Modern Day Idolatry
“You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.” Exodus 20:3-4 (NLT)
In this day and age many Christians think idolatry is a thing of the past or a thing of Eastern Religion or third-world countries who serve pagan gods. We tend to think of idolatry as a physical statue or item of worship—a physical image of another god…For example when the Israelites made a golden calf to worship at the base of Mount Sinai (Exodus 32). We often don’t even consider that idolatry is alive and thriving even among Christians today, even in our OWN homes and lives.
Idolatry has been defined as “1. worship of idols; and/or 2. excessive devotion to or reverence for some person or thing”. I like the definition of being “excessively devoted to something”. This seems to render more true of modern day idolatry than to think of worshiping an idol or graven image of a god.
Today idolatry takes on new forms. It’s not just golden statues. It could be anything that diverts attention away from serving God or anything that takes precedence over God. Idols could be simply any pleasure in life that we prioritize over God, any “excessive devotion to something” more than God.
It has to do with what we “treasure”, with what is in our hearts.
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)
Things we can idolize or “treasure”…
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- People (our spouses/significant others, our children, our friends)
- Hobbies
- Work/Career/Performance
- Fitness
- Physical appearance/image
- Social media
- Entertainment
- Music
- Traveling
- Food
- Sex/Lust
- Money
- Material possessions/superficial gain
- Fame
- Power
- Passions that we pursue
- Addictions
- Sometimes it’s even ourselves: “Me, me, me. It’s all about me and what I want and deserve.”