Idolatry is interesting because other deities aren’t the only things that can be idolised. I know that may seem obvious when one first reads it but the reality of this can be shocking. One can idolise their pastor, parent, spouse/partner, friend,superior, spiritual laws, a ‘lucky’ item i.e. lucky shirt etc. These do not require you to bow down to them but you have in some way placed them above God. Let’s take the lucky item; do you have the same faith and confidence in God that you do in that item? If so, why the lucky item at all? If the lucky item always works for you, where does that leave God? If you use this item more and more, will you need God?
Idolatry exists on a spectrum, more obvious to very subtle to the naked eye. The subtle ones are the ones that will blindside you because you don’t usually see the idols for what they are. Take the example of the lucky item, a lucky shirt is just a lucky shirt, it is seemingly not that deep until you go through it with a fine-tooth comb. If you are confident that you are called to art but your parents absolutely hate that idea and tell you to go into law or finance. Do you listen to God or your parents? If you choose to go with your parents,is it not honouring them? Does the Lord not require us to honour them? Is it still honour when you put your parents ABOVE Him? Let’s say some years
go by and the instruction comes again to into art and your parents still say no. Who do you choose? Your parents or God? If you choose your parents it means that God comes second. He is a jealous God. Will God be okay with coming second to your parents because He said to honour your parents?
You may be a parent and you know you are called to do certain things but forgo them because you want to make sure that your child has the best opportunities. The best opportunities for your child will not be taken away because you chose God. I hear a lot of parents talking about sacrificing everything for their child(ren). If God wants you in another country but you choose to stay home because your child doesn’t want to leave. When will it be the right time to go where the Lord has called you? Your child might get married but need you when the children come. There will always be a reason for you to stay. What would you tell God when you have to account?
God requires us to be living sacrifices for Him but we often times find ourselves inadvertently living for others. We put others above Him time and time again. It is when your relationship with God gets deeper that these things will come to forefront because you continually get a deeper understanding of who He is and what it means to be a living sacrifice. You begin to search yourself at regular intervals to ensure that you really are living the life you proclaim to be living (“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalms 139: 23-24. “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” Psalm 19: 12-13.)
Let us take a look into some of the consequences of Baal. In the book of Exodus, 3000 people died when Moses came down from the mountain and found Baal. The sons of Levi were instructed to pick up their swords and to put people down essentially and a plague followed (for those who survived). What caught my attention was not the death of the 3000 people but the question that Moses asked Aaron before the massacre.
“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” Exodus 32:21
I did not expect that question. Instead of shouting at Aaron for messing up, he went into the great sin he has brought upon the people. It reminds me of a drunk driver who causes a fatal accident and is the only one to survive. I know there were many survivors but Aaron had not foreseen death when he made the statue, the same way a drunken driver usually does not anticipate an accident when he/ she gets into the car. That’s not an excuse though is it? What is our excuse for creating idols through our art? What are the consequences of our idolatry? Not just on us but on the people that partake. Aaron went on to work in the tabernacle of the Lord, those that died remained dead, no second chance. That really drives Moses’ first question to Aaron in.
As a christian, your conscious thoughts are seldom about what possible idols you may have because you’re christian right? The reality of putting something above God can cause one to short-circuit. You might refute it in the beginning because you have been confessing His name at church and genuinely believed that He is the only one you served. ‘Why do I have an idol/ idols? At what point did I stop trusting God? Have I ever trusted Him?’ Selah.
‘Does idolatry mean I do not love God? If I love Him, why put something or someone above Him? I did not even know that i was doing that Lord. Do I really not love you? Have I been lying to myself all this time? Where do we go from here?’
As I am writing this sentence, the song ”Rich in Mercy’ by Jackie Baker just started playing. His mercies are new everyday. There s still a chance to get aligned to what He has called you to and to worship Him as He ought to be.
It goes without saying that it is important to cut the head off of this snake; it steals so much from you but you will only realise how much when it is too late (in some situations). Idolatry is ultimately a heart issue and you need to work through that, no fast forward button.
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