idolatry

We are what we worship

Kyle Strobel — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:17:44 -0700

I was reading Psalm 135 and came across what appears to be a pretty provocative claim:

"The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears but they do not hear, nor is there any breadth at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them" (Psalm 135:15-18).

Idolators will become like what they worship - or, as in the title of this post, we are what we worship. I find this interesting. One of Jesus' most biting claims was that the religious leaders had eyes to see but could not see, and ears to hear, but could not hear - a classic use of the prophets language against idols which were formed with eyes and ears but no life in them. And yet the religious leaders were far from worshipping idols, at least in the classic sense, so what was he doing with that claim?

It seems that our worship is always in danger of grasping ahold of the gifts rather than the giver, and the modes of religious life rather than the life that those things point to. Once our vision grasps onto the signs rather than the thing signified, we become idolators, and we take on the nature of our idolatry. Instead, let us lift our eyes to the One seated at the right hand of God, looking to Him who calls us to Himself, and not simply to a series of actions.

How do you see worship forming, both positively and negatively in our church today?

American Idolatry

Holly Ordway — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:38:01 -0700

The fact that we have a television show called American Idol is a bit of an indication that we don’t really know what an idol is – or what our attitude toward one ought to be.

I will confess, I am sufficiently behind the pop-culture curve that I have never actually watched American Idol, but because I do not live under a rock, I am familiar with what the show is about, and how it works. (Call it cultural osmosis.) As far as I can tell, it’s a harmless and entertaining show.

I do find the name interesting, however. American Idol. Who will be the next Idol? Lots of people want to be an idol – and millions more are eagerly waiting to find out whom they will idolize next.

But what really is an idol?

An idol is anything that we worship other than the one true and living God. Period.

We have to stop here for a moment, and think about what that means. Let’s start from the basic premise: in order to put something in the place of God, we have to recognize that God exists – and that He exists whether we recognize His existence or not. (Along similar lines, San Diego Gas & Electric supplies the power to my home, whether or not I give any thought whatsoever to the reason why I magically get light whenever I flip a switch.)

If we deny His existence, then we are going to become idolaters, no matter what. The human heart seeks to worship God, the God who made us in His image, and if we deny ourselves the correct orientation for our worship, then we will put something else in that place. In human lives, something always has to come first. The only question is, what? If we recognize His existence – for instance, by using our reason to understand the evidence that points to Him – then we are in the favorable position of being able, with His help, to put Him first in our lives.

Next, what does it mean that He is a living God? It means that putting Him first doesn’t mean just attaching a “High Importance” label to the idea of God. Rather, it means that we seek to enter into, sustain, and deepen a relationship with the most holy Trinity, the God who not only made us, but who also became incarnate to save us from our own alienation from Him.

If we remake God in our own image, we are engaged in idolatry just as much as if we deny Him and worship something else. If we translate “God is love” into “love is God,” then we are making an idol. If we re-cast Jesus into a figure who makes no inconvenient demands on our lives, if we try to make him something other than true God and true man, the crucified and Risen Lord, then we may think we are worshiping Christ but we are really worshipping an idol. Yes, orthodoxy is a matter of life and death.

Finally, what does it mean to worship? To worship an idol does not mean that we have a little statue of Baal in the backyard, to which we offer sacrifices. To worship, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means “to honour or adore.” In other words, to put it first, to give it the best and largest share of our thoughts, time, and energy.

I would argue that the most common idols in our culture are money and consumer goods; sex; and work. All of these things are good when used rightly, but all become terrible when put first. You don’t have to be a philosopher to recognize this; just look at the families of workaholics, or the character and personal relationships of those who pursue sexual gratification for its own sake.

Or look in your own heart. In a culture so full of idols, all clamoring for our devotion, it would take a real saint to not struggle at least a little bit against the siren song of idolatry. For myself, I recognize the temptation to make my teaching into an idol, particularly since I work in an environment that encourages an unhealthy level of identification of oneself with one’s work, and a culture of workaholism. I have to resist the temptation to think that the work itself is of the highest importance in my life. Yes, it’s challenging, rewarding, exciting, and worthwhile – but only insofar as I recognize that it’s work God has given me to do, at this particular time in my life, using the gifts He has given me, and putting Him first.

There’s one last thing about idols. Idols demand sacrifice. We even use the word, if our particular idol is work and money: we make sacrifices to rise in our career, to get the promotion, to achieve what we think is success. Those sacrifices are usually of other people, aren’t they? Friends. Children. Spouses; consider how high our divorce rate is – how many marriages have been immolated on the altar of Success?

The idol of sex has its demands for sacrifice, too – oh, indeed it does, and they are terrible.

God the most holy Trinity also asks for sacrifice – but He does not call us to sacrifice someone else. He asks for nothing less than ourselves, holding nothing back. Yet, in the great mystery of redemption, when we say Yes to that sacrifice, that death of self, we learn that He has already made the sacrifice for us: our Father has provided, Himself, the one sacrifice that is all in all, never repeated, yet eternally present: His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both our great high priest and the sacrificial Lamb of God. When we participate in that sacrifice, when we die with Christ, we also rise with Christ – and in giving ourselves wholly to Him, we become, ever more completely, who we were always meant to be.

No idol can ever deliver on that promise.

What is idolatry? Seeking the gift and not the Giver; loving what He has made when He calls us to love and be loved by Him. May we turn from our idols, whatever form they may take, however appealing they may be, and instead seek the face of Reality, the one true and living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

When You're Left With a Mouthful of Sand

Christy Tennant — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:00:14 -0800

Last week, from Sunday to Sunday, was my church's annual week of prayer and fasting. Like he does every year, our pastor called the entire church to fast. What type of fast we did was entirely up to us. He just asked that we have 100% participation.

A few people I know of did juice fasts, but most of us did a modified Daniel fast of sorts. Some (myself among them) did a "media fast." For me, this meant that I did not watch any television or movies all week.

Now, I do not consider myself a tv junkie. In fact, for years I did not watch television at all. But lately, I have grown very fond of Hulu. The truth is, I don't get any TV stations in my apartment; I do not have cable or a TiVo or DVR or anything of that technological ilk. But with Hulu, I can watch a variety of television programming any time, for free. So nowadays, especially after a long day of work, I come home, fix something to eat, and watch something on Hulu to "check out" for a bit.

Last week, however, I came home, cooked, did some home projects, and spent my evenings reading and praying. And you know what? It was a beautiful week. I felt a closenss to God I had not felt in a long time. I was sleeping 8-9 hours a night, and my days were very peaceful and productive.

The fast ended on Sunday, and yesterday, Monday, I came home from work and, as per usual, sat down, exhausted, to veg out. For a couple of hours, I putzed around my apartment, not really doing anything important, while reruns of Hill Street Blues played on Hulu, one right after the other (I'm not kidding - Hill Street Blues. I was not allowed to watch it when I was little, so now I'm getting caught up. I'm also getting a big kick out of how tame it is compared to TV shows today. And to think, there was a time when the subject matter of Hill Street Blues was controversial!) I drank a cherry ale, then another, and then around midnight went to bed. I ate homemade bread, lime flavored Tostitos, and ale for dinner. I know - real healthy.

This morning, I woke up and one of the first things that came to mind was what a waste last night was. And as I contemplated what makes me want to come home and "check out," especially after a hard day, I remembered this passage from Jeremiah:

Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

Conviction landed on my heart like a crow in Tokyo, and it has been sitting there all day, waiting for me to come home from yet another full and exhausting day to face the fact that this passage is talking about me. I realized that, sometimes, I come and plop in front of my computer to watch stupid TV shows because I am tired and worn out and I want to be entertained, when what I really need and what I am actually craving is something that only time with the Holy Spirit can actual satisfy. I know that when I sit and read scripture or a good book and pray my soul is refreshed. Yet something in me feels like that will be too much work, and I dont' want to have to think. I want to turn off my brain and just chill out.

Yet what I find is, at the end of such an evening, I am not refreshed or rested. In fact, I am also feeling more agitated, because I know in my core that I have wasted a few good hours of my life.

Now, let me clarify: I do not think this is always the case with watching television. I have no problem with entertainment. In fact, my work is largely about helping good art and entertainment to be made. And when you live alone, sometimes it's just helpful to have the background noise of some show that doesn't require a lot of you.

But the issue I'm referring to here is motivation: when I am tired and weary, do I go to Jesus for refreshment, or do I go to Sam Adams and Hulu? When my heart and soul are whispering to me, What you really want is to sit at Jesus' feet for a bit, chew on some scripture and listen for a while, do I tune it out and tune in, rather, to cheap and irelevant entertainment?

It is also a question of self-control. Hulu has a function that enables you to continuously stream one show right after another, and since the shows are created to leave you with a cliffhanger each time, you find yourself thinking, "well, one more episode... I want to find out what happens to so-and-so in this episode." Next thing you know, three or four episodes later, you're exhausted, your sink is full of dishes, and you head to bed, still agitated by the incident in the subway or the disagreement at the staff meeting.

I begin each morning with scripture and prayer, and I close off each night with more prayer and reading. I think of God and godly things throughout my day, and I often find myself in ministry situations that I had not planned or expected. I work hard, and by most peoples' assessment, in both public and private, I live a godly life. I don't have hidden junk in my life that I'm afraid people will discover. What you see with me is really what you get (after all, I'm pretty open about my weaknesses and struggles...)

But one of my goals this year is that I would live each moment with intention and care. When I watch TV, which I will do, I want it to be something that is done with self-control and intention, and not something I do every single night to check out after a hard day.

Because sometimes, the difference between the spring of living water and a broken cistern that can hold no water is hard to spot. Sometimes what feels like it would be relaxing and refreshing is actually only sapping more life out me, and the thing that seems like it would require a lot of me (reading scripture, praying) is actually something where the Holy Spirit does pretty much all the work, and I just allow myself to be carried along in his river of grace.

So tonight I am saying no to the broken cistern, as tempting as it is to just check out/turn off/veg. I'm going to sit on the couch with my dog and cat and read for a bit, rather than watch more TV. Perhaps I'll go to bed a bit earlier than usual - I could really use some sleep.

After all, I don't want to wake up again tomorrow with a mouthful of sand.