The Danger of Idolatry

Why is idolatry so dangerous?

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This verse declares that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and strength. We are to worship the triune God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the greatest commandment. This is the first commandment that declares what we “should” do. The first commandment that declares an action we “should not” has to do with idolatry.

You shall have no other gods before me. (Deuteronomy 5:7)

Why is this command given before the commands to not commit murder, adultery or theft?

I believe the sin of idolatry is a precondition for any other sin to occur. If this commandment were to be kept perfectly then a sinless life could be attained. Let me explain, in order for us to sin we need to be following the desires of someone other than God. For if God were to consistently be situated on the throne of our hearts, (which is His rightful place) then His desires which are for us to follow His commandments would consistently take place and we would live without sin. Anytime we sin we are acting contrary to the desires of God. Therefore, in order for a sin to be committed, the precondition is that God must be removed from the throne of our lives and replaced by another “god” that will allow for the sin to be committed.

To worship anything or anyone else other than the one true God is considered idolatry. The term idolatry is defined as the worship of idols or extreme admiration and love for something or someone. Now this excessive love for something could be truly anything. Money can become an idol. Sex can become an idol. Drugs can become an idol. Our phones can become an idol. Our own self can become an idol.

I recently had a dream. In my dream I witnessed a vast multitude of people standing in a Kingdom of Light that was beautiful and good. This was heaven. The multitude of people were standing near the edge of a cliff. Over the edge of the cliff was endless darkness. All of a sudden, I saw a weed pen being dropped off the edge of the cliff. I then saw people jumping off the cliff after the weed pen. I then saw a bottle of alcohol thrown off the cliff. A large number of people went and jumped off the cliff of their own accord into the darkness in pursuit of the bottle of alcohol. I then saw the same thing occur with sex and electronics. Large multitudes of people were leaving the Kingdom of Light (Heaven) to chase after these worldly lusts. The message was clear. The love and pursuit of idols is pulling millions and millions of people away from heaven and into hell as they are unwilling to part with their idols despite the entirety of heaven being within their grasp.

I want to establish that struggling with smoking weed, drinking alcohol, having sex or playing video games does not send you to hell. The problem arises when we begin to LOVE these idols more than we love God. It is possible to love God and still struggle with alcoholism. However, in this scenario the individual who loves God will hate the alcoholism and desire to be rid of it. If we love God we will begin to hate what he hates. God hates drunkenness (1 Peter 4), therefore, if we are in love with God then we will hate drunkenness as well. The Holy Spirit within a Christian gives him the mind of Christ, (1 Corinthians 4:16) this means that those who are in Christ Jesus will begin to think the way he thinks, therefore, someone who is truly Christ’s disciple would not be able to love something that God hates. In order to love something that God hates you could not be a part of God, to not be a part of God is to be separated from Him forever. I believe this was the main point of my dream. If you love the world more than you love God, then you will not be a part of God forever, because you have chosen to love that which is not God.

An idol can take the place of God on the throne of our heart. When God is removed from his rightful place, there is an imbalance, a delineation of our spiritual makeup that throws our way of living out of orbit. The sun always needs to be at the center of the universe or else everything else falls out of orbit. Specifically, the son of God; Jesus, needs to be at the center of our hearts or everything else will fall out of place.

Here’s a personal example of how an idol can have a negative effect on our lives. I was addicted to nicotine for three years. Many days I would know I should have been busy doing homework, or training, or spending time doing something productive that God wanted me to do. Instead, I would be off on a car ride to the vape shop to feed my addiction. Every time I made the choice to go get a vape instead of listening to what God wanted me to be doing, I was elevating nicotine to the throne of my life and I was ordering my life around that priority and need. The side affects of this choice included limited productivity, reduced cardiovascular capacity and hindered athletic performance on the track. Nicotine was an idol because it took priority over God in my life. Nicotine had a negative effect on my life.

An idol that I’ve noticed is extremely prevalent within our western society is sexual immorality. By sexual immorality I am speaking of sex outside of marriage, porn and masturbation. This idol is extremely pleasurable (Proverbs 7) which makes it deathly dangerous. I have had many a conversation with friends of mine about the existence of God. It is easy to present a logical argument that points towards the existence of God. The Bible says that even the rocks cry out there is a God. I believe that deep within their heart everyone understands our world did not happen by accident. I remember I once pulled a blade of grass out of the ground, I proceeded to tie a knot in the blade of grass. I left the blade of grass on a park bench and recall pondering how if someone were to come across that blade of grass on the bench, they would make the inference that someone had purposefully put the knot in that blade of grass. Similarly, when we look at creation, the intricacy of the human body or the enormity of the expanse of the heavens, we cannot help but know deep in our souls that it all was put here on purpose and for a purpose. However, despite this truth being in front of our eyes, I know many people who decide to refuse God and His goodness because it would involve giving up sex and the pleasure it brings. The idol of sex keeps people from choosing God. You cannot love sex more than you love God.

To combat this problem, it is important to recognize and understand the goodness of God. If you’ve been to church or have friends who have, you may have heard this phrase before,

God is good, all the time.

I disregard this truth all the time. Anytime I sin, I am disregarding God’s goodness.

If God is totally good, then every single rule He ever gave us to follow is for our own good. That means that when God commands us not to watch porn, He’s doing it because He knows it will be good for us not to watch porn. Science has shown that porn has a negative effect on people’s relationships with others. Specifically, within marriage, porn has proved to negatively affect the relationship between husband and wife and can be a contributing factor in divorce. Therefore, when God gives this command to stay sexually pure, he is not doing it to ruin our fun, the command is given to help us flourish within our relationships with others.

I was recently asked this question.

If God is merciful and forgives all our iniquity, then why do I need to stop sinning?

This was a fantastic question. The truth of the matter is, if we do sin, and if we repent and ask for forgiveness for our sin, then God will forgive us because He is a loving God and a merciful Father.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

However, there are very real consequences for sin. Just because there is forgiveness for sin doesn’t mean we don’t have to face its consequences. Imagine you were to choose to have sex at a young age and ended up getting pregnant. God forgives you, however you will have to face the consequence of that choice. Raising a child at a young age would require sacrificing many dreams and ambitions. A more extreme example is murder. If you chose to kill someone else, God will forgive but you will have to face a life in prison as a consequence for that sin.

There are real consequences for sin.

I have also noticed that seemingly insignificant rules are actually more impactful than we realize. The commandment, “thou shall not covet,” which basically means that you should not desire that which is not yours, is actually quite important for our mental health. If we get caught in the loop of desiring that which we don’t have, we will never be satisfied with what we do have in the present moment. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S Lewis writes from the perspective of an experienced demon trying to teach a younger demon how to properly deceive a human. He hammers home the point that the devil desires for us to be stuck consistently thinking about the future.

Hence, nearly all vices are rooted in the future. Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust and ambition look ahead. (Lewis)

Getting stuck dreaming about that which you don’t have is extremely detrimental to the mind. If you try practicing gratitude on a daily basis you will notice an incredible change in satisfaction for what you have and where you are in life. I’ve tried it and it works, and it made me realize the significance of the commandment, “thou shall not covet.”

Understanding that God is trying to help us flourish is a key to accepting Him as Lord over our lives. He’s not trying to make our lives miserable; He wants to help us become the best version of ourselves. In order to become the best version of ourself, we may need to give up some vices that are holding us back. When I was addicted to vaping, God was continually prodding me to quit. It was honestly annoying to constantly have the conviction, but once I gave it up, I suddenly had more motivation, better lungs, more money and more time to spend pursuing other amazing things. Last summer, giving up vaping and reducing my time on social media gave me the chance to learn how to play guitar and longboard. I now have such joy doing both those activities. God saw that I could be more than I already was so he pushed me to give up something that was holding me back. It made me better, and it has made me more joyful.

Now you may be asking this question, how do I know if I have an idol in my life? I believe the following verse provides a simple truth can help us analyze what we prioritize most.

From out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)

If we talk about something over and over and over again. Its most likely something that we really love. If all I ever do is talk about hockey, then its very evident that hockey is the most important thing in my life. If I talk about my success over and over, then success is something that I have elevated to being vitally important in my life. Now if I love to talk about something that is not Jesus, more than I like talking about Jesus. That thing that is not Jesus is an idol. This is a great way to do a self check on where our priorities lie. Just listen to yourself talk for a day. Notice what comes to mind most often and what leaves your mouth consistently. That which you speak about most is probably that which you prioritize highest.

It is impossible to prioritize God and the world simultaneously. One must go.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)

A choice needs to be made. We have all been given the freedom to choose. God will not stop us from pursuing the idols of weed alcohol, sex or money. However, should we choose to not choose God, we are literally cutting ourself off from life itself. If we choose to not choose God, then He can’t help us. Jesus said this,

I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

If we choose to not choose Jesus, then how can we have life? Jesus is life, its right there in the word of God. Backtrack to the dream I had, and the urgency of the message is clear. Loving an idol above God will separate us from heaven forever. Its plain and simple. We can’t have both. We cannot love God and porn. We cannot love God and weed. We cannot love God and alcohol. We cannot love God and money.

Do you love God?

Everyone has a choice, everyone must choose.

References

Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Mocha, Single Column Journaling Bible. Crossway Books, 2016.

Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters. Tingle Books, 2021.