American Idols

“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” - Romans 1:22-23

There is a difference between rejecting God and rejecting the idea of God. It seems that the more reasons we are given to worship the true God the more determined we become to worship false gods. This is idolatry.

Unfortunately, when we hear the word “idolatry” we tend to roll our eyes and think that was a problem ancient people had. An idol by definition is anything we want more than God, anything more important to us than God, or anything that brings us greater fulfillment than God. Idolatry is more than an Old Testament problem - it is alive and well today.

So maybe our modern-day idols aren’t graven images or golden calves; but that doesn’t make them any less real, or damaging. There is the altar of possessions – so we have this insatiable desire to buy more stuff. We worship at the altar of pride – we become workaholics so we can work our way up the corporate ladder. We worship the god of personality – so from athletes, to actors, to musicians, celebrities are turned into deities and worshipped by their fans. We worship the god of pleasure – so we drink, do drugs, overeat, and sleep around.

Have you every noticed that the Bible warns against idolatry rather than atheism? The fountainhead of the river of sin is idolatry. Everyone on this planet worships some kind of god and believes in some kind of deity. The most common sin in the Bible that we are told to avoid, reject, and stay away from is idolatry.

Are you rejecting the worship of God, or replacing it? We must all guard against idolatry, because there is only One God worthy of all of our praise.

Father, please show me if I am worshipping anything other than You with my life. Help me to tear down any idols so that I can worship You and You alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.