Last week I ran out of time in my consideration of idols. My last post, in fact, stated that I would list some idols we have today. Then time slipped by, life got hectic and I failed to finish my thought. (That happens a lot lately. Is that a sign of old age?) 🙂
So…what are some idols we have. Pastor Timothy Keller calls our idols “counterfeit gods.” He calls them “anything more important to us than God, anything that absorbs our heart and mind more than God, anything we seek to give us what only God can give.” So here is a list…albeit a short one…and an incomplete one.
Idol #1: Stuff. We live in a materialistic society. We like our stuff. But is it necessary? What place does it have in our lives? Questions to ask: do I really need all this stuff? If God asked me to let it go, could I?
Idol #2: Money. J.D. Rockefeller was once asked, “How much does it take to make me rich?” His answer: “Just a little bit more.” Tragically, our society has bought into this trap. I’m sorry to say many televangelists live off the pockets of others and become wealthy.
Idol #3: Sex. The statistics of internet use of pornography are staggering. It is more toxic and addictive than any other drug. Men and (more and more) women who would never think of taking meth, heroine, coke, or some other drug, find themselves enslaved by this drug.
My next post will list the next three. Absorb what you read here. Then ask yourself some hard questions. I already have and will continue doing so.
Money, as in needing more and more, is not my idol, but the worries I entertain at times, imagining down the road I won’t have enough, is purely ridiculous.
I will pray about that one; surely, God will provide all our needs.
Blessings, Bill!
When idols are spelled out for us in these practical ways, we all are more likely to see how guilty we are. Thanks for sharing this series, Bill. I read Tim Keller’s book awhile back and found it important.
I agree with Martha–while an abundance of money isn’t what I am looking for, wondering if I will have enough down the road can be just as distracting.
These seem more of a list of someone’s legalistic no nos rather than idols. I don’t think anyone prays to their stuff or their money or their pornography. Religious idols, as far as Abrahamic religions, tend to be graven images that are being worshipped, bowed down to, and prayed to. Catholics and Eastern orthodox Christians more so than Protestant. Maybe the purpose was to sell books rather than discuss religious idols in an historical context which is where I hoped you were going. Sounds like legalism with an idol twist.
Unfortunately I suffer all three. But since money is on top of the list, it overshadows the other two. I am a bit of a collector of electronic gadgets, especially electric guitar stuff. Thankfully however, I don’t have the money I used to, and indeed I now live with an almost empty bank account every month, but I am content in that the Lord always pulls me through.
The sex part of it I thought was easy..since I haven’t had any sex, but then I thought I am still battling the pornography demon, so I am guilty on that account.
The senses are an amazing gift and the source of an easy target for the enemy.
I’m curious about the rest of your list. I have one particular issue I think that is one of the biggest idols of all and yet is rarely talked about.