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Why God Hates Idols

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Idolatry has so many faces, all of them handsome. I have made an idol of something when I look to it, not God, for protection and provision, when I tailor the habits of my life to meet its demands.

Greed is an obvious idol. Obvious, that is, to all but the idolator. Scrooge was oblivious to the way his greed had reduced him to a cypher. He looked to money to provide and protect, and he built his life around acquiring and holding on to money, and his idol, like all idols, poisoned his entire life.

But it's not only a vice that can be my idol.

Any good things will do: the thirst for wisdom, love of country, love of family, any worthwhile endeavor can become the Deity for Whom I Would Sacrifice All. It is a kind of idolatry, in other words, that provokes a man to betray everything he believes in for The Cause: think of the pro-life assassin, the mother who retaliates against her daughter's rival, the man who abandons his wife and family for his soul-mate. Our problem is that we believe our own lies.

That's bad enough news, but there's more, and it's worse. 

What makes our idols so seductive is not just the fact that we lie to ourselves so well and believe our lies so easily, but also that we live among idolaters, people who share and approve of our values. If it ever does occur to us to question our allegiance to our idols, there is always that social pressure to keep us in line. For every man who wants to leave his wife for his new love, there is an entire support system of friends and confidantes who enthusiastically support and encourage his wicked ambition.

But there's even more, and it's even worse. 

Once we do admit to ourselves that we have a problem ("Hello, my name is Paul, and I'm an idolater"), we are reluctant to cope with it. The same rationalizations and self-deception that make diagnosis so difficult also complicate the treatment. When it comes to idols we find all kinds of ways to cushion the blow, save face, protect the Deity we really do adore.

But when we finally come to the end of ourselves, when we recognize our idol for the monstrous imposter it is, we can't help but know the truth here: there's really only one way to deal with an idol. Regardless how dearly beloved my idol may be, no matter how socially acceptable my idol is, no matter how many people support and encourage my habit, I must deal with my idols ruthlessly, as a doctor deals with cancer: thoroughly, decisively, finally.

This is no easy task, not unlike an addict trying to kick his habit. 

The self-destructive tendencies of idolatry are baked into our nature. Calvin was right about our hearts being factories of idols. This is why God hates idols so much, why His Son had to die to deliver us, and why He sent His Spirit to recalibrate us from the inside. As the Spirit bends the trajectory of our lives toward holiness, He gradually cleanses our hearts of idolatry, reorienting our affections and ambitions.


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