In Exodus 20:2-6, God is giving the law to Moses and He begins by reminding him that He alone is The Eternal One, The Almighty, The Rightful Master over all things. Not only does God’s uniqueness demand worship and praise, but God being Israel’s savior should have been met with glowing thanks. Consequently, God begins by saying, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The chief commandment was to worship Jehovah and Him alone as God. God specifically mentions that they were not to make any carved image (presumably because that is something that would have been prevalent in Egypt), but He goes on to define an idol as “any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In other words, an idol is anything we worship that is not God. God points out that disobeying His commands is synonymous with hating Him—one cannot claim to love God and give everything He deserves to someone or something else.
Beyond having idolatry defined in Scripture, we also have the path to it clearly illustrated. In Romans 1:18-32 we can see the progression of idolatry in one’s mind and actions. Idolatry is born out of a failure to honor and thank God for who He is and what He has done. It distorts our thinking as we fill the space reserved for God alone with the things He created. We are able to ignore the unreasonableness of worshipping the lesser rather than the greater because we have already traded the truth about God for a lie. Ultimately, worshipping something other than God allows me to please my idol (read “myself”) by doing exactly what I want to do. It is this disregard of what God commands in favor of fulfilling my desires my way that is the root of every evil thing. The pride, deception, and selfishness in idolatry can lead us into all kinds of sins (some of which Paul lists) we probably never imagined practicing.
How do we know if there is an idol in our lives, since idolatry includes exchanging the truth about God for a lie? How do we honestly address potential idols in our lives if their nature is to disguise themselves as good and profitable things? In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we are given a picture of daily worship of God. Removing idols in our lives begins by examining how devoted we are to God Himself, and then by identifying what lesser things are keeping us from doing what he commands. The proper response to recognizing who God is, is to completely devote myself to Him. This means He must fill my mind and control my will. To do that, I need to know what He expects and commands. To maintain this relationship based on trust and obedience, God must be on my mind when I talk to my family, inside and outside my home, before I go to bed, and as soon as I wake up in the morning. The only way to do this is to actively remind myself of His words, even if it means writing them on the walls of my home, or on myself.
How are you doing with devoting yourself to God, in light of His definition? Does He occupy your thoughts all throughout the day? Do His words guide your every action? If not, what is it that is keeping you from fully giving your heart to God? Is it money and the acquisition of material things? Is it the praise and attention of your fellow man? Perhaps it is the image of a God other than the one revealed in Scripture that you have found “easier” to serve. An idol is anything—a person, place, thing, or idea—that competes with God for the center and focus of our lives. Let us be diligent to put away the foreign gods among us and purify our hearts for service to The One True and Living God.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)