veneration of self and therefore a super icky form of idolatry (1stSamual 15:23). 

Selfish ambition-

Selfish ambition is the yearning to create a following for oneself.  It’s a longing to be a big deal. Selfish ambition hurts the church because the selfishly ambitious person is mainly interested in using Jesus to become well-known and well-thought of (Philippians 1:17, Galatians 5:19-20, Philippians 2:3). Selfish ambition sometimes looks like “spreading the gospel” or “growing the Kingdom”.  It’s not. Those things always lead to peace, flourishing and healthy community. Selfish ambition, on the other hand always leads to strife, envy and conflict in the church (James 3:14-16).  The whole point of Christian leadership is to point people to Jesus and help them grow into the image of Jesus (Ephesians 4:11-12). At the end of the day a selfishly ambitious leader is always more interested in elevating themselves than Jesus. 

Jealousy- 

These days most folks see jealousy as more of a character defect or a moral shortcoming rather than an actual sin. However, God sees human jealously as one of the foulest and most dangerous of sins. Jealousy or envy is deeply rooted in the sin of covetousness (Exodus 20:17). Jealousy is never content with what it has (1st Timothy 6:6, Hebrews 13:5). It wants what others have and will stop at nothing to get it. The pharisees were so profoundly jealous of Jesus authority and influence they murdered Him (Matthew 27:18). A truly jealous person cannot stand to share the stage with anyone. 

 Self-reliance-

Self-reliance is when we choose to do any part of life without consulting God through prayer and Bible study for direction.  Self-reliance is choosing to lean on our own flawed understanding of the world rather than seeking God’s wisdom and moral insight (Proverbs 3:6). A self-reliant person often sees God’s commands as cumbersome and difficult rather than God’s way of protecting His people from harm. This stupidity harms the self-reliant person and creates chaos in the lives of those they lead and influence. 

Here’s the thing about the big uglies: 

Literally, ANYONE can get entangled in a big ugly (Hebrews 12:1). Seriously. Some of God’s best and brightest drifted toward pride, rebellion, selfish ambition, jealousy and self-reliance (David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Peter). The key to avoiding the attitudes that lead to us (and those we love and serve) to hell is a gut-level commitment to sticking as close to Jesus as we can possibly get. No one can escape the appeal of sin without God’s help. Therefore, it is imperative we make God, prayer, God’s word and intimacy with God our number one priority. 

The Idols We are Okay With-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Even while these people were worshipping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did- 2nd Kings 17:41 NIV

I have known a lot of Christians over the years, all sorts of people who love Jesus and have dedicated their lives to serving Him. Jesus is their God and they are His people (John 10:2-4, Matthew 16:24). 

 Not one of these God-fearing people had a little statue somewhere in their house they bowed down to (1st John 5:1). The notion of a born-again Jesus follower bowing down to a statue is unthinkable to modern Christians.  Even the most broad-minded of Christians know better than to get mixed up in that kind of pagan monkey business.

However. 

This does not mean contemporary Christians are in the clear when it comes to idolatry. People are people and at the root of the human condition is a propensity towards idolatry (Ecclesiastes 1:9, Psalm 106:36, Jeremiah 2:5). We are just a bit more discreet and sophisticated in our acts of idolatry. 

An idol is anything that takes the place where God rightfully belongs. Idols steal our devotion and fidelity away from God and direct it towards something or someone else. An idol can also be an activity, thing or substance we get something out of that we should only get from God. I’m talking about things like security, comfort or feelings of wellbeing. The whole issue of idolatry is complicated by the sad reality that an idol is often a good thing we are giving too much space to in our lives.  The problem with idols is that they blow us off course spiritually and lead us away from Jesus, sometimes without us even knowing it. 

We all need a good self-check now and again, especially when it comes to this issue. The four idols that sneak up on us are: 

Marriage- 

Marriage is a noble, good, God-ordained thing (Proverbs 18:22, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Mark 10:6-8, Hebrews 13:4). I would never argue against marriage in a million years. That being said, many Christians have some really messed up ideas about marriage. There are those who genuinely believe a person cannot be complete or whole unless they marry. If this were true Jesus would be insufficient because He never married. Moreover, many Christians put their marriage first to the detriment of their relationship with God. They will forgo obedience in some area or put their faith on the back burner in an effort to please (or appease) their spouse. Still others, willingly tolerate all kinds of sinful behavior (adultery, abuse, lying, drug and alcohol addiction) in their spouse simply to keep the peace.  All of these behaviors give marriage a place it was never intended to occupy.  The apostle Peter encourages those who find themselves unequally yoked in marriage to put their faith first and live exemplary lives in the hopes of leading their spouse to Jesus (1st Peter 3:1). It is critical we understand God gave us marriage to make us better not as a safe harbor for our worst tendencies to run wild. If marriage isn’t leading us towards greater holiness, it’s probably an idol. Some adjustments are needed. Pronto.

Kids-

Making our children into an idol is nothing new. Eli the priest allowed his sons to have first place in his life.  (1stSamuel 2:12-4:11). Many parents have followed Eli’s lead and made their kids their everything. Parents worry endlessly about their kids comfort and happiness to the detriment of their character. Parents are oftentimes so concerned about damaging the relationship with their kids they refuse to discipline or confront clear and obvious sin. This is not good. We should always do our best to be kind to everyone, including our kids. That said, our call as parents is not to have a “great relationship” with our kids (adults or youngsters). Our call is to lead them to Jesus and sow godly character traits into them.  We can’t do that if we are more concerned with their feelings towards us than we are the state of their souls. 

Addiction- 

An addiction is not just a bad habit, nor is addiction simply an outgrowth of trauma, an indicator of poor coping skills or genetic predisposition that’s run amok. Addiction does have emotional, physical and genetic factors. However, ultimately addiction is a deeply spiritual issue. The addicted person always receives something real and tangible from the addiction, usually a sense of peace or an ability to cope or some other feeling of wellbeing we should only get from God. The addict pays for their peace or ability to cope by becoming physically and/or emotionally dependent on the substance. Eventually, the addict grows to love their addiction more than they love God or anything else. Choosing to live a life free of addiction also means we have less idolatry in our lives. 

And finally:

Boundaries.

Boundaries can be a good thing. A boundary is simply a limit we put up. Everyone needs a few boundaries in their life. Even Jesus said “no” sometimes (Mark 1:35-38, Luke 10:38-42, 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10, Acts 16:6-10) A boundaryless life is a fast-track to resentment, bitterness and disillusionment with God and people.  Boundaries are good and healthy until they become more important to us than obeying Jesus and doing the hard things He asks us to do, things like serving, honoring our parents and working through relational issues. When boundaries become a reason to say “no” to things that are obviously God’s will, they are an idol. 

Here’s the thing:

With the notable exception of addiction all the above-mentioned things are good things. God does NOT want anyone to dump their kids, divorce their spouse or scrap the whole notion of boundaries just because they let their love for those things get out of hand. Instead, He wants us to get into His word, find truth and the pray for wisdom in putting all things in their proper place. 

The Idols Christians Worship-

Lisa M. Price7 Comments

They mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them~ Psalm 106:35-36 NIV

Whatever book of the Bible I happen to be reading tends to have a mostly unintended but very real impact on my blogposts.  Last summer I studied the book of Jeremiah. Looking back, I see the posts I wrote during those months tended to be glum, cynical screeds against the evils of the culture. While writing a devotional on Galatians, I frequently wrote about the wonders of grace and the hazards of legalism, racism, hypocrisy and self-righteousness.

So. 

Recently, I have been reading the book of Hosea. A key theme of Hosea is idolatry. This got me thinking about idolatry in general and how contemporary idolatry is very different from the standard bow-down-to-a-creepy-little-statue variety of idolatry seen in the Old Testament.

During this time, Joshua Harris (author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye)and Marty Sampson (writer for Hillsong) both “came out” as non-Christians (Marty Sampson has since back-peddled a bit). Interestingly, the book of Hosea makes a clear connection between the act of idolatry and the act of apostasy (Hosea 13:2, Zephaniah 1:3, 2nd Kings 17:11-13). In the Bible there is not a single case where apostasy occurred in a void. No person or nation just up and decided to stop believing in God.

Apostasy always follows a lifestyle of idolatry. 

Even today.

Some of the idols we worship today are unique to our generation. Others are without question more of an issue among Christian leaders, while other idols affect most Christians in some way. The idols we worship are directly related to the apostasy we see in the Church. If the church can get a handle on its idolatry problem we will see fewer people “de-constructing” their faith and leaving the church.  

 Our most beloved Christian idols are pretty varied and almost no one worships all of them but a lot of Christians worship some of them. They are:

 Ambition- 

This is definitely an idol Christian leaders have become fixated on. It’s critical to note ambition is not sinful until it becomes THE primary motivating force in our lives. The problem with ambition that is not kept in check is it swiftly mutates into covetousness.  Covetousness then becomes an all-consuming focus on whatever it is we long for.  Ambition is particularly dangerous thing to fixate on in church world because unbridled ambition often disguises itself in Christians and Christian leaders as a healthy desire to see churches grow. However, sometimes ambition for church growth is really just masking a ravenous appetite for personal recognition and fame. When a Pastor becomes overly focused on church growth they become willing to compromise on doctrine and even mistreat people to get a big church with a bunch of campuses (Philippians 2:3, 2nd Corinthians 12:20, James 3:14-16).  Yikes.

Success-

Christians have merged worldly measures of success with Christianity. Being wealthy, sought after and admired by the majority is perceived to be success in our Christian culture. This is true even though biblical standards of success are vastly different (Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 22:36-40, Hebrews 11:36-38).  A person who has made success into an idol will do anything to hang on to the attention, money and adulation that comes with success. This includes compromising what they believe or even renouncing their faith in Christ so they can increase the size of their audience and number of followers. 

Grace- 

 God is insanely complex. He is good, merciful and kind. However, God is also unapologetically judgmental. God is going to judge anyone who refuses to humbly repent and embrace Him as the sovereign Lord of everything (1st Corinthians 6:8-10, Jude 14:16-18, Revelation 20:13). When we insist on making God out to be all sunshine and good vibes we aren’t really worshipping God anymore. We are worshipping the grace God offers only to those who choose to repent (Matthew 4:17, Acts 3:19, Acts 17:29-31). We know grace has become an idol when we buy the lie that a loving God cannot or will not judge people who refuse to play by His rules.   

Judgment- 

There are Christians who really, really want God to smite the daylights out of anyone who has committed certain acts of wickedness. They also want Him to do it without so much as a smidgen of mercy. If the notion that God would withhold judgment from someone just because they have repented bothers you; you just might worship the judgment and wrath of God rather than the God of the Bible (Ezekiel 18:23). 

Marriage-

In Mark 2:23-27 the Pharisees chastised Jesus and his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath. This act was a technical violation of Exodus 16:23. Jesus informed the Pharisees that the Sabbath was intended to be an institution that benefited and blessed people rather than an institution people became a slave to. I am not “soft” on divorce. Marriage is critically important and that most marriages could be saved if both people in the relationship would simply grow-up, focus on someone besides themselves and stop sinning. That said, I also believe many contemporary Christians make the same mistake with marriage that the Pharisees made with the Sabbath. We worship marriage when we put the institution of marriage above of the welfare of the people in the marriage. 

Freedom-

Freedom (especially sexual freedom) is an idol that has been worshipped with wild abandon in Western culture for decades.  In recent years Christians have followed suit. Those who worship freedom do not believe even God Himself has the right to tell anyone that old-fashioned ideas about gender, sexuality and marriage are true and that some behaviors are simply unacceptable. 

Youth- 

In 1st Timothy 3:6 the apostle Paul cautions Church leaders against placing new Christians in positions of leadership. He had observed that when new converts become leaders they often become prideful and unteachable. Sometimes these leaders become so swollen with pride that they begin to believe they have more wisdom and insight than other older more mature Christians. Sometimes they begin to think they know more than even God. Truth-be-told a twenty-year-old is by the nature of their age a new convert (even if he or she was raised in the church). Joshua Harris was nineteen when he wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye and twenty-one when the greater Christian community dubbed him a leader. Marty Sampson was barely out of his teens when he began leading worship and writing music for Hillsong.  In one sense it is not surprising that these men have decided that they have moved beyond Christianity.  Until churches stop elevating every young kid with talent or a good idea into “a leader” we will continue to have problems with those leaders as they age. 

Here’s the thing.

Idols must be cast down. The only way to cast these particular idols down is a return to humble obedience that can only be born out of pure love for God rather than the blessings He gives. Getting there will require ruthless self-examination and honest prayer. 

The Real Reason There is no Revival-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land~ 2nd Chronicles 7:14

 One does not have to look far these days to find something to be appalled at or bummed-out by.

 A short list of the issues vexing our culture and depressing me would have to include such things as: radical Islam, bigotry, bogus outrage, drug legalization, sex trafficking, divorce, government corruption, baby daddies, political correctness, anemic Christianity, anarchy, religious repression, and a government that openly encourages every sort of immorality imaginable; and don’t even get me started on the parade of dysfunction, festival of lies, flaming hot dumpster-fire election the American people are being forced to endure this year.

Sigh.

 Every Christian I know talks about the need for a spiritual revival. Sadly few of us are doing the things that typically bring about an authentic movement of God. Contrary to popular belief, revival ALWAYS begins with Christians. God brings about needed spiritual and moral transformation when God’s people get real with Him about their private spiritual condition. There are at least five things all of us can do right now to expedite a much-needed movement of God.

 First:

 Stop committing idolatry- 1st Corinthians 10:14

 For what feels like eons now believers have endeavored to elect a flawless human leader who will liberate our culture from the chaos created by our own foolishness, rebellion and spiritual lethargy. Others want to bring back an America that, for the most part, ceased to exist long ago. Both yearnings are a dangerous form of idolatry. Rather than look for a leader who will fix the mess or pine for a past that is clearly in the rear view, we need to seek God for wisdom and direction to make the world a better place.

 Get your spiritual house in order- Acts 17:20, 2nd Corinthians 12:21, Revelation 2:5

 Christians are called to be the moral and spiritual leaders of whatever culture they live in (Matthew 28:18-20). Sadly, our generation has failed at this task. We’ve failed because we have amused ourselves with entertainment, adopted philosophies and participated in behaviors that are hostile to biblical Christianity and heartbreaking to Jesus. In some cases we have even accused those calling for repentance of being judgmental, unsophisticated and even un-Christian. The world won’t change until we change. It’s time to get our spiritual houses in order. Authentic social transformation begins in the hearts of people. The process of getting our spiritual lives in order always begins with asking God to reveal the attitudes and behaviors we need to repent from and then doing it.

 Vote wisely- Proverbs 28:2

 I want to begin with a couple of disclaimers. First, I do not believe any political leader can or will save us from ourselves. However, I also believe who we elect to office seriously impacts the moral and spiritual direction of our country. Second, I am not insanely excited about Trump. He is (in my opinion) problematic in many ways. However, he is the leader that represents the Republican platform. Sadly, the Republican platform no longer includes respect for human life. However, it does support the parents rights,  the Constitution and religious liberty. It is still immeasurably superior to the Democratic platform. Supporting the Republican platform also means checking the box for Donald J. Trump. So get registered and vote for Trump. 

 Pray your face off- Matthew 26:41, 1st Thessalonians 5:17

 It’s time for all of us to start praying some uncomfortable prayers. Pray God will enable you to see life from His perspective. Pray God shows you the sin in your life. Pray God helps you to hate sin and love righteousness. Pray for the wisdom to do God’s will. When you get done praying about all that pray for the spiritual health of your church and Pastor. Pray for our leaders. Pray for the spiritual health of your kids. Pray for your neighbors and their kids. Pray God will be merciful and send revival.

 We need it.

 Reset your priorities- Matthew 6:33, Jeremiah 29:13

 There is nothing inherently wrong with watching football, sleeping in, kids’ sporting teams, making money, or Hallmark movies. However none of those things should ever take priority over prayer, Bible study and church attendance.

 We all agree that our world urgently needs revival. I believe revival will come when believers make a concerted effort to let go of idolatrous attitudes, pray like crazy, and seek God with all our hearts.