As one looks to the Ten Commandments, she finds the first command concerning idols. I believe idolatry is something most people have heard of, but not too many people want to think about. Possibly because the whole subject makes people nervous, as it does me. An idol is anything that is elevated above God; the first command reads, "You shall have no other gods before me." I have heard this commandment communicated many times. The statement is in my brain, and the concept has had some time to take root, but my understanding of this idolatry stuff has always felt a little shaky.
Whenever, historically, I would think about idols, my remedy for not worshiping idols was to downplay the object that could potentially become an idol. In order to not allow money to become an idol, don't have much money. In order to not let success become an idol, do not become successful in the world's eyes. This is how my thinking would go. I suppose I am not the only one who has followed this logic; the monastic life seems to be, at least partly, an effort to avoid idolatry. If one does not have any interaction with money, sex, vocational success, or fame, then the whole idol battle seems much more reasonable. The trouble is, anything can become an idol. If living the monastic life, my own monasticism could become a source of pride that borders on idolatry. If living in the world, my Xbox, favorite sports team, house, job, family, friends, church, and community could all become idols. The possibility of everything I touch becoming an idol is quite disconcerting. Such a reality makes me want to pull away from the world, afraid that anything I like may lead to breaking the first commandment. Makes me want to go live in a tree, yet, if I grow to like that tree too much, we may be stepping into idol territory.
There is good news in all this that has alluded me for a long time. The good news is this: we often do not need to make less of things, we need to make more of God. This is revolutionary, at least for me. Imagine the concept of idolatry as a seesaw. On one side of the seesaw is God. On the other side of the seesaw are all of the things God has given us to enjoy. When we apply the first commandment to the illustration, we find that nothing should ever lift God off the ground. We should be able to pile all of the gifts He has given us to enjoy on the seesaw and it should never budge. This is a paradigm shift for me. In the past, I have attempted to keep everything off of the things side of the seesaw. I now believe this to be a flawed approach. If considered correctly, no thing will ever overcome the weight of the God who created the universe. The remedy is not avoiding the enjoyment of food. The remedy is worshiping God for His beautiful design of nutrition. The remedy is not avoiding the enjoyment of sex. The remedy is worshiping God for His beautiful design of sex between husband and wife. The remedy is not avoiding money. The remedy is worshiping God for giving us gifts to provide for ourselves and serve the common good through our work. The remedy is not avoiding being successful in what we do. The remedy is worshiping God for giving us the ability to do what we do well. The remedy for me is not to exist in a constant paranoia that I will make something an idol. The remedy is to truly consider how big, majestic, sovereign, and providential God is. If I take a true look at God, that money, success, and pleasure begin to occupy their proper place.
Whenever, historically, I would think about idols, my remedy for not worshiping idols was to downplay the object that could potentially become an idol. In order to not allow money to become an idol, don't have much money. In order to not let success become an idol, do not become successful in the world's eyes. This is how my thinking would go. I suppose I am not the only one who has followed this logic; the monastic life seems to be, at least partly, an effort to avoid idolatry. If one does not have any interaction with money, sex, vocational success, or fame, then the whole idol battle seems much more reasonable. The trouble is, anything can become an idol. If living the monastic life, my own monasticism could become a source of pride that borders on idolatry. If living in the world, my Xbox, favorite sports team, house, job, family, friends, church, and community could all become idols. The possibility of everything I touch becoming an idol is quite disconcerting. Such a reality makes me want to pull away from the world, afraid that anything I like may lead to breaking the first commandment. Makes me want to go live in a tree, yet, if I grow to like that tree too much, we may be stepping into idol territory.
There is good news in all this that has alluded me for a long time. The good news is this: we often do not need to make less of things, we need to make more of God. This is revolutionary, at least for me. Imagine the concept of idolatry as a seesaw. On one side of the seesaw is God. On the other side of the seesaw are all of the things God has given us to enjoy. When we apply the first commandment to the illustration, we find that nothing should ever lift God off the ground. We should be able to pile all of the gifts He has given us to enjoy on the seesaw and it should never budge. This is a paradigm shift for me. In the past, I have attempted to keep everything off of the things side of the seesaw. I now believe this to be a flawed approach. If considered correctly, no thing will ever overcome the weight of the God who created the universe. The remedy is not avoiding the enjoyment of food. The remedy is worshiping God for His beautiful design of nutrition. The remedy is not avoiding the enjoyment of sex. The remedy is worshiping God for His beautiful design of sex between husband and wife. The remedy is not avoiding money. The remedy is worshiping God for giving us gifts to provide for ourselves and serve the common good through our work. The remedy is not avoiding being successful in what we do. The remedy is worshiping God for giving us the ability to do what we do well. The remedy for me is not to exist in a constant paranoia that I will make something an idol. The remedy is to truly consider how big, majestic, sovereign, and providential God is. If I take a true look at God, that money, success, and pleasure begin to occupy their proper place.
I can related to this fear of idols. I grew up in a very conservative home. In my earliest years, my parents were new Christians and found themselves in a legalistic circle of believers. The mindset of our home was focused on the law of God. I remember viewing God as a harsh, distant Creator that I could never please.
ReplyDeleteThrough the years God has opened up the eyes of my family (myself included) to see His grace and mercy more clearly. Two books that have really helped us grow are "Humility" by CJ Mahaney and "Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life" by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick. I'm still in a continuous place of growing, but comforted that there is nothing that I can do "to separate (me) from the love of God."
This post seems to spring really well off of your previous post, "The Blog: Specific Callings." Our gifts and interests can certainly become idols easily. I found these posts to be convicting. Even though we have total grace we still have to guard our hears. I seem to struggle with balance a lot of times. I'm either way over in the legalistic end or too far into grace. Holy, God-centered living is no joke.
Thanks for the encouragement!