On Idolatry: You and I were created to worship

Human beings were naturally created to worship something.  It’s in our very nature.  Worship means to ascribe worth to something, and it tends to manifest itself as how you prioritize your time, attention, thoughts, energy, talents, treasures, drive, and passion to a particular thing.  I heard a definition that worship is “setting our affection on something in such a way that it changes the way we live.”  Worship is placing something or someone as our source of fulfillment.  It’s placing value or reverence on something so much, that if we lose it, we despair, our world crumbles away, and we feel ruined or like failures.

All along, we were created to worship God the Creator of the universe, but when sin entered the world in Genesis 3, we began to worship things other than God.  This is what is known as idolatry — worshipping that which is created rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21-25).  The tricky thing is that idolatry is often hard to detect, especially for us as Americans.  It’s usually when we pursue something that is normally good — in and of itself — and make it a competing or higher priority than God.  The end goal of idol worship is a warped, perverted way of trying to attain a life worth living, being happy, and finding self-worth.

The following are important diagnostic questions (adopted from Schewyer, 2009) to ask yourself that can help you determine whether idols are present in your life.  Be honest and ask yourself these hard questions: 

• “If Jesus came back this very minute, would I be disappointed?” i.e., is there some unfulfilled goal or desire on this earth that you want more than simply glorifying and knowing Jesus?
• “What is the thing you want more than anything else in this world?”  e.g., success, to be married, to have a good job, a person, place, thing, etc.
• “What am I most afraid of in life?” e.g., failure, loneliness, not having something, etc.
• “What do I long for most passionately?” e.g., success, a relationship, children, vacation, cool stuff, house, job, sex, etc.
• “Where do I run for comfort?” e.g., food, sex, relationship, drugs, shopping, pills, video games, TV, etc.
• “What do I complain about most?” e.g., job, family, husband, kids, bills, weight, etc.
• “What angers me most?”  e.g., disrespect, not getting certain things, etc.
• “What one thing makes me happiest?” e.g., an achievement, a relationship, job, new clothes, etc.
• “How do I explain myself to other people?” e.g., what your identity is wrapped up in, titles, something you do, etc.
• “What has caused me to be angry/disappointed at God? Where is God ‘failing’ you by not giving you something?”
• “Who or what do I sacrifice the most for in my life?” e.g., boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, kids, job, vacation, etc.
• “If I could change one thing in my life what would that be?” e.g. if I were cooler, skinnier, prettier, or if I had  __(blank)__  then my problems would be solved.
• “Whose approval am I seeking?” e.g. my boss, spouse, significant other, children, friends, etc.
• “What comfort do I treasure the most (one thing you can’t live without)?”

I realized just how easy it is to put your hope and fulfillment in good things other than God.  It is easy for me to struggle with idolatry, because sometimes it happens in such subtle ways.  As Schweyer, lead pastor of a church in Ohio writes, “Good things, elevated to god things, become bad things.”  The fact is, idolatry is pretty much the exact opposite of the gospel.  It’s about you, your performance and efforts, and pursuing something to earn success and fulfillment (if I try harder, get success, get skinnier, get a boyfriend, get married, get cooler, get richer, etc. THEN I will be fulfilled!).  In contrast, the gospel is about Jesus — His grace, and the unconditional love, acceptance, worth, value, peace, contentment, and joy that He gives us.   God loves us not because of our works, effort or lovability — He loves us just because he is gracious, and that’s who He is. 

Idolatry always ends up leading us either to pride or despair — not lasting, joyful contentment.  Our idols cannot ultimately bless, help, save, deliver, or satisfy us — only Jesus can.

So what is the solution to idolatry? 

1. Recognize – Due to our fallen natures, idolatry is default mechanism of the heart to worship created things rather than the Creator.  This leads to a self-righteous, works-based religion that is frustrating and will never satisfy.
2. Repent – Confess to Jesus these idols and that they can’t deliver or give you joy, peace, or contentment that you seek.
3. Replace – We are wired to worship, so we must replace the idols with worshipping Jesus as your only Savior and Lord.  This leads to true joy, contentment, and peace.
4. Rejoice – When we have a proper perspective of who we are worshipping, then we can enjoy created things (food, drink, people) without having them rule over us.

(Note: I didn’t come up with these ideas.  Credit goes to J. Schweyer and J. Root for many of the diagnostic questions and much of this material.)

(also published at www.adventureswithjesus.com)