Idols: You Get What You Want
They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand…
So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us.
Idolizing Things
Do you have any idols in your life?
Your gut-reaction probably says no. But if you moved past your gut-reaction, what would your heart tell you? Mine tells me I have idols.
Stupid heart, haha.
They’re actually what you would expect from a thirty-something millennial who spends 15+ hours every day with his head in the clouds.
I idolize financial success, certain public figures beyond what they ever deserve, and owning specific material possessions, just to name a few. Yes, I place them on a pedestal and they often attract my attention more than my relationship with God at times.
But what about idolizing something that’s not a thing?
Idolizing Ideas
Do you idolize your own sense of comfort? What about the ideas of God that make you feel… safe? Do you idolize those?
Over the millennia, Christianity got really good at idolizing parts of its religion while ignoring the ones that would grow it up. I think that’s how most denominations became a thing, actually.
But take the Bible for instance. Millions of Christians around the world hold it up as the inerrant, authoritative, and only word of God. Truth-be-told, for millions, the Bible has become an idol.
And yet their understanding of what the Bible says has become an idol too. That understanding becomes a bubble they live inside of, and slowly but surely, their idea of who God is takes shape within it.
Any challenges to those ideas are often met with resistance. Why? Because you’re messing with peoples’ idea of God; in effect, you’re messing with their God!
We’re all guilty of it. I’m sure as heck guilty of it.
Maybe it’s time to get uncomfortable and grow a little
There will always come a point in your life, many points, in fact, where the lure of comfort will overwhelm any and all desire for growth.
Growth demands discomfort, and naturally, we do not like to be uncomfortable, especially when it comes to changing the way we think about something, particularly our idea of who God is.
But your “idea idols” of God… do they bear good fruit? Do they leave the world a more just place? Do they invite everybody to the table of Christ?
Because like Paul says God says, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.”
Reflect
Spend some time in your journal today. Ask yourself, “What ideas do I have about God?” Write them down. Then pray through each one, asking God to help you grow into a greater understanding of who God is.
Matt Snyder is the Director of Communications at First Baptist Decatur. He holds a M.Div. from McAfee School of Theology and B.A. in Religion and Philosophy from Friends University. Matt is also a freelance copywriter and content marketing specialist. You can learn more about his work at CopywriterCreative.com