- I've been studying Revelation again and began studying about Babylon and it's destruction in Rev 18, and why God destroyed it. I wanted to know what the sins were that God hated so much, because I knew that those same sins must be present in our time too. I'm sure they've always been present, but felt they must be even worse in our time since everything seems to be so much worse now and we've been seeing so many previews of all the judgments that will be coming during the tribulation.
What I found both did and didn't surprise me. I guess the part that surprised me was because it's something the Lord has been teaching me about lately anyway. (He often seems to point out things He's teaching me personally during my study time lol) This time one of the main things was about idolatry. The Lord's been teaching me about the sin of idolatry for almost 2 years now, and I've discovered that it's much much more then just bowing down to some statue.
I think it would be safe to say that most of us would never think idolatry would be a problem for any of us. After all, we do worship the one true God, so we're safe, right? Wrong. The Lord's shown me so much about this sin, that it's mind boggling to me. I've learned since I wrote that first piece that idolatry is very much a sin that's familiar to all of us. This is the sin that's going to continue to grow until it's so ugly and monstrous that it should be obvious to all what a horrid sin it is.
One of the first ways I learned to define idolatry, besides bowing to a statue, was that it means putting anything before God and His Word. Most of us would instantly say that we would never do that, and we'd mean it too. But the Lord's shown me how insidious this sin is, and that in fact, most of us are guilty of it and not just once in a while. Yet another definition of idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn't true or trying to make Him something He isn't. It's something God also calls Spiritual adultery. If you think about it, God often accuses Israel of spiritual adultery in the OT, and He warns us from that in the NT too. But what is spiritual adultery? It's when we become involved in false teachings and things like that. It is NOT when we mistakenly believe something that's not true, because we haven't gotten to that truth yet in our daily studies with Him. But, if we hold to a false teaching, and do not study His Word with Him daily, then He does hold us responsible and does call it spiritual adultery and idolatry, because if we had, we would have known the truth.
Knowing this then, and knowing the state of the Church right now, seeing the direction it's going, it's easy to see how this sin is going to continue to grow. There will be no great revival to bring people back to the truth, like the false teachers say, before the rapture. So this is just going to get worse and worse. Then, after the rapture, although there will be a tremendous and great soul harvest during the tribulation, with many saved who know and live the Truth, this sin will continue to grow in the majority of mankind as they basically worship themselves as god, and/or the god they create in their one world religion.
This is one part of the sin of idolatry that will be practiced by the harlot, the woman riding the beast. Remember that she's dressed in purple, and gold and precious gems and jewels, showing luxury. This shows us the other part of the sin of idolatry practiced by her and all who follow her. (the one world religion). Remember how Jesus told us that the love of money was the root of all evil? This is another aspect of idolatry. It's when the love of pleasures or possessions becomes the most important thing in our lives. And this will be very true of the people during the tribulation.
In fact though, it's already true of the majority of the world, even of Christians. This was the hard one for me to learn about. At first I denied that I could possibly be guilty of this. After all, I don't have much money anyway! Think though of how Satan, the prince of the air, has used the media to encourage this sin in our lives. People were much more content with their lives (like God tells us to be) before radio and especially before TV! They weren't being constantly barraged with pictures and sounds of the "new, improved, and better" things they could have like we are. No matter what we own, we constantly see commercials for the same thing only the next model up that's newer, prettier, improved, better, etc. And of course, everyone wants it! Somehow, you lose your desire for the one you've got, and find that you just have to have the newer, better kind.
I think back to my parents childhood, then mine, my children's and now my grandchildren's and it's so very different! Now days, kids have things that many people didn't get until they were adults, if then! The US prides itself on being so prosperous, but what we are is idolatrous, not prosperous and it's getting worse every day.
Let me quote something from one of the commentaries about the verses describing the downfall of Babylon and the sins she's judged for, and see if it doesn't sound an awful lot like how it is today:
A third sin is Babylon’s worship of pleasures and luxury. To “live deliciously” (Rev. 18:7) is to live proudly in luxury while others go without. It means to make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life, and to ignore the needs of others. John summarized this attitude as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The world system satisfies the desires of the earth-dwellers who follow “the beast” and reject the Lamb. But worldly things never permanently satisfy or last. The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. The Bible exposition commentary.
Babylon’s sins (18:3). The verse links spiritual adultery (idolatry) with “excessive luxuries.” A focus on material things leads not only to self-indulgence but also to an arrogance which denies any need for God. The worldly person puts his or her hope in possessions and in this sense puts things in the place rightly occupied by God. Idolatry is not just bowing down to images; it is also relying on wealth or power rather than on the Lord. The Bible reader’s companion
When we need something, how often is our first thought of how much money we have...do we have enough to buy what we need or want? Do we have enough to see the doctor or pay for those tests? Do we think of things like that or think of how we might be able to make the money before we ever think of God who is our real provider?
I've found that the twin to this is the sin of self idolatry because we often rely on ourselves long before we turn to God. We save God for the things we can't do for ourselves. At least most of us do until we learn better. When I first heard the term, "self idolatry", I thought it meant worshiping myself, and again figured I was safe. But that's not quite it is it? It's when we rely on ourselves instead of God, and that's already something just about everyone's guilty of in our time, and again is only going to get worse.
Note too how idolatry is linked to Satan and the demonic. It's easy to see in God's Word how the love of pleasure and possessions soon draws demons into our lives. So many warnings against getting caught up in it, both in the old and new testaments. Now we know why. And look how all these forms of idolatry are growing tremendously, and right along side them, so is the occult and new age trash, and the false teachings like the prosperity gospel! It's all nothing more then idolatry.
Suddenly, Babylon was looking awfully familiar! I wrote about it when God first started teaching me about idolatry and what it really was, I used to think that I couldn't ever be an idolater... thinking I'd learned my lesson. I had no idea there was so much more to learn! I see now that much of what we consider normal in life is nothing more then idolatry. God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be a constant part of our lives... of every thought, every action. He's not interested in being a part time God or a genie when we want something. That was one of the things that impressed me in studying Leviticus. His laws were made so that the Israelites were forced to make him part of everything they did, and that was the point. When I think back to the first Christians, that's how they lived too, especially since they knew that at any moment they could be arrested and/or killed for their faith, and also believed that at any moment Jesus could return. In reading Revelation, I realized that's how the tribulation saints will also live, except they'll know almost exactly when Jesus will be returning. Neither group makes us look very good does it? I have to admit it really makes me ashamed of myself. It makes me want desperately to live only for Him, to make Him proud of me. I want to heed His call to come out of her, don't you? I'd like to end with what one of my commentaries says about Rev 18:
Our American society increasingly has traits in common with Babylon: materialism, a passion for luxury, and growing immorality especially reflected in movies, literature, and contemporary music. Our society too will share Babylon’s judgment—perhaps before Christ comes. Let’s make sure our allegiance to Christ is so strong that when our Babylon crumbles we will have grace to rejoice. The Bible reader’s companion
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Showing posts with label Idols. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Idols. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2015
The Downfall of Babylon & The World Today
An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel
An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel
In Ezekiel 8 God actually seems to give us a thumbnail view of the end times, the rapture and the tribulation!
In this chapter, Ezekiel is having a vision and God shows him how evil the people and even the priests have become and how they're misleading the people and encouraging them to sin. He showed him people that "everyone thought were godly" but who in reality were quite wicked and misleading the people. Even in the Temple itself, the priests had literally turned their backs on God. Oh they still did all the rituals they were supposed to, but when they weren't doing those things, they were worshiping false gods and doing other detestable things. It reminds me of this verse:
‘they have no shame at all, they do not even know how to blush.’ Jer. 6:15.
Sounds like our society now doesn't it? Not only do people not feel shame about their sins, they promote them and advertise them as entertainment! I don't know how many times that thought goes through my mind each evening when we see the commercials for current programs on TV. It's like each program or movie is based on one or more sins and how great it is. Let's see if I can remember a few of the current ones I've seen the ads for: "sex in the city" or something like that, but then most of them have something to do with one kind or another of illegitimate sex. Then there's one in particular that's all about "revenge" and it's commercial is all about how we all want to get revenge on those that have hurt us. I don't think they miss a single sin. On any day of the week, you can turn on the TV and get your fill of adultery, homosexuality, porn, premarital sex, greed, coveting, gossiping, lying, stealing, murder, hate, revenge, disrespect of parents, teachers, pastors, government officials, etc. There's also plenty of idolatry and paganism available for any who want it, as well as taking God's Name in vain and using vulgar language etc. All dressed up as entertainment. Don't even get me started about false teachers! We all know how bad that situation is now!
People don't repent of sin anymore. Instead they either label it as an Illness or they legalize it and tell us we need to be tolerant of it. People today delight in their sins and the sins of others, instead of repenting of them and praying for mercy. Like Judah in Ezekiel 8, we seem to think that God doesn't see it or us, and/or doesn't care.
After God has shown him all the evil the priests and the people are doing in the land, God says this to him:
Ezekiel 8:17–18 —He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! *18 * Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” *
That's the end of chapter 8, and in the next chapter God calls in Angelic guards and look at what He orders them to do:
Ezekiel 9:4 — and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” *
He makes sure that all those who love Him are marked on their foreheads--very much like He does in Revelation with the 144,000 witnesses. Then, just like in Revelation, He commands that they be protected from harm and orders that His judgment is to go out on the rest of the people in Judah.
Ezekiel 9:5–6 —As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. *6 * Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. *
I was thinking that the way the Lord first marked those who belonged to Him and then kept them safe from the destruction is a lot like what will happen at the rapture. We've all been marked/sealed with the Holy Spirit and when the rapture happens, the judgments to come on the earth won't touch us.
Just as this judgment began with the elders in the temple, so after the rapture, the first to realize what happened and what their own fate is now, will be those false teachers that have so polluted God's Word and taught heresy.
Just as the priests of Judah polluted God's temple with their idolatry, so that God's presence then left the temple (Ezekiel 10) for He will not share His glory with idols, so the false teachers of today have polluted His temple--the body of Christ with idolatry and other sin. Therefore the true body of Christ will be removed from this earth just as God removed Himself from the Temple then, and next the judgment begins.
Please don't misunderstand me...I'm not suggesting that this is what God is teaching us from these chapters, or that their main purpose is to point toward the rapture and tribulation to come. I don't think that's true at all. But I do think it's one of the things that we can see in these chapters.
I also think that His main message in these chapters are just as desperately needed today as they were then:
That those who turn their backs on God and His Word are leaving themselves wide open for judgment, for judgment will come. It might be delayed but eventually all will pay for their sins. When that time comes, it will then be too late for them to "repent" and escape judgment. What I mean is that they can repent, but they will still be judged for it will be late for them to escape that as God won't listen to their cries. (again like it will be at the rapture...those who do instantly realize what happened and repent will still have to go through the trib.) Those who don't repent at all will perish in their sin, just as these people did when the angel slaughtered them. These chapters also teach that God will never abandon those who do belong to Him and have given Him their hearts. They will always be safe in Him.
To me, the message for our world today is the same it's always been: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! And His message to those who belong to Him is
Hebrews 10:35–38— So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. *36 * You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. *37 * For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. *38 * But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” *
Revelation 3:11 —I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. *
Even so, Come Lord Jesus!!!!
In Ezekiel 8 God actually seems to give us a thumbnail view of the end times, the rapture and the tribulation!
In this chapter, Ezekiel is having a vision and God shows him how evil the people and even the priests have become and how they're misleading the people and encouraging them to sin. He showed him people that "everyone thought were godly" but who in reality were quite wicked and misleading the people. Even in the Temple itself, the priests had literally turned their backs on God. Oh they still did all the rituals they were supposed to, but when they weren't doing those things, they were worshiping false gods and doing other detestable things. It reminds me of this verse:
‘they have no shame at all, they do not even know how to blush.’ Jer. 6:15.
Sounds like our society now doesn't it? Not only do people not feel shame about their sins, they promote them and advertise them as entertainment! I don't know how many times that thought goes through my mind each evening when we see the commercials for current programs on TV. It's like each program or movie is based on one or more sins and how great it is. Let's see if I can remember a few of the current ones I've seen the ads for: "sex in the city" or something like that, but then most of them have something to do with one kind or another of illegitimate sex. Then there's one in particular that's all about "revenge" and it's commercial is all about how we all want to get revenge on those that have hurt us. I don't think they miss a single sin. On any day of the week, you can turn on the TV and get your fill of adultery, homosexuality, porn, premarital sex, greed, coveting, gossiping, lying, stealing, murder, hate, revenge, disrespect of parents, teachers, pastors, government officials, etc. There's also plenty of idolatry and paganism available for any who want it, as well as taking God's Name in vain and using vulgar language etc. All dressed up as entertainment. Don't even get me started about false teachers! We all know how bad that situation is now!
People don't repent of sin anymore. Instead they either label it as an Illness or they legalize it and tell us we need to be tolerant of it. People today delight in their sins and the sins of others, instead of repenting of them and praying for mercy. Like Judah in Ezekiel 8, we seem to think that God doesn't see it or us, and/or doesn't care.
After God has shown him all the evil the priests and the people are doing in the land, God says this to him:
Ezekiel 8:17–18 —He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! *18 * Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” *
That's the end of chapter 8, and in the next chapter God calls in Angelic guards and look at what He orders them to do:
Ezekiel 9:4 — and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” *
He makes sure that all those who love Him are marked on their foreheads--very much like He does in Revelation with the 144,000 witnesses. Then, just like in Revelation, He commands that they be protected from harm and orders that His judgment is to go out on the rest of the people in Judah.
Ezekiel 9:5–6 —As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. *6 * Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. *
I was thinking that the way the Lord first marked those who belonged to Him and then kept them safe from the destruction is a lot like what will happen at the rapture. We've all been marked/sealed with the Holy Spirit and when the rapture happens, the judgments to come on the earth won't touch us.
Just as this judgment began with the elders in the temple, so after the rapture, the first to realize what happened and what their own fate is now, will be those false teachers that have so polluted God's Word and taught heresy.
Just as the priests of Judah polluted God's temple with their idolatry, so that God's presence then left the temple (Ezekiel 10) for He will not share His glory with idols, so the false teachers of today have polluted His temple--the body of Christ with idolatry and other sin. Therefore the true body of Christ will be removed from this earth just as God removed Himself from the Temple then, and next the judgment begins.
Please don't misunderstand me...I'm not suggesting that this is what God is teaching us from these chapters, or that their main purpose is to point toward the rapture and tribulation to come. I don't think that's true at all. But I do think it's one of the things that we can see in these chapters.
I also think that His main message in these chapters are just as desperately needed today as they were then:
That those who turn their backs on God and His Word are leaving themselves wide open for judgment, for judgment will come. It might be delayed but eventually all will pay for their sins. When that time comes, it will then be too late for them to "repent" and escape judgment. What I mean is that they can repent, but they will still be judged for it will be late for them to escape that as God won't listen to their cries. (again like it will be at the rapture...those who do instantly realize what happened and repent will still have to go through the trib.) Those who don't repent at all will perish in their sin, just as these people did when the angel slaughtered them. These chapters also teach that God will never abandon those who do belong to Him and have given Him their hearts. They will always be safe in Him.
To me, the message for our world today is the same it's always been: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! And His message to those who belong to Him is
Hebrews 10:35–38— So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. *36 * You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. *37 * For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. *38 * But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” *
Revelation 3:11 —I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. *
Even so, Come Lord Jesus!!!!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
King David teaches us about idols and false gods
I've been really wanting to share all of what the Lord showed me this morning and taught me from 2 Samuel 12. It's really amazing!
The year before this chapter begins, David had sinned against the Lord. He's seen Bathsheba naked and did not take his thoughts or imagination captive. Instead he dwelled on the thoughts of lust and let his imagination run wild with them. Next, he used his position of authority to get Bathsheba into his house and have sex with her. When she became pregnant and his scheme began to fall apart, he then used his authority (which the Lord had given him) to have her husband killed. During all this time he was also sinning by not taking his sinful thoughts captive and replacing them with God's truth. Plus he was continually trying to hide his sin instead of confessing it and repenting because he didn't want to stop. He now had a false god and idol. He had placed fulfilling his lust above God, showing that he loved himself, more then he loved God.
David must have been happy during that past year though right? I mean after all he got to play with Bathsheba during that time and that's what he'd wanted, right? Wrong! Psalm 32 and 51 tell us a little of how he felt during that year: Psalm 32:3–4 —When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. *For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah * He was being disciplined by the Lord during that year as the Lord wanted to bring him to repentance and that discipline began as soon as he refused to take that first thought captive! He eventually became sick and weak, unable to do the things he normally did due to his illness. He was sick at heart as well as his body for he knew he was living in sin. Yet, he still wouldn't give it up or confess it, and he still continued to sin, to hide it and then to sin more by having her husband killed. He lost his joy, he was no longer a good witness for the Lord, and his power. The Lord wasn't going to answer his prayers when he was doing this, that's for sure! He probably became short with people, snapping at the least little thing, as well as grumpy until he became downright depressed.
Strange isn't it. He got what he wanted, even though he knew it was a sin, and yet instead of being happy, he winds up depressed! We see that the Lord gave David more then enough time to confess and repent of his sin on his own...over a year, but still he refused, so the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to him with a message.
Nathan pretended he was telling David about a case that needed to be judged, though he never said that. He just let David think so, and told him about a rich man who had badly used a poor man by taking the poor man's one and only ewe. David got very angry when he heard what the man had done and said that the man should be put to death for it, and should have to pay back what he'd taken 4 times over. Although angry, he was still being fair because that's what God's law calls for in such a situation. Isn't it funny how easy it is to see other people's sins and judge them, but how hard it is to see our own at times?
It was then that Nathan revealed to David that he was the man he had been talking about. Nathan then told him what God said about it: that He'd given David all he had, made him King, given him power and authority and all the women and servants he had, made him victorious over all his enemies, etc. and still David took another man's only wife and then had him killed. He then told David what his sin would cost him. I'm sure David was totally stunned, but to his credit, he finally stopped hiding, didn't try to make any excuses, and immediately confessed, agreeing that he had indeed sinned against the Lord.
At that point, Nathan assured David that the Lord would allow him to live even though the death sentence was what the law called for for what he'd done. However, there were severe consequences for his sin which would still come to pass. Those consequences, all of which the Lord had told him, began as soon as Nathan left that day. One of my commentaries explains this better then I can so I'll simply quote what it says:
God was ready to forgive David’s sins, but He could not prevent those sins from “bringing forth death” (James 1:15). God’s grace forgives, but God’s government must allow sinners to reap what they sow. Psalm 99:8: "you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds." “He shall restore fourfold!” David had declared punishment concerning the man in Nathan’s story, so God accepted his sentence. The sword never did depart from David’s household: the baby died; Absalomkilled Amnon, who had ruined Tamar (both men are David's sons and Tamar is his daughter); then Joab killed Absalom (2 Sam 18:9–17); and Adonijah (David's son) was slain by Benaiah (1 Kings 2:24–25). Fourfold! Add to these trials the awful ruin of Tamar, the shameful treatment of David’s wives by his son Absalom (2 Sam 12:11; 2 Sam 16:20–23), plus the rebellion of Absalom, and you can see that David paid dearly for a few moments of lustful pleasure. He sowed lust and reaped the same; he sowed murder and reaped murders, for “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines
We often console ourselves thinking, "Well, David's sins were awful so that's probably why there were such terrible consequences". The problem with that kind of thinking is that God considers all sin the same. It doesn't matter if it's telling a little white lie, not studying His Word, cheating, or killing someone. The consequences of all sin is death. I'm not saying that if we tell a little white lie that someone in our family is going to die-not at all! God is always just. What I'm saying though is that we tend to make our own sins seem very little, especially in comparison to what David did. Yet David's first sin was that he simply didn't take his thoughts captive and replace them with God's Truth. How often do we do that??? And we usually think we get away with it too, don't we? But we never do. Never. Not because God is mean - far from it! But because God is righteous and just and fair and mostly because He loves us and wants what is best for us. It's always easy for us to say the way we've been treated isn't fair, but if someone were to do the same thing to us, we certainly wouldn't want them to get off the hook.
The consequences of David's sins lasted the for the rest of his life and the lives of his children. Again, not because God's mean, but simply because that's what sin does. It's done that since the very first sin. Look at how long the consequences of Adam's sin has lasted... it's still going on! I have looked back on my own life and can honestly say that I can see how my own sins, even "little sins" have affected my children and are still affecting them. It's another aspect of sin that we often choose to ignore and not think about. Especially if the sin is something we want to do like David did. But our sins affect our children and other people as well. It is not just us that is affected by them. Everyone pays when someone sins. That's why God hates sin so much. He hates to see us hurt. He loves us. Think how we as parents feel when we know someone or something is hurting our child - we'll do anything to stop it! We hate it! Well, that's a small taste of how God feels toward all sin because He knows far better then we do, just how horribly sin hurts us, His children whom He loves.
He knows we are enslaved to and by sin and because He loves us and hates how it hurts us, He was even willing to come and die so we could finally be free from it. And so we are, just as David was freed when God forgave his sins. Yet the consequences of those sin continued just as ours do. God will not stop the law of gravity because someone was stupid enough to think they could fly off their roof. Nor will he stop the consequences of our sins because if He did, there would be nothing to stop us from continuing to sin. God's grace forgives us, but His government must allow us to reap what we have sown, even though it hurts Him as much as us.
The Lord shows us something else that's very important in this story that we often overlook. Often when we sin, especially if we think it's a "terrible sin" like I'm sure David did, we then decide that He can no longer use us, that we're no good to Him anymore. We'll spend hours, days, months, sometimes years, thinking about what a horrible thing we did and how bad we were and "now God can't use us". But that too is a lie that needs to be taken captive and replaced with the truth God shows us here. Because after David confessed and repented, God did indeed use him and bless him. He even sent Nathan back to him to assure him that he was being blessed.
After the child that had been conceived in sin had died, God caused Bathsheba to become pregnant again, with another son. This time she gave birth to a boy they named Solomon. The Lord sent Nathan to tell David that He loved this child and of course David knew that the child had been given him by the Lord as all children are. Next the Lord gave David yet another victory over his enemies and another crown.
We see that as soon as David had confessed and repented of his sin, although there would be consequences from the sin, his relationship with the Lord was completely restored. This is shown in more detail in psalms 32 and 51. It's very true of all of us as well. When we're forgiven, God promises to never bring our sin up to us or anyone else, not even Himself, ever again, and to never use it against us. What an awesome God we serve! When we're forgiven, God restores us to our previous place of service and our relationship with Him is repaired. We once again have the joy of our salvation. So we must never allow Satan to trick us into thinking that we've gone too far or that we can't be used by the Lord anymore etc. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more!
Of course there's much much more in this chapter then what I've shown here, but this will have to do for now. Please read 2 Samuel 12 and then read psalm 32 and psalm 51. When reading the psalms see if you can see what David lost and how he felt during his year of sin and what he gained and how he felt when he finally confessed and repented of his sin. The reason being that his experience is one we all share when we sin, regardless of what our sin is. If there's any portion of the psalms or of 2 Samuel 12 that you'd like to discuss, I'll be happy to do so. I hope you also see how this all relates to our false gods and idols as well.
The year before this chapter begins, David had sinned against the Lord. He's seen Bathsheba naked and did not take his thoughts or imagination captive. Instead he dwelled on the thoughts of lust and let his imagination run wild with them. Next, he used his position of authority to get Bathsheba into his house and have sex with her. When she became pregnant and his scheme began to fall apart, he then used his authority (which the Lord had given him) to have her husband killed. During all this time he was also sinning by not taking his sinful thoughts captive and replacing them with God's truth. Plus he was continually trying to hide his sin instead of confessing it and repenting because he didn't want to stop. He now had a false god and idol. He had placed fulfilling his lust above God, showing that he loved himself, more then he loved God.
David must have been happy during that past year though right? I mean after all he got to play with Bathsheba during that time and that's what he'd wanted, right? Wrong! Psalm 32 and 51 tell us a little of how he felt during that year: Psalm 32:3–4 —When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. *For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah * He was being disciplined by the Lord during that year as the Lord wanted to bring him to repentance and that discipline began as soon as he refused to take that first thought captive! He eventually became sick and weak, unable to do the things he normally did due to his illness. He was sick at heart as well as his body for he knew he was living in sin. Yet, he still wouldn't give it up or confess it, and he still continued to sin, to hide it and then to sin more by having her husband killed. He lost his joy, he was no longer a good witness for the Lord, and his power. The Lord wasn't going to answer his prayers when he was doing this, that's for sure! He probably became short with people, snapping at the least little thing, as well as grumpy until he became downright depressed.
Strange isn't it. He got what he wanted, even though he knew it was a sin, and yet instead of being happy, he winds up depressed! We see that the Lord gave David more then enough time to confess and repent of his sin on his own...over a year, but still he refused, so the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to him with a message.
Nathan pretended he was telling David about a case that needed to be judged, though he never said that. He just let David think so, and told him about a rich man who had badly used a poor man by taking the poor man's one and only ewe. David got very angry when he heard what the man had done and said that the man should be put to death for it, and should have to pay back what he'd taken 4 times over. Although angry, he was still being fair because that's what God's law calls for in such a situation. Isn't it funny how easy it is to see other people's sins and judge them, but how hard it is to see our own at times?
It was then that Nathan revealed to David that he was the man he had been talking about. Nathan then told him what God said about it: that He'd given David all he had, made him King, given him power and authority and all the women and servants he had, made him victorious over all his enemies, etc. and still David took another man's only wife and then had him killed. He then told David what his sin would cost him. I'm sure David was totally stunned, but to his credit, he finally stopped hiding, didn't try to make any excuses, and immediately confessed, agreeing that he had indeed sinned against the Lord.
At that point, Nathan assured David that the Lord would allow him to live even though the death sentence was what the law called for for what he'd done. However, there were severe consequences for his sin which would still come to pass. Those consequences, all of which the Lord had told him, began as soon as Nathan left that day. One of my commentaries explains this better then I can so I'll simply quote what it says:
God was ready to forgive David’s sins, but He could not prevent those sins from “bringing forth death” (James 1:15). God’s grace forgives, but God’s government must allow sinners to reap what they sow. Psalm 99:8: "you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds." “He shall restore fourfold!” David had declared punishment concerning the man in Nathan’s story, so God accepted his sentence. The sword never did depart from David’s household: the baby died; Absalomkilled Amnon, who had ruined Tamar (both men are David's sons and Tamar is his daughter); then Joab killed Absalom (2 Sam 18:9–17); and Adonijah (David's son) was slain by Benaiah (1 Kings 2:24–25). Fourfold! Add to these trials the awful ruin of Tamar, the shameful treatment of David’s wives by his son Absalom (2 Sam 12:11; 2 Sam 16:20–23), plus the rebellion of Absalom, and you can see that David paid dearly for a few moments of lustful pleasure. He sowed lust and reaped the same; he sowed murder and reaped murders, for “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines
We often console ourselves thinking, "Well, David's sins were awful so that's probably why there were such terrible consequences". The problem with that kind of thinking is that God considers all sin the same. It doesn't matter if it's telling a little white lie, not studying His Word, cheating, or killing someone. The consequences of all sin is death. I'm not saying that if we tell a little white lie that someone in our family is going to die-not at all! God is always just. What I'm saying though is that we tend to make our own sins seem very little, especially in comparison to what David did. Yet David's first sin was that he simply didn't take his thoughts captive and replace them with God's Truth. How often do we do that??? And we usually think we get away with it too, don't we? But we never do. Never. Not because God is mean - far from it! But because God is righteous and just and fair and mostly because He loves us and wants what is best for us. It's always easy for us to say the way we've been treated isn't fair, but if someone were to do the same thing to us, we certainly wouldn't want them to get off the hook.
The consequences of David's sins lasted the for the rest of his life and the lives of his children. Again, not because God's mean, but simply because that's what sin does. It's done that since the very first sin. Look at how long the consequences of Adam's sin has lasted... it's still going on! I have looked back on my own life and can honestly say that I can see how my own sins, even "little sins" have affected my children and are still affecting them. It's another aspect of sin that we often choose to ignore and not think about. Especially if the sin is something we want to do like David did. But our sins affect our children and other people as well. It is not just us that is affected by them. Everyone pays when someone sins. That's why God hates sin so much. He hates to see us hurt. He loves us. Think how we as parents feel when we know someone or something is hurting our child - we'll do anything to stop it! We hate it! Well, that's a small taste of how God feels toward all sin because He knows far better then we do, just how horribly sin hurts us, His children whom He loves.
He knows we are enslaved to and by sin and because He loves us and hates how it hurts us, He was even willing to come and die so we could finally be free from it. And so we are, just as David was freed when God forgave his sins. Yet the consequences of those sin continued just as ours do. God will not stop the law of gravity because someone was stupid enough to think they could fly off their roof. Nor will he stop the consequences of our sins because if He did, there would be nothing to stop us from continuing to sin. God's grace forgives us, but His government must allow us to reap what we have sown, even though it hurts Him as much as us.
The Lord shows us something else that's very important in this story that we often overlook. Often when we sin, especially if we think it's a "terrible sin" like I'm sure David did, we then decide that He can no longer use us, that we're no good to Him anymore. We'll spend hours, days, months, sometimes years, thinking about what a horrible thing we did and how bad we were and "now God can't use us". But that too is a lie that needs to be taken captive and replaced with the truth God shows us here. Because after David confessed and repented, God did indeed use him and bless him. He even sent Nathan back to him to assure him that he was being blessed.
After the child that had been conceived in sin had died, God caused Bathsheba to become pregnant again, with another son. This time she gave birth to a boy they named Solomon. The Lord sent Nathan to tell David that He loved this child and of course David knew that the child had been given him by the Lord as all children are. Next the Lord gave David yet another victory over his enemies and another crown.
We see that as soon as David had confessed and repented of his sin, although there would be consequences from the sin, his relationship with the Lord was completely restored. This is shown in more detail in psalms 32 and 51. It's very true of all of us as well. When we're forgiven, God promises to never bring our sin up to us or anyone else, not even Himself, ever again, and to never use it against us. What an awesome God we serve! When we're forgiven, God restores us to our previous place of service and our relationship with Him is repaired. We once again have the joy of our salvation. So we must never allow Satan to trick us into thinking that we've gone too far or that we can't be used by the Lord anymore etc. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more!
Of course there's much much more in this chapter then what I've shown here, but this will have to do for now. Please read 2 Samuel 12 and then read psalm 32 and psalm 51. When reading the psalms see if you can see what David lost and how he felt during his year of sin and what he gained and how he felt when he finally confessed and repented of his sin. The reason being that his experience is one we all share when we sin, regardless of what our sin is. If there's any portion of the psalms or of 2 Samuel 12 that you'd like to discuss, I'll be happy to do so. I hope you also see how this all relates to our false gods and idols as well.
- The Civilized World’s Made Things Harder For
- Examples of Modern False Gods and Idols
- Important points about False God's and Idols
- The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
- What are your false gods, your idols?
- I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
- I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
- From the heights of revelation to the valley of id...
Important points about False God's and Idols
There are several points in this discussion about idols and false gods that are important to understand
and reflect on. The first being just how much we personally, really
believe in God and how much we believe He can, will and does interact
with us and our lives.
Like I said in the beginning, if we really believe in God and that He does and will interact in our lives, then our words and actions will show that.
Secondly, we need to know that God commands us to be in control of our thoughts and emotions all the time. That's one reason He tells us to take our thoughts captive and replace those that are lies with His Truth. There's so much written in His Word about how we're to control our thoughts and feelings, that it's rare to find a single page that doesn't say something about it in one way or another. When Adam sinned, his mind was corrupted by that sin and that was passed on to his children, and ultimately to us. That's why no unbeliever can understand God or His word unless He's being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Once we're saved, that doesn't mean that our minds are suddenly supernaturally healed of that corruption though. Instead, God gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and teach us what His Word says. The "trick" is that we have to ask Him to teach us and listen to Him when He does. This is why even someone who is saved and has the Holy Spirit within them, can read the Bible and still not understand it. Without God's teaching and guiding, we will simply apply man's corrupted philosophy to God's Word.
However, with the Lord's guidance and teaching, and if we are applying His Word to our lives - living it, doing what it says, and not just reading it, the longer we're in His Word, the more and more our minds will be transformed to be more like His. They'll still have the corruption of sin, but because we've filled our minds with His Word and reflect on His Word so much, that will in a sense overcome the corruption to a large degree. At least to the point where we're able to have stored so much of the Lord's Word in our minds and hearts that our thoughts, feelings and our life itself, reflect Him more then the corruption of sin. Still, even then we can never rely on our own knowledge, but instead must continuously rely on His Word. Our minds won't be without corruption though until that great day when we finally receive the completion of our salvation and receive our new bodies, with our new minds and hearts that don't have the taint of sin.
As I've heard so often said, and it's true, the battle is for our hearts & minds. God wants us to love Him with all our hearts and minds and strength. So that's why Satan does his best to keep our minds as corrupted as possible so we can't escape him.
Why do you think that Satan has set forth the worldview that we have to "love ourselves"? This isn't anything new. It was one of the big things that brought down the Roman Empire eventually. We're following the very same path they went down, and they followed Satan's idea that we should make ourselves "number one" and "love ourselves" first and foremost. This is what Satan's worldview has taught from the time Satan fell from his heavenly position. This is so ingrained in us all now, along with the self esteem garbage the worlds mixed in with it, that most people never even question whether or not it's scriptural. They're so used to it that it's like the law of gravity to them - it just "is". And I include most Christians in this too.
This is how Satan set us up to have ourselves as a false god, and for some people, to have our community or nation as a false god as well. One red flag to look for to see if you've made yourself a false god, is if there's a lot of what I call the self sins going on in your life. One of the big self sins is "pride" and it's also one of the few that don't have the word "self" attached to it. Often people think that we must be proud of ourselves to make ourselves into a false god or idol, but while that certainly happens, it's not always true. A person who's depressed is often actually taking pride in their self pity in a perverted sort of way, although they don't usually realize it. They're often so consumed by themselves that they can't see the forest for all the trees. It often takes someone else to get them to step back from themselves long enough so they can actually see what they're doing. In a strange way though, that's very much like what Satan did when he fell. He was totally and completely consumed with himself -though not due to depression. He was more like the joke we've seen where the person is so taken by themselves that you see them primping as they stare into a mirror, admiring themselves.
Thirdly, we need to also recognize that while we most likely do make ourselves into a false god at times, we have also set up other false gods to run to as needed. We need to take a look at those thoughts and emotions that we take captive and see if any of them lead to a false god or two. If we suspect they do, then we need to hold them up to our view of God and see how they stand up to it. Is our view, our belief in God stronger then our false god? Or is our belief in the real God so low that we have no trouble hanging on to our false gods? If so, then we obviously need to work on making God more real to ourselves. (actually, that's not a bad idea even if we don't find any false gods) We do that through continued daily study of His Word with Him and just plain talking to Him about it and asking Him to help us make Him more real to ourselves. The more we do that, and the longer we've done it, the more our faith and trust in Him will grow. The more real He will be to us, and our lives will show that.
Lastly we have to remove the false gods from our lives and give that space back to the real God.
Other posts about this subject:
Like I said in the beginning, if we really believe in God and that He does and will interact in our lives, then our words and actions will show that.
Secondly, we need to know that God commands us to be in control of our thoughts and emotions all the time. That's one reason He tells us to take our thoughts captive and replace those that are lies with His Truth. There's so much written in His Word about how we're to control our thoughts and feelings, that it's rare to find a single page that doesn't say something about it in one way or another. When Adam sinned, his mind was corrupted by that sin and that was passed on to his children, and ultimately to us. That's why no unbeliever can understand God or His word unless He's being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Once we're saved, that doesn't mean that our minds are suddenly supernaturally healed of that corruption though. Instead, God gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and teach us what His Word says. The "trick" is that we have to ask Him to teach us and listen to Him when He does. This is why even someone who is saved and has the Holy Spirit within them, can read the Bible and still not understand it. Without God's teaching and guiding, we will simply apply man's corrupted philosophy to God's Word.
However, with the Lord's guidance and teaching, and if we are applying His Word to our lives - living it, doing what it says, and not just reading it, the longer we're in His Word, the more and more our minds will be transformed to be more like His. They'll still have the corruption of sin, but because we've filled our minds with His Word and reflect on His Word so much, that will in a sense overcome the corruption to a large degree. At least to the point where we're able to have stored so much of the Lord's Word in our minds and hearts that our thoughts, feelings and our life itself, reflect Him more then the corruption of sin. Still, even then we can never rely on our own knowledge, but instead must continuously rely on His Word. Our minds won't be without corruption though until that great day when we finally receive the completion of our salvation and receive our new bodies, with our new minds and hearts that don't have the taint of sin.
As I've heard so often said, and it's true, the battle is for our hearts & minds. God wants us to love Him with all our hearts and minds and strength. So that's why Satan does his best to keep our minds as corrupted as possible so we can't escape him.
Why do you think that Satan has set forth the worldview that we have to "love ourselves"? This isn't anything new. It was one of the big things that brought down the Roman Empire eventually. We're following the very same path they went down, and they followed Satan's idea that we should make ourselves "number one" and "love ourselves" first and foremost. This is what Satan's worldview has taught from the time Satan fell from his heavenly position. This is so ingrained in us all now, along with the self esteem garbage the worlds mixed in with it, that most people never even question whether or not it's scriptural. They're so used to it that it's like the law of gravity to them - it just "is". And I include most Christians in this too.
This is how Satan set us up to have ourselves as a false god, and for some people, to have our community or nation as a false god as well. One red flag to look for to see if you've made yourself a false god, is if there's a lot of what I call the self sins going on in your life. One of the big self sins is "pride" and it's also one of the few that don't have the word "self" attached to it. Often people think that we must be proud of ourselves to make ourselves into a false god or idol, but while that certainly happens, it's not always true. A person who's depressed is often actually taking pride in their self pity in a perverted sort of way, although they don't usually realize it. They're often so consumed by themselves that they can't see the forest for all the trees. It often takes someone else to get them to step back from themselves long enough so they can actually see what they're doing. In a strange way though, that's very much like what Satan did when he fell. He was totally and completely consumed with himself -though not due to depression. He was more like the joke we've seen where the person is so taken by themselves that you see them primping as they stare into a mirror, admiring themselves.
Thirdly, we need to also recognize that while we most likely do make ourselves into a false god at times, we have also set up other false gods to run to as needed. We need to take a look at those thoughts and emotions that we take captive and see if any of them lead to a false god or two. If we suspect they do, then we need to hold them up to our view of God and see how they stand up to it. Is our view, our belief in God stronger then our false god? Or is our belief in the real God so low that we have no trouble hanging on to our false gods? If so, then we obviously need to work on making God more real to ourselves. (actually, that's not a bad idea even if we don't find any false gods) We do that through continued daily study of His Word with Him and just plain talking to Him about it and asking Him to help us make Him more real to ourselves. The more we do that, and the longer we've done it, the more our faith and trust in Him will grow. The more real He will be to us, and our lives will show that.
Lastly we have to remove the false gods from our lives and give that space back to the real God.
Other posts about this subject:
- The Civilized World’s Made Things Harder For
- Examples of Modern False Gods and Idols
- The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
- What are your false gods, your idols?
- I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
- I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
- From the heights of revelation to the valley of id...
Examples of Modern False Gods and Idols
I was asked to give examples of things we might be worshiping today without knowing it. Let me first share something that will help
you identify things in your own life that either were false gods in the
past or are false gods to you now. Whenever something, or someone
becomes very important to you, there's a danger of it being or becoming a
false god. Normally when something or someone is real important to us,
we attach very strong feelings to it. Those strong feelings then can
be a "warning sign" for us to look and see what is causing the feeling.
We've already learned to take our thoughts captive, so this will simply
be one more step to take whenever we are feeling a strong negative
emotion like anger or bitterness, or fear, etc. When we feel those
things, the first thing we need to do still is to take it captive and
replace it with God's Truth. Once we've done that though, we should
then ask ourselves some questions to determine if that anger or fear or
whatever we felt is pointing to a false god. Please know that just
because we get really angry, fearful, jealous, sad, or something does
NOT mean that there is definitely a false god involved, but it is
possible. What is does mean for sure is that if nothing else we need to
talk to the Lord about it and find our what is causing it so we can
overcome it with His help.
Any thing or person that is a false god in our lives is going to cause us to have strong emotions about it, so that's why they can be used as warning signs. What are some questions you could ask yourself to find out if there is a false god behind those feelings? I ask myself things like: “Why do I feel threatened?” “What am I afraid I am going to lose?” “What goal, desire, or belief is being blocked or threatened?” “What’s so important that it's causing me to explode or lose control?” "Where is this coming from?" "What's adding fuel to this emotion?" If we want to discover our false gods, it's important to trace overwhelming feelings and reactions back to their source. Most important, we need to ask the Lord to help us look behind these feelings to discover if we may have turned something or someone into a false god - into the "ultimate thing of importance" in our lives.
As for examples, the easiest way for me to do that is to share what the Lord has shown me in my own life. I have to admit though, this one really shocked me! Many here know that I've had some difficulties with my adult children over the years. Something happened recently that caused me to feel deeply hurt and disappointed with some of them again. (notice the strong emotions I felt) I did take the thoughts and emotions captive and began to dwell on God's truth instead of the incident in order to replace those thoughts and feelings with Him and His Truth. Once I was sure that I was under control, I then began talking to the Lord about it.
That was when He pointed out to me that my children had become a false god in my life. To say I was shocked would be an understatement! I wanted to deny it; I didn't want to believe it, but I knew the Lord was right. My children and my relationship with them as a whole, had indeed become a false god. They were the thing in my life that was "most important". They had taken God's place in my heart. I was looking to them for love, acceptance and approval, instead of looking to God for those things. In fact, I wanted those things from them, more then I wanted them from God. I would sometimes allow thoughts and feelings about my children, or about something they'd done or not done, to determine how I acted or felt instead of being obedient to God.
The Lord showed me all that and more and of course I repented of it. Since then, I've felt a great deal of peace about that whole situation that had been missing for a long time.
Since then, I've been studying about it and have discovered that our loved ones can often become our false gods if we're not careful.
Other people that often become a false god are those people that we think do not love us, but who we want to have love us. In fact, I'd say that was one of the biggest dangers of all.
Some other things that can become false gods are our pets or animals that we love deeply. It all boils down to a desire to be loved, accepted and appreciated by someone/something. The Lord tells us that He is the one who loves us though and we're to lay our expectations of other people at His cross because other people are always going to let us down. If we leave our expectations at His cross and go to Him for our love and acceptance and approval, then, God can heal the broken places inside us so that eventually we can have a healthy loving relationship with other people too.
Other false Gods might be the false god of materialism, or money, or success, security, false gods of image, outward beauty, youth, etc. Or as John pointed out things like cars or motorcycles or other inanimate objects can even be our false gods if we make them that important in our lives.
Whenever we see a quality about ourselves, such as beauty or youth, etc. as something that we must have or maintain or as something we strongly desire, it may be a false god. It may be that we think that if we have that quality that it means we will be loved and accepted and approved by either: the world, men, the one we want to love us, or by our boss, or the public, etc. We have made that quality about ourselves into the thing that makes us worthwhile, but that's a lie. (which is why it's a false god) God is the one who makes us worthwhile. He is the one who loves us and accepts us, and we do not need that quality in order for Him to love and accept us.
One of the things I discovered a long time ago was my false god was my job. I thought I was the best at my job and did it well. It wasn't until I got hurt and couldn't work anymore that I discovered it had become an idol, a false god, to me. I defined myself by my job. Really, I defined myself by two things: my job and my children -being a mother. So in reality, my children were a false god even back then.
As before, the Lord showed me that what I did, did not make me worthwhile and loved.
What I had did not make me worthwhile and loved.
What I could contribute did not make me worthwhile and loved.
Whether I was good looking, had money, worked, or anything else, did not make me worthwhile and loved.
God made me worthwhile and He loved me and it wasn't due to any of those things.
So really anything that we think causes us to be worthwhile or loved, can be a false god in our lives. I have a feeling that we all have a bunch of them that we didn't even realize were there. But our Lord will help us discover them and get rid of them so we can have the peace and joy He wants us to have now.
Positive feelings could also indicate indicate a false god or idol. I'm trying to think of times in my life and the things that I now know were false gods in order to give an example.....
For instance, when I was seeking love and acceptance from men instead of God - always looking to my husband instead of God, my feelings were mixed, but at times - when my husband happened to be giving me the love I thought I wanted, I'd be very happy. It was only when he wasn't doing that, that I'd be unhappy.
Another false God I had was first my school work and then later, when I was older, my job. I worked hard and made mostly A's in school, and when I'd make an A, I'd be happy, and that was most of the time. But when I'd get even one question wrong, even though I'd still get an "A", because it wasn't perfect, I'd be very unhappy. I know that sounds ridiculous to most people, but that's how I was. I strove for perfection because deep inside I thought I had to be perfect to be loved and accepted by God. My school work, and then later my job, became false gods because I was looking to them to prove my love and acceptance, or to prove that I was lovable and acceptable, however you want to look at it. I remember how I would get very stressed out when it was time for our boss to do our job reviews. Again, I was striving for perfection and worried that I wouldn't measure up. All my reviews were very good, but the problem was, the last question on each review was "What can your employee do to improve?" To me, that was the same thing as saying that I wasn't good enough. My mind knew better, but my heart didn't. So I always got very upset when it would come to that last answer no matter how gently my boss tried to word his answer. It wasn't until I knew the Lord and gave up my false gods and accepted His love and acceptance, that those things no longer bothered me. Because then I finally understood that by myself, I could do nothing good - and that was ok because everyone is that way; but that the Lord loved and accepted me anyway, even at my very worst, and because He did, His love made me worthwhile. I no longer needed to strive to make Him love me, or strive to prove I was lovable. Instead, I could just love Him back and rejoice in His love for me.
One way to tell is to ask yourself who is being glorified by your thoughts and feelings. Is it you? Is it another person, place or thing? Or, is it God
I suspect that everything in this life, and every person we know or wished we knew, as well as we ourselves, could be a false god and idol for us. I guess I need to just state that instead of giving examples like I did. No, not really...I think the examples help some too because hopefully they show how perfectly ordinary things can be a false god. Because a false god is simply something or someone that we think is super important to us in some way, shape or form. In fact, here's another one that really surprised me because it's not something anyone would "want" to have...
I also discovered that the pain I'm in can be a false god or idol to me at times. For example, that time I wrote about in the pain forum, when I trusted in the pain more then I trusted God, remember? At that moment, it became an idol; a false god for me. I guess I should explain that in case anyone who's not a pain forum member reads this:
I'd been in a great deal of pain, especially at night and one evening got very upset and didn't want to go to bed because I "knew" what would happen when I did -the pain would get worse. So I wound up staying up all night.
The Lord pointed out to me that the reason I had the problem and got so upset that night, was because I'd turned away from Him and allowed myself to dwell on the possibility or likelihood of the pain instead. I'd basically put my faith in the pain happening and me not being able to handle it instead of taking the thoughts and fear captive and replacing them with God's Word which says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and that He is our strength and is always, always with me and loves me and will sustain me and give me peace. So, really, I traded my peace for fear and self pity.
The Lord pointed that out to me the next day and I was quite ashamed of myself then, especially when I realized that I'd literally put the pain ahead of Him. See by focusing on the pain, it promised me that I wouldn't get hurt if I just stayed up, but it lied, as false gods always do. If I had taken those strong emotions of fear, anger, and self pity as a warning sign, I would have realized something wasn't as it seemed. But during that time I was determined to be disobedient to the Lord. I knew I should take the thoughts and feelings captive, but I refused to. I even lied to myself and told myself that they were there to "warn" me - meaning that they were warning me not to go to bed. Well I was half right. They were warning me, but it wasn't about that. They were giving me the same warning they always do and telling me to take my thoughts captive because they were lies. But I chose to believe the lies and to dwell on them instead of on God and His strength and His help.
So you see, even something as unpleasant and disagreeable as severe pain can become a false god and idol if we allow it to.
Another big one that most of us have had at one time or another is our past. We often give our past much power over us instead of taking those thoughts captive like we're told to and replacing them with God's Truth about us. .
Still another one that we've all probably had at one time or another is ourselves. Yes, we even make ourselves into a false god at times, like in the example I gave Eva.
It just goes to show that anything can be a false god.
More posts about idols:
Any thing or person that is a false god in our lives is going to cause us to have strong emotions about it, so that's why they can be used as warning signs. What are some questions you could ask yourself to find out if there is a false god behind those feelings? I ask myself things like: “Why do I feel threatened?” “What am I afraid I am going to lose?” “What goal, desire, or belief is being blocked or threatened?” “What’s so important that it's causing me to explode or lose control?” "Where is this coming from?" "What's adding fuel to this emotion?" If we want to discover our false gods, it's important to trace overwhelming feelings and reactions back to their source. Most important, we need to ask the Lord to help us look behind these feelings to discover if we may have turned something or someone into a false god - into the "ultimate thing of importance" in our lives.
As for examples, the easiest way for me to do that is to share what the Lord has shown me in my own life. I have to admit though, this one really shocked me! Many here know that I've had some difficulties with my adult children over the years. Something happened recently that caused me to feel deeply hurt and disappointed with some of them again. (notice the strong emotions I felt) I did take the thoughts and emotions captive and began to dwell on God's truth instead of the incident in order to replace those thoughts and feelings with Him and His Truth. Once I was sure that I was under control, I then began talking to the Lord about it.
That was when He pointed out to me that my children had become a false god in my life. To say I was shocked would be an understatement! I wanted to deny it; I didn't want to believe it, but I knew the Lord was right. My children and my relationship with them as a whole, had indeed become a false god. They were the thing in my life that was "most important". They had taken God's place in my heart. I was looking to them for love, acceptance and approval, instead of looking to God for those things. In fact, I wanted those things from them, more then I wanted them from God. I would sometimes allow thoughts and feelings about my children, or about something they'd done or not done, to determine how I acted or felt instead of being obedient to God.
The Lord showed me all that and more and of course I repented of it. Since then, I've felt a great deal of peace about that whole situation that had been missing for a long time.
Since then, I've been studying about it and have discovered that our loved ones can often become our false gods if we're not careful.
Other people that often become a false god are those people that we think do not love us, but who we want to have love us. In fact, I'd say that was one of the biggest dangers of all.
Some other things that can become false gods are our pets or animals that we love deeply. It all boils down to a desire to be loved, accepted and appreciated by someone/something. The Lord tells us that He is the one who loves us though and we're to lay our expectations of other people at His cross because other people are always going to let us down. If we leave our expectations at His cross and go to Him for our love and acceptance and approval, then, God can heal the broken places inside us so that eventually we can have a healthy loving relationship with other people too.
Other false Gods might be the false god of materialism, or money, or success, security, false gods of image, outward beauty, youth, etc. Or as John pointed out things like cars or motorcycles or other inanimate objects can even be our false gods if we make them that important in our lives.
Whenever we see a quality about ourselves, such as beauty or youth, etc. as something that we must have or maintain or as something we strongly desire, it may be a false god. It may be that we think that if we have that quality that it means we will be loved and accepted and approved by either: the world, men, the one we want to love us, or by our boss, or the public, etc. We have made that quality about ourselves into the thing that makes us worthwhile, but that's a lie. (which is why it's a false god) God is the one who makes us worthwhile. He is the one who loves us and accepts us, and we do not need that quality in order for Him to love and accept us.
One of the things I discovered a long time ago was my false god was my job. I thought I was the best at my job and did it well. It wasn't until I got hurt and couldn't work anymore that I discovered it had become an idol, a false god, to me. I defined myself by my job. Really, I defined myself by two things: my job and my children -being a mother. So in reality, my children were a false god even back then.
As before, the Lord showed me that what I did, did not make me worthwhile and loved.
What I had did not make me worthwhile and loved.
What I could contribute did not make me worthwhile and loved.
Whether I was good looking, had money, worked, or anything else, did not make me worthwhile and loved.
God made me worthwhile and He loved me and it wasn't due to any of those things.
So really anything that we think causes us to be worthwhile or loved, can be a false god in our lives. I have a feeling that we all have a bunch of them that we didn't even realize were there. But our Lord will help us discover them and get rid of them so we can have the peace and joy He wants us to have now.
Positive feelings could also indicate indicate a false god or idol. I'm trying to think of times in my life and the things that I now know were false gods in order to give an example.....
For instance, when I was seeking love and acceptance from men instead of God - always looking to my husband instead of God, my feelings were mixed, but at times - when my husband happened to be giving me the love I thought I wanted, I'd be very happy. It was only when he wasn't doing that, that I'd be unhappy.
Another false God I had was first my school work and then later, when I was older, my job. I worked hard and made mostly A's in school, and when I'd make an A, I'd be happy, and that was most of the time. But when I'd get even one question wrong, even though I'd still get an "A", because it wasn't perfect, I'd be very unhappy. I know that sounds ridiculous to most people, but that's how I was. I strove for perfection because deep inside I thought I had to be perfect to be loved and accepted by God. My school work, and then later my job, became false gods because I was looking to them to prove my love and acceptance, or to prove that I was lovable and acceptable, however you want to look at it. I remember how I would get very stressed out when it was time for our boss to do our job reviews. Again, I was striving for perfection and worried that I wouldn't measure up. All my reviews were very good, but the problem was, the last question on each review was "What can your employee do to improve?" To me, that was the same thing as saying that I wasn't good enough. My mind knew better, but my heart didn't. So I always got very upset when it would come to that last answer no matter how gently my boss tried to word his answer. It wasn't until I knew the Lord and gave up my false gods and accepted His love and acceptance, that those things no longer bothered me. Because then I finally understood that by myself, I could do nothing good - and that was ok because everyone is that way; but that the Lord loved and accepted me anyway, even at my very worst, and because He did, His love made me worthwhile. I no longer needed to strive to make Him love me, or strive to prove I was lovable. Instead, I could just love Him back and rejoice in His love for me.
One way to tell is to ask yourself who is being glorified by your thoughts and feelings. Is it you? Is it another person, place or thing? Or, is it God
I suspect that everything in this life, and every person we know or wished we knew, as well as we ourselves, could be a false god and idol for us. I guess I need to just state that instead of giving examples like I did. No, not really...I think the examples help some too because hopefully they show how perfectly ordinary things can be a false god. Because a false god is simply something or someone that we think is super important to us in some way, shape or form. In fact, here's another one that really surprised me because it's not something anyone would "want" to have...
I also discovered that the pain I'm in can be a false god or idol to me at times. For example, that time I wrote about in the pain forum, when I trusted in the pain more then I trusted God, remember? At that moment, it became an idol; a false god for me. I guess I should explain that in case anyone who's not a pain forum member reads this:
I'd been in a great deal of pain, especially at night and one evening got very upset and didn't want to go to bed because I "knew" what would happen when I did -the pain would get worse. So I wound up staying up all night.
The Lord pointed out to me that the reason I had the problem and got so upset that night, was because I'd turned away from Him and allowed myself to dwell on the possibility or likelihood of the pain instead. I'd basically put my faith in the pain happening and me not being able to handle it instead of taking the thoughts and fear captive and replacing them with God's Word which says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and that He is our strength and is always, always with me and loves me and will sustain me and give me peace. So, really, I traded my peace for fear and self pity.
The Lord pointed that out to me the next day and I was quite ashamed of myself then, especially when I realized that I'd literally put the pain ahead of Him. See by focusing on the pain, it promised me that I wouldn't get hurt if I just stayed up, but it lied, as false gods always do. If I had taken those strong emotions of fear, anger, and self pity as a warning sign, I would have realized something wasn't as it seemed. But during that time I was determined to be disobedient to the Lord. I knew I should take the thoughts and feelings captive, but I refused to. I even lied to myself and told myself that they were there to "warn" me - meaning that they were warning me not to go to bed. Well I was half right. They were warning me, but it wasn't about that. They were giving me the same warning they always do and telling me to take my thoughts captive because they were lies. But I chose to believe the lies and to dwell on them instead of on God and His strength and His help.
So you see, even something as unpleasant and disagreeable as severe pain can become a false god and idol if we allow it to.
Another big one that most of us have had at one time or another is our past. We often give our past much power over us instead of taking those thoughts captive like we're told to and replacing them with God's Truth about us. .
Still another one that we've all probably had at one time or another is ourselves. Yes, we even make ourselves into a false god at times, like in the example I gave Eva.
It just goes to show that anything can be a false god.
More posts about idols:
The Civilized World’s Made Things Harder For Us
The civilized world has taught us that we're independent and don't need anyone but ourselves. We are taught to think of ourselves first, to love ourselves, to be ourselves, to do for ourselves. We're taught that no one can make us do anything and we can do and be anything we want to. We're told anything and everything is ok as long as it makes us feel good and that we should feel good. We're taught how great and wonderful we are. We're taught that the stars are our limit -in other words there is no limit to what we can do. (sounds an awful lot like the tower of Babel to me) It's funny, but the more I study God's Word, the more I find that the world has lied to me about many, many things and has corrupted the meaning of many things as well. As I was studying Deut 5 I came across something surprising that I'd like to share with you. It's something else that our civilized world has made it hard for us to understand and relate to.
Deuteronomy 5:6 —“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
Let's look closely at this first sentence. "I am the Lord your God". Before we can really be saved or have the fear of God or love Him or anything else, we first have to know that He is. As Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Now that may seem strange to us, because we rarely question His existence, but then again, if we really believe He exists and is aware of us and all of that, wouldn't we tend toward being obedient to Him a whole lot more? No, I'm not suggesting we don't really believe in Him, but I am suggesting that we might benefit a lot from focusing on His existence and reflecting on it until we really, really knew it. At least, that's what I determined for myself.
I've thought for many years that because we're so "blessed" to live in such a "civilized" country, that we really don't understand concepts such as "God", or "slavery" or things like that. We know the definitions of them, but we don't have any real personally emotional attachment to them. Most of us have had jobs and bosses we may not have liked at all, but we could always quit. When I dwelled on the concepts of Lord's and slaves, and tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning, knowing that another person owned me and that they could literally kill me at their whim, it was hard to do that and make it "real" to myself. Sure, I can imagine it, but it's more like a fantasy then anything possible, even though I know that there were and are slaves all around the world. When I imagine it, I think I'd "run away" or find some way out of it - I can't make it last in my mind for a lifetime.
Yet, it IS real. God is real. God created us and He sustains our very lives every moment of every day. He can wipe us out en mass, or one at a time or any way He chooses, whenever and however He chooses. The fact that He doesn't do so, doesn't mean that He can't. He can bless us or curse us, give or take away. Yet for the most part, we ignore Him and go on with our lives as though He wasn't there. If we were slaves in this world with a physical Lord over us, we couldn't do that. He'd be in our face constantly and be a constant reminder that if we don't obey Him instantly, He could and just might, have us killed. See what I mean about why I felt I needed to dwell on that and make God more "real" to me?
So first, we need to know that God IS. He is God, He is the Lord. But, there's another word in that sentence that makes a HUGE difference in it's meaning. It doesn't say, "I am the Lord God", it says, "I am the Lord your God". Out of all the other people on this earth, He is MY God and I am His. He's personal. He knows and acknowledges me and wants me to know and acknowledge Him. It's more then that though. Because He's not "my God" and no one else's. He says that to everyone. It's up to each individual to accept Him as their God or reject Him. And that means something very important for each of us and this is what kind of blew me away when I realized it.
Everyone has a "god", it's just not always the One True God. In fact, everyone generally has quite a few gods. We all serve someone/something. That may change according to what happens during the day and how we're feeling, but regardless, we all serve something. It's just that in our civilized world, we don't think of them as gods. The problem with that is that The One True God does think of them as gods and He doesn't want us to serve any one or anything but Him. See, God designed us to be in relationship with Him -with God and so we seek that constantly whether we realize it or not. That's what I've always thought of as the empty "hole" we're always seeking to fill, that will make us "happy" and "complete". It's the something missing that we all search for even when we don't know we're looking for it.
Whenever we're not in an intimate relationship with God, we will be in an intimate relationship with something/someone else, because that's who our hearts have been designed. We have to be in an intimate relationship with something/someone. Many women look for it in a man. Many men look for it in a woman. Others look for it in work or school, money, children, booze or drugs, or books, movies, porn, sex, parties, friends, food, the internet, computer or video games, our homes, gardens, etc. or for instance when we endlessly strive for the approval of others, or the love of others. The things we look for it in aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, although they can be at times, but they become bad no matter what they are because whether we know it or not, we become slaves to them. (Rom 6:16)
So we're all slaves, all the time. We're simply slaves to different things or people or "gods". Remember too, Jesus tells us that we cannot serve 2 masters. We have to choose. Besides which, God also tells us that He will not "share" us with others. It's Him or them. That's why Jesus pleads with us and says in Matthew 11:29–30 —Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. *For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” * A yoke is what's used to join 2 cows or horses together so they can pull a plow. Jesus used that word because whoever or whatever we're slaves to, we're joined together with. We're "yoked" to them. That's again why we're told not to be "unequally yoked". If you yoke a little cow with a large horse, it won't work. They can't pull the plow evenly. Back to the point though, when we serve someone or something besides God, we are slaves to that and we're yoked to it whether we realize it or not.
And that too is something I really needed to dwell on because generally, in our day and time, we don't realize that. We think we're just hanging out with people or just eating junk food or just drinking, or just running after a man to love us, or whatever. We'd be more inclined to think of them serving us rather then the other way around. The Truth though, is that we're serving them; we're slaves to them. That's why we run to them every time we're scared, or depressed or worried or lonely, or whatever our personal triggers are.
Here's the really bad news for us who are saved. When we do that, we're not just slaves to those things, we're slaves to false gods. They are our "idols". We have put them in God's place in our lives. We can know that because if we didn't have any false gods or idols, we'd be running to the One True God, "our God", when we felt that way. All the various things we each choose as our idols and false gods, generally look pretty good to us. If they didn't, we wouldn't run to them. But in reality, they're cruel masters. For example, those of us who choose food, then must constantly worry about our weight and/or our health because our idol has messed up our cholesterol and our weight. Our false gods have made us promises to make us feel good and they can't keep those promises; worse, they lead to death. But there is a True God who will help us, if we will just choose to take His yoke on ourselves instead. Yes, we will still be yoked to someone, but this God is loving and His yoke is easy and the burden is light.
That brings us to the last part of that first line -“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery". The One True God tells us that He is our personal God and He qualifies that, even though He certainly doesn't have to. He says that He is "our" God because He brought us out of the land of slavery. He doesn't want us yoked to those false idols that lie to us and use us and throw us away. He created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him, not with them. He wants 100% of us though and He wants us 100% of the time. All day, every day. He wants us to be yoked to Him and nothing else. Can you imagine yourself literally yoked to Jesus? That's what I try to do to remind myself that no matter where I go, what I do, what I look at or who I talk to, He is with me. He's not just a passive partner that I'm dragging around with them though. No. In fact, He's bearing most of the burden for me, making my burden lighter, just because He loves me and He's "my God."
Speaking of bring us out of slavery, some folks might say, that's not talking about me, that's talking about the Jew's when He brought them out of Egypt, and so it is. But it's also talking about you and me. Well, at least me for sure, because I know without any doubt at all that He's brought me out of my slavery. He rescued me from myself, from the occult, from the new age, from depression, from loneliness, from fear and worry, and from so many other things that I've been a slave to all my life that it would take too long to list them all. And He's still doing it. He brought me out of that slavery and shows me every time I start to slip back or sneak back into one of them. He says we all are enslaved to various different things, and if He hasn't freed you from those things yet, He wants to and He will, if you will let Him.
When we do finally agree with that first sentence and can say, "He is the Lord my God, who brought me out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery", then He adds a command to it. Then He tells us, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. *“You shall have no other gods before me. * (Deut 5:6–7) Most of us don't even think twice about that statement. I know I certainly didn't used to. Not until I understood what a false god really was. When I finally understood that it could be other people, other things, and put it together with who I ran to when I was hurting, instead of running to Him and His Word, only then did I understand what a false god and an idol was. It's not necessarily some statue in a church that we kneel before, light incense to, pray to or "worship". (although that certainly can be one too). That's often what it was during the time when the Lord brought the Jew's out of Egypt, but times have changed and we worship other things now. Even they often worshiped other things besides their stone idols. Whether the idol is stone, wood, a person or thing, doesn't matter. It's still a false god and an idol and we should run away from it as fast as we can.
Why? Because He IS God. Because He is OUR God. Because He loves us and paid an awful price to bring us out of slavery and set us free from slavery to sin so we could be slaves to righteousness instead. Now our slavery doesn't lead to death, instead His yoke is easy, our burden is light and it leads to eternal life with Him.
This is now something I try to dwell on daily and reflect on it as it's important to let it really soak in. He is God and I am not. (in spite of what I often seem to think) I imagine myself literally yoked together with Jesus and try to hold that picture in my mind several times every day. I'll pick out something I do regularly, like opening the fridge or something like that, and every time I do that, I imagine myself yoked to Jesus to remind myself that He is here and He is REAL and that He is God.
Somehow we have to get past this "civilized" world's training that I'm god and make ourselves realize that we're really not and He really is, and just what that means. How can I love God with all my heart, with all my mind and all my strength if I don't really get what God is, what a Lord or Master is, or what a slave is? How can I fear God if I don't understand those things?
I've chosen the idea of imagining myself yoked to Jesus and remembering Deut 5:6-7 as well as Romans 6:16–23 and reflecting on them regularly every day.
Deuteronomy 5:6 —“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
Let's look closely at this first sentence. "I am the Lord your God". Before we can really be saved or have the fear of God or love Him or anything else, we first have to know that He is. As Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Now that may seem strange to us, because we rarely question His existence, but then again, if we really believe He exists and is aware of us and all of that, wouldn't we tend toward being obedient to Him a whole lot more? No, I'm not suggesting we don't really believe in Him, but I am suggesting that we might benefit a lot from focusing on His existence and reflecting on it until we really, really knew it. At least, that's what I determined for myself.
I've thought for many years that because we're so "blessed" to live in such a "civilized" country, that we really don't understand concepts such as "God", or "slavery" or things like that. We know the definitions of them, but we don't have any real personally emotional attachment to them. Most of us have had jobs and bosses we may not have liked at all, but we could always quit. When I dwelled on the concepts of Lord's and slaves, and tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning, knowing that another person owned me and that they could literally kill me at their whim, it was hard to do that and make it "real" to myself. Sure, I can imagine it, but it's more like a fantasy then anything possible, even though I know that there were and are slaves all around the world. When I imagine it, I think I'd "run away" or find some way out of it - I can't make it last in my mind for a lifetime.
Yet, it IS real. God is real. God created us and He sustains our very lives every moment of every day. He can wipe us out en mass, or one at a time or any way He chooses, whenever and however He chooses. The fact that He doesn't do so, doesn't mean that He can't. He can bless us or curse us, give or take away. Yet for the most part, we ignore Him and go on with our lives as though He wasn't there. If we were slaves in this world with a physical Lord over us, we couldn't do that. He'd be in our face constantly and be a constant reminder that if we don't obey Him instantly, He could and just might, have us killed. See what I mean about why I felt I needed to dwell on that and make God more "real" to me?
So first, we need to know that God IS. He is God, He is the Lord. But, there's another word in that sentence that makes a HUGE difference in it's meaning. It doesn't say, "I am the Lord God", it says, "I am the Lord your God". Out of all the other people on this earth, He is MY God and I am His. He's personal. He knows and acknowledges me and wants me to know and acknowledge Him. It's more then that though. Because He's not "my God" and no one else's. He says that to everyone. It's up to each individual to accept Him as their God or reject Him. And that means something very important for each of us and this is what kind of blew me away when I realized it.
Everyone has a "god", it's just not always the One True God. In fact, everyone generally has quite a few gods. We all serve someone/something. That may change according to what happens during the day and how we're feeling, but regardless, we all serve something. It's just that in our civilized world, we don't think of them as gods. The problem with that is that The One True God does think of them as gods and He doesn't want us to serve any one or anything but Him. See, God designed us to be in relationship with Him -with God and so we seek that constantly whether we realize it or not. That's what I've always thought of as the empty "hole" we're always seeking to fill, that will make us "happy" and "complete". It's the something missing that we all search for even when we don't know we're looking for it.
Whenever we're not in an intimate relationship with God, we will be in an intimate relationship with something/someone else, because that's who our hearts have been designed. We have to be in an intimate relationship with something/someone. Many women look for it in a man. Many men look for it in a woman. Others look for it in work or school, money, children, booze or drugs, or books, movies, porn, sex, parties, friends, food, the internet, computer or video games, our homes, gardens, etc. or for instance when we endlessly strive for the approval of others, or the love of others. The things we look for it in aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, although they can be at times, but they become bad no matter what they are because whether we know it or not, we become slaves to them. (Rom 6:16)
So we're all slaves, all the time. We're simply slaves to different things or people or "gods". Remember too, Jesus tells us that we cannot serve 2 masters. We have to choose. Besides which, God also tells us that He will not "share" us with others. It's Him or them. That's why Jesus pleads with us and says in Matthew 11:29–30 —Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. *For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” * A yoke is what's used to join 2 cows or horses together so they can pull a plow. Jesus used that word because whoever or whatever we're slaves to, we're joined together with. We're "yoked" to them. That's again why we're told not to be "unequally yoked". If you yoke a little cow with a large horse, it won't work. They can't pull the plow evenly. Back to the point though, when we serve someone or something besides God, we are slaves to that and we're yoked to it whether we realize it or not.
And that too is something I really needed to dwell on because generally, in our day and time, we don't realize that. We think we're just hanging out with people or just eating junk food or just drinking, or just running after a man to love us, or whatever. We'd be more inclined to think of them serving us rather then the other way around. The Truth though, is that we're serving them; we're slaves to them. That's why we run to them every time we're scared, or depressed or worried or lonely, or whatever our personal triggers are.
Here's the really bad news for us who are saved. When we do that, we're not just slaves to those things, we're slaves to false gods. They are our "idols". We have put them in God's place in our lives. We can know that because if we didn't have any false gods or idols, we'd be running to the One True God, "our God", when we felt that way. All the various things we each choose as our idols and false gods, generally look pretty good to us. If they didn't, we wouldn't run to them. But in reality, they're cruel masters. For example, those of us who choose food, then must constantly worry about our weight and/or our health because our idol has messed up our cholesterol and our weight. Our false gods have made us promises to make us feel good and they can't keep those promises; worse, they lead to death. But there is a True God who will help us, if we will just choose to take His yoke on ourselves instead. Yes, we will still be yoked to someone, but this God is loving and His yoke is easy and the burden is light.
That brings us to the last part of that first line -“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery". The One True God tells us that He is our personal God and He qualifies that, even though He certainly doesn't have to. He says that He is "our" God because He brought us out of the land of slavery. He doesn't want us yoked to those false idols that lie to us and use us and throw us away. He created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him, not with them. He wants 100% of us though and He wants us 100% of the time. All day, every day. He wants us to be yoked to Him and nothing else. Can you imagine yourself literally yoked to Jesus? That's what I try to do to remind myself that no matter where I go, what I do, what I look at or who I talk to, He is with me. He's not just a passive partner that I'm dragging around with them though. No. In fact, He's bearing most of the burden for me, making my burden lighter, just because He loves me and He's "my God."
Speaking of bring us out of slavery, some folks might say, that's not talking about me, that's talking about the Jew's when He brought them out of Egypt, and so it is. But it's also talking about you and me. Well, at least me for sure, because I know without any doubt at all that He's brought me out of my slavery. He rescued me from myself, from the occult, from the new age, from depression, from loneliness, from fear and worry, and from so many other things that I've been a slave to all my life that it would take too long to list them all. And He's still doing it. He brought me out of that slavery and shows me every time I start to slip back or sneak back into one of them. He says we all are enslaved to various different things, and if He hasn't freed you from those things yet, He wants to and He will, if you will let Him.
When we do finally agree with that first sentence and can say, "He is the Lord my God, who brought me out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery", then He adds a command to it. Then He tells us, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. *“You shall have no other gods before me. * (Deut 5:6–7) Most of us don't even think twice about that statement. I know I certainly didn't used to. Not until I understood what a false god really was. When I finally understood that it could be other people, other things, and put it together with who I ran to when I was hurting, instead of running to Him and His Word, only then did I understand what a false god and an idol was. It's not necessarily some statue in a church that we kneel before, light incense to, pray to or "worship". (although that certainly can be one too). That's often what it was during the time when the Lord brought the Jew's out of Egypt, but times have changed and we worship other things now. Even they often worshiped other things besides their stone idols. Whether the idol is stone, wood, a person or thing, doesn't matter. It's still a false god and an idol and we should run away from it as fast as we can.
Why? Because He IS God. Because He is OUR God. Because He loves us and paid an awful price to bring us out of slavery and set us free from slavery to sin so we could be slaves to righteousness instead. Now our slavery doesn't lead to death, instead His yoke is easy, our burden is light and it leads to eternal life with Him.
This is now something I try to dwell on daily and reflect on it as it's important to let it really soak in. He is God and I am not. (in spite of what I often seem to think) I imagine myself literally yoked together with Jesus and try to hold that picture in my mind several times every day. I'll pick out something I do regularly, like opening the fridge or something like that, and every time I do that, I imagine myself yoked to Jesus to remind myself that He is here and He is REAL and that He is God.
Somehow we have to get past this "civilized" world's training that I'm god and make ourselves realize that we're really not and He really is, and just what that means. How can I love God with all my heart, with all my mind and all my strength if I don't really get what God is, what a Lord or Master is, or what a slave is? How can I fear God if I don't understand those things?
I've chosen the idea of imagining myself yoked to Jesus and remembering Deut 5:6-7 as well as Romans 6:16–23 and reflecting on them regularly every day.
Monday, March 30, 2015
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Part 2 of: What are your false gods, your idols?
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Psalm 106:13–14 —But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. *In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. *
To me, the above two verses sum up what we read over and over again in the Old Testament regarding how the behavior of the Jew's toward God. Over and over again He would rescue them and set them up to have a great life, bu as soon as a little problem came up, they'd totally forget about Him and instead turn to the false God's for help and comfort. Or, sometimes it was because of the abundant life He gave them. They'd be enjoying it, and after awhile, would forget why they had such a good life, and because of greed would decide they wanted yet more or something different, and again would turn to their false gods in order to get it.
I used to read those stories and wonder how in the world anyone could do the things they did...how anyone could forget the wonderful things God had done for them and try to get something from a false god instead. It wasn't until I realized that the stories weren't just the history of the Jew's but were also a history of my own life that I began to understand how they could do such a thing. I began to understand because I realized that I'd done exactly the same things they had! My false gods had different names then theirs did, but I went running to them for the same reasons.
These verses give us a big clue as to "why" we run to our false gods and about the state of our hearts when we're most tempted to run to idols. Notice that it often happens in the desert, wasteland, or wilderness. It's generally not when life is going smoothly, but when we're struggling to get through something and have been struggling for awhile. We're not talking about a day trip into the desert as a tourist, but rather an unwanted detour that's happened and we feel unable to find our way back out. These words describe a large desolate, uninhabited place with little or nothing available for sustenance. They're usually described as lonely places with little or no water. It's when we're in a place like this that we'll be "craving" relief.
It's when we're feeling lonely, or alone. We don't have to really be alone to feel that way. We may be surrounded by friends and family and yet still feel alone. It can be because we feel no one understands us for whatever reason. Ironically, it could be because no one else in our circle knows the Lord, and so we feel "alone". There are probably as many reasons for feeling alone as there are people, but regardless of the reason, it's a time when we feel cut off from others.
We've often hear Christians talk about "the desert experience" meaning that they're going through a time when the Lord seems distant or not there at all, even though they know He really is. Because of that, again, they feel lonely, as though they've been abandoned by God. It feels like He doesn't hear our prayers much less answer them when this happens, and this can really shake us up, especially if we aren't familiar with His Word which tells us that He really is there, does hear our prayers, He does love us and that He always will.
One of the reasons Christian's call that kind of experience a desert experience is because there's a lack of water and food in the desert, and those are synonyms for God's Word. So being in a dry place, a desert, would also be a time when we feel that we're not being fed from His Word. Of course we can and often do put ourselves in a desert and simply refuse to eat what's offered.
It's when we feel that we're unable to survive on our own or when our survival is threatened. By that I don't mean that our lives are necessarily threatened, though that too would be a reason, but when we think our way of life is threatened. When something we hold dear is being threatened. It could be the loss or possible loss of our home, or our job, or an important relationship. (like a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, child, parent, etc) It could be having to decide between buying medication or food or between those and paying the bills. It could be the loss or threatened loss of a dream, such as a desire to send our children to college or to buy a better house, or move to a better neighborhood. It could be chronic sickness or pain that causes us to feel this way.
Looking at all of that, it's pretty easy to see that the desert is a place where we have very strong feelings of need and for relief. These are the times when we're most likely to turn to our idols for that relief, just as the Jew's did. We may turn to our own wisdom and intellect, to try and figure out how to solve the situation and get what we want, instead of praying and seeking the Lord about it. This was one of Hezekiah's mistakes when he got sick and became terminally ill. Instead of turning to the Lord, he immediately turned to doctors. Now the Lord doesn't have a problem with us going to doctors and makes that clear in His Word. But He does have a problem with us putting all our trust in them instead of in Him. Especially in our country today, most of us rarely even consider going to the Lord about it when we don't feel well. We just call the doctor, get our prescription, take it and get better. (just like Hezekiah tried to do) Or we may do the opposite and simply try and tough it out, perhaps using home or over the counter remedies, hoping we'll eventually get better on our own. I know that's what I used to do. Like I said, God doesn't mind us going to doctors or taking medicine, but He wants us to recognize that He's in control and that He's the one we should turn to first and continuously all through the experience.
Turning to the idol of self is something we do all to frequently. We also frequently make others into idols. Likely candidates are those people who are most important to us. Another person becomes an idol, a false god, when they become the ultimate thing in our lives. For example when a woman feels as though her life would be over if her boyfriend left her, or if she didn't get a boyfriend (even an idea or ideal can become an idol!) No one but God should hold that kind of power over us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be hurt or feel badly over a loss like that, but to feel that strongly about it shows that we've given God's place to a human being. We need to remember that God isn't just "A God" or even "the God", He's "my God" to each of us and wants to be first in our lives.
When our pain, hurt, or desire is so strong it will always cause us to run somewhere - either to God or to our idol. Our idol could be illegal drugs, prescribed drugs, alcohol, work, overeating, TV, a particular person like a boyfriend/girlfriend, a spouse, our children, or even a pet. These days it could even be a counselor or doctor, or self help books, or even just any books if reading is our refuge. An idol is anything we run to and or cling to that we think will dull or take away our pain, hurt, confusion, anxiety or fear. It's whatever we run to to make us feel better, even if it's only for a an hour or two. It's where we go when we're feeling desperate. (although we certainly don't have to physically "go" anywhere to find many of our idols)
It was when I finally understood this that I really realized why these things were idols and false gods. The Lord wants to be our one and only help; our only refuge in the storm; the only one we go to when we're desperate. The first one we think of. Again Hezekiah comes to mind, this time because he did what was right. When Israel was under siege and about to fall, the commander of the enemy army sent him a letter telling him to surrender or else. Hezekiah immediately took the letter to the temple, laid it before the Lord and cried "Help!" And of course the Lord came through for them. Jesus wants us to come to Him when we're weary and burdened, because He knows that He's the only one who can really help us. He desperately wants to gather us under His wings like a hen does her chicks, and keep us safe, but we keep running off to our false gods instead. Jesus is the one who truly loves us and has nothing but good intentions toward us. He calls us His bride, which is why when we go running off to our false gods, it's spiritual adultery. Thankfully He shows us how to identify our false gods and when we're most likely to run to them, so with His help, we can stop and remember to run to Him instead.
The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
Psalm 106:13–14 —But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. *In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. *
To me, the above two verses sum up what we read over and over again in the Old Testament regarding how the behavior of the Jew's toward God. Over and over again He would rescue them and set them up to have a great life, bu as soon as a little problem came up, they'd totally forget about Him and instead turn to the false God's for help and comfort. Or, sometimes it was because of the abundant life He gave them. They'd be enjoying it, and after awhile, would forget why they had such a good life, and because of greed would decide they wanted yet more or something different, and again would turn to their false gods in order to get it.
I used to read those stories and wonder how in the world anyone could do the things they did...how anyone could forget the wonderful things God had done for them and try to get something from a false god instead. It wasn't until I realized that the stories weren't just the history of the Jew's but were also a history of my own life that I began to understand how they could do such a thing. I began to understand because I realized that I'd done exactly the same things they had! My false gods had different names then theirs did, but I went running to them for the same reasons.
These verses give us a big clue as to "why" we run to our false gods and about the state of our hearts when we're most tempted to run to idols. Notice that it often happens in the desert, wasteland, or wilderness. It's generally not when life is going smoothly, but when we're struggling to get through something and have been struggling for awhile. We're not talking about a day trip into the desert as a tourist, but rather an unwanted detour that's happened and we feel unable to find our way back out. These words describe a large desolate, uninhabited place with little or nothing available for sustenance. They're usually described as lonely places with little or no water. It's when we're in a place like this that we'll be "craving" relief.
It's when we're feeling lonely, or alone. We don't have to really be alone to feel that way. We may be surrounded by friends and family and yet still feel alone. It can be because we feel no one understands us for whatever reason. Ironically, it could be because no one else in our circle knows the Lord, and so we feel "alone". There are probably as many reasons for feeling alone as there are people, but regardless of the reason, it's a time when we feel cut off from others.
We've often hear Christians talk about "the desert experience" meaning that they're going through a time when the Lord seems distant or not there at all, even though they know He really is. Because of that, again, they feel lonely, as though they've been abandoned by God. It feels like He doesn't hear our prayers much less answer them when this happens, and this can really shake us up, especially if we aren't familiar with His Word which tells us that He really is there, does hear our prayers, He does love us and that He always will.
One of the reasons Christian's call that kind of experience a desert experience is because there's a lack of water and food in the desert, and those are synonyms for God's Word. So being in a dry place, a desert, would also be a time when we feel that we're not being fed from His Word. Of course we can and often do put ourselves in a desert and simply refuse to eat what's offered.
It's when we feel that we're unable to survive on our own or when our survival is threatened. By that I don't mean that our lives are necessarily threatened, though that too would be a reason, but when we think our way of life is threatened. When something we hold dear is being threatened. It could be the loss or possible loss of our home, or our job, or an important relationship. (like a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, child, parent, etc) It could be having to decide between buying medication or food or between those and paying the bills. It could be the loss or threatened loss of a dream, such as a desire to send our children to college or to buy a better house, or move to a better neighborhood. It could be chronic sickness or pain that causes us to feel this way.
Looking at all of that, it's pretty easy to see that the desert is a place where we have very strong feelings of need and for relief. These are the times when we're most likely to turn to our idols for that relief, just as the Jew's did. We may turn to our own wisdom and intellect, to try and figure out how to solve the situation and get what we want, instead of praying and seeking the Lord about it. This was one of Hezekiah's mistakes when he got sick and became terminally ill. Instead of turning to the Lord, he immediately turned to doctors. Now the Lord doesn't have a problem with us going to doctors and makes that clear in His Word. But He does have a problem with us putting all our trust in them instead of in Him. Especially in our country today, most of us rarely even consider going to the Lord about it when we don't feel well. We just call the doctor, get our prescription, take it and get better. (just like Hezekiah tried to do) Or we may do the opposite and simply try and tough it out, perhaps using home or over the counter remedies, hoping we'll eventually get better on our own. I know that's what I used to do. Like I said, God doesn't mind us going to doctors or taking medicine, but He wants us to recognize that He's in control and that He's the one we should turn to first and continuously all through the experience.
Turning to the idol of self is something we do all to frequently. We also frequently make others into idols. Likely candidates are those people who are most important to us. Another person becomes an idol, a false god, when they become the ultimate thing in our lives. For example when a woman feels as though her life would be over if her boyfriend left her, or if she didn't get a boyfriend (even an idea or ideal can become an idol!) No one but God should hold that kind of power over us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be hurt or feel badly over a loss like that, but to feel that strongly about it shows that we've given God's place to a human being. We need to remember that God isn't just "A God" or even "the God", He's "my God" to each of us and wants to be first in our lives.
When our pain, hurt, or desire is so strong it will always cause us to run somewhere - either to God or to our idol. Our idol could be illegal drugs, prescribed drugs, alcohol, work, overeating, TV, a particular person like a boyfriend/girlfriend, a spouse, our children, or even a pet. These days it could even be a counselor or doctor, or self help books, or even just any books if reading is our refuge. An idol is anything we run to and or cling to that we think will dull or take away our pain, hurt, confusion, anxiety or fear. It's whatever we run to to make us feel better, even if it's only for a an hour or two. It's where we go when we're feeling desperate. (although we certainly don't have to physically "go" anywhere to find many of our idols)
It was when I finally understood this that I really realized why these things were idols and false gods. The Lord wants to be our one and only help; our only refuge in the storm; the only one we go to when we're desperate. The first one we think of. Again Hezekiah comes to mind, this time because he did what was right. When Israel was under siege and about to fall, the commander of the enemy army sent him a letter telling him to surrender or else. Hezekiah immediately took the letter to the temple, laid it before the Lord and cried "Help!" And of course the Lord came through for them. Jesus wants us to come to Him when we're weary and burdened, because He knows that He's the only one who can really help us. He desperately wants to gather us under His wings like a hen does her chicks, and keep us safe, but we keep running off to our false gods instead. Jesus is the one who truly loves us and has nothing but good intentions toward us. He calls us His bride, which is why when we go running off to our false gods, it's spiritual adultery. Thankfully He shows us how to identify our false gods and when we're most likely to run to them, so with His help, we can stop and remember to run to Him instead.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
What are your false gods, your idols?
I wrote a long time ago in I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
about how I discovered to my shock that I was an idolator. When you discover something like that, the obvious first thing you want to do is stop doing it! The problem is that with idolatry, we generally have quite a few idols in our hearts that we've been unaware of and we have to discover what they are before we can get rid of them. With the Lord's help, I've learned of one way to discover what my idols are, and it's actually pretty easy to do. It makes sense too when we realize that anything we've made into an idol is going to be something we feel strongly about.
When we feel strongly about something, that means we're also going to have some real strong emotions concerning it when we feel it's threatened. The main emotions we tend to feel when an idol is threatened are anger, fear, and/or jealousy. I learned that if I pay attention to what makes me really angry, or hurt, I'll come to quickly know what my idols are.
Our emotions can tell us what we hold the most dear, what's the most important to us. If someone spills something that stains on a piece of carpet that we think of as trash anyway, we're not going to get upset about it, or at least not real upset. But if someone stains something we value highly, then we're going to get really upset!
I'm not suggesting that every time we get angry it means we've got an idol lurking behind it. The way we can tell the difference is by how often we get angry about something. If we consistently get angry or fearful or feel jealous about something, we need to examine what's behind it to find out what our false god is. If we're generally angered or hurt by things other people say and/or do to us, if we examine what made us angry about what each person said or did, we'll most likely find a pattern, and that pattern will lead us to our false god.
We all have the false god of self that we have to deal with. The major symptom for that god is selfishness which can show up in many different ways. When we're saved, our part is supposed to be to die to ourselves and live for Christ, so it's natural that our "self" is going to fight that to the bitter end. But if we're not aware of it and keep alert, it's going to take back control or try to. So the idol of self is one I think we all have to fight fairly constantly.
The other false gods may not be so easy to spot. There's false gods of money, success, image, beauty, materialism, etc. Anything can be made into a false god, and probably has been by someone.
When we feel angry or fearful about something consistently, we need to ask ourselves why we're feeling threatened; what are we afraid we're going to lose; what goal is being blocked, or what's so important that it's causing us to lose control, and what are we getting from this area that we should be getting from God? What need is it filling for us that we should be having filled by God?
Strong emotions are a good reason to look and see just what those emotions are pointing us to. Fear, anger, hurt feelings, and jealousy are especially good signs that will often point us to who or what we're putting our hope in. I've also realized that the things that have hurt us in the past, how and why were were hurt and what we think we need to stop the pain and prevent it from happening again, will also help point us toward our false gods.
A false god or idol is anything that we have put our hope in, or that we're looking to for love, acceptance, contentment and/or happiness. Our strong emotions can tell us that something's wrong, that we've misplaced our affections, because God is supposed to be first in our lives. He demands to be first...above our parents, children, spouse, siblings or anyone or anything else.
I'd like to end this by simply including a few of my notes about idols as they've helped me to find many of mine.
We’ve defined idols as anything that is inflated to take the position of God in our lives, anyone or anything that becomes an ultimate thing. We’ve discovered that some of their roots trace back to experiences of being unloved, rejected, abused—or the flipside, of having it all while ironically having an insatiable desire for more. We’ve identified a few of their more prominent characteristics, which revolve around subtle deceit, blatant lies, and flashy seduction. No other gods
“Belief in Yahweh doesn’t come with your mind, Hezekiah. It comes with your heart. When you only believe in things you can see with your eyes and touch with your hands, it is idolatry.” Trusting in Molech, as Ahaz did, or trusting in your own wisdom and intellect—there’s no difference in God’s eyes. It’s all idolatry.” Gods and kings: A novel.
Idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn’t true or attempting to transform Him into something He isn’t. God: Coming face to face with His Majesty
The essence of idolatry, is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Be Determined.
The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. To make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life is idolatry. The Bible exposition
Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God. Morning and evening
According to Paul in Romans 6:16, we all have a yoke and we all have a burden—there is no getting around this, as much as we might like to think we can skip through life weightless and independent. Every day, every minute, we will serve something. The trickier part is who or what will that be? The idols of our hearts—the people I depend on for approval, Ashley’s dismal boyfriend, five more social drinks—are not gentle, and they are far from humble. They are cruel with our hearts, promising what can’t suffice yet grooming us as repeat customers. Their yoke is weighty and binding. Christ’s is easy and light. No other gods:
To keep yourself from idols is to live with a whole heart of faith in Jesus. John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart. Has something or someone besides Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear & delight? It's a question bearing on the immediate motivation for one’s behavior, thoughts, & feelings. In the Bible’s conceptualization, the motivation question is the lordship question. Who or what rules my behavior, the Lord or a substitute?
The 1st Great Commandment, to love God heart, soul, mind, & might, also demonstrates the essential inwardness of the law regarding idolatry. The language of love, trust, fear, hope, seeking, serving—terms describing a relationship to the true God—is continually utilized in the Bible to describe our false loves, trusts, fears, hopes, pursuits, false masters. If idolatry is the characteristic & summary OT word for our drift from God, then desires is the characteristic & summary NT word for the same drift. See Gal 5:16ff; Eph 2:3 & Eph 4:22; 1 Pet 2:11 & 1 Pet 4:2; 1 John 2:16; James 1:14f Both are shorthand for the problem of human beings.
The 10th commandment's also a command that internalizes the problem of sin, making sin psychodynamic. It lays bare the grasping & demanding nature of the human heart, as Paul powerfully describes it in Rom 7. Interestingly & unsurprisingly the NT merges the concept of idolatry & the concept of inordinate, life-ruling desires. Idolatry becomes a problem of the heart, a metaphor for human lust, craving, yearning, & greedy demand. 2nd, the Bible treats idolatry as a central feature of the social context, “the world,” which shapes & molds us. Idols of the Heart
1 John 5:21 —Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. *
about how I discovered to my shock that I was an idolator. When you discover something like that, the obvious first thing you want to do is stop doing it! The problem is that with idolatry, we generally have quite a few idols in our hearts that we've been unaware of and we have to discover what they are before we can get rid of them. With the Lord's help, I've learned of one way to discover what my idols are, and it's actually pretty easy to do. It makes sense too when we realize that anything we've made into an idol is going to be something we feel strongly about.
When we feel strongly about something, that means we're also going to have some real strong emotions concerning it when we feel it's threatened. The main emotions we tend to feel when an idol is threatened are anger, fear, and/or jealousy. I learned that if I pay attention to what makes me really angry, or hurt, I'll come to quickly know what my idols are.
Our emotions can tell us what we hold the most dear, what's the most important to us. If someone spills something that stains on a piece of carpet that we think of as trash anyway, we're not going to get upset about it, or at least not real upset. But if someone stains something we value highly, then we're going to get really upset!
I'm not suggesting that every time we get angry it means we've got an idol lurking behind it. The way we can tell the difference is by how often we get angry about something. If we consistently get angry or fearful or feel jealous about something, we need to examine what's behind it to find out what our false god is. If we're generally angered or hurt by things other people say and/or do to us, if we examine what made us angry about what each person said or did, we'll most likely find a pattern, and that pattern will lead us to our false god.
We all have the false god of self that we have to deal with. The major symptom for that god is selfishness which can show up in many different ways. When we're saved, our part is supposed to be to die to ourselves and live for Christ, so it's natural that our "self" is going to fight that to the bitter end. But if we're not aware of it and keep alert, it's going to take back control or try to. So the idol of self is one I think we all have to fight fairly constantly.
The other false gods may not be so easy to spot. There's false gods of money, success, image, beauty, materialism, etc. Anything can be made into a false god, and probably has been by someone.
When we feel angry or fearful about something consistently, we need to ask ourselves why we're feeling threatened; what are we afraid we're going to lose; what goal is being blocked, or what's so important that it's causing us to lose control, and what are we getting from this area that we should be getting from God? What need is it filling for us that we should be having filled by God?
Strong emotions are a good reason to look and see just what those emotions are pointing us to. Fear, anger, hurt feelings, and jealousy are especially good signs that will often point us to who or what we're putting our hope in. I've also realized that the things that have hurt us in the past, how and why were were hurt and what we think we need to stop the pain and prevent it from happening again, will also help point us toward our false gods.
A false god or idol is anything that we have put our hope in, or that we're looking to for love, acceptance, contentment and/or happiness. Our strong emotions can tell us that something's wrong, that we've misplaced our affections, because God is supposed to be first in our lives. He demands to be first...above our parents, children, spouse, siblings or anyone or anything else.
I'd like to end this by simply including a few of my notes about idols as they've helped me to find many of mine.
We’ve defined idols as anything that is inflated to take the position of God in our lives, anyone or anything that becomes an ultimate thing. We’ve discovered that some of their roots trace back to experiences of being unloved, rejected, abused—or the flipside, of having it all while ironically having an insatiable desire for more. We’ve identified a few of their more prominent characteristics, which revolve around subtle deceit, blatant lies, and flashy seduction. No other gods
“Belief in Yahweh doesn’t come with your mind, Hezekiah. It comes with your heart. When you only believe in things you can see with your eyes and touch with your hands, it is idolatry.” Trusting in Molech, as Ahaz did, or trusting in your own wisdom and intellect—there’s no difference in God’s eyes. It’s all idolatry.” Gods and kings: A novel.
Idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn’t true or attempting to transform Him into something He isn’t. God: Coming face to face with His Majesty
The essence of idolatry, is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Be Determined.
The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. To make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life is idolatry. The Bible exposition
Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God. Morning and evening
According to Paul in Romans 6:16, we all have a yoke and we all have a burden—there is no getting around this, as much as we might like to think we can skip through life weightless and independent. Every day, every minute, we will serve something. The trickier part is who or what will that be? The idols of our hearts—the people I depend on for approval, Ashley’s dismal boyfriend, five more social drinks—are not gentle, and they are far from humble. They are cruel with our hearts, promising what can’t suffice yet grooming us as repeat customers. Their yoke is weighty and binding. Christ’s is easy and light. No other gods:
To keep yourself from idols is to live with a whole heart of faith in Jesus. John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart. Has something or someone besides Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear & delight? It's a question bearing on the immediate motivation for one’s behavior, thoughts, & feelings. In the Bible’s conceptualization, the motivation question is the lordship question. Who or what rules my behavior, the Lord or a substitute?
The 1st Great Commandment, to love God heart, soul, mind, & might, also demonstrates the essential inwardness of the law regarding idolatry. The language of love, trust, fear, hope, seeking, serving—terms describing a relationship to the true God—is continually utilized in the Bible to describe our false loves, trusts, fears, hopes, pursuits, false masters. If idolatry is the characteristic & summary OT word for our drift from God, then desires is the characteristic & summary NT word for the same drift. See Gal 5:16ff; Eph 2:3 & Eph 4:22; 1 Pet 2:11 & 1 Pet 4:2; 1 John 2:16; James 1:14f Both are shorthand for the problem of human beings.
The 10th commandment's also a command that internalizes the problem of sin, making sin psychodynamic. It lays bare the grasping & demanding nature of the human heart, as Paul powerfully describes it in Rom 7. Interestingly & unsurprisingly the NT merges the concept of idolatry & the concept of inordinate, life-ruling desires. Idolatry becomes a problem of the heart, a metaphor for human lust, craving, yearning, & greedy demand. 2nd, the Bible treats idolatry as a central feature of the social context, “the world,” which shapes & molds us. Idols of the Heart
1 John 5:21 —Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. *
Part 2: The times we're most likely to turn to an idol
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