We all have idols. You. Me. Your friend at church. Your neighbor. Your parents. Your kids. All of us.
Most of the time we do not really think about this. I’d say a majority of the time we aren’t even aware of these idols.
But they change everything.
What is an idol?
The best definition of an idol for a believer is that it is something that takes the place of God in our hearts; it’s something that becomes more important than God to us.
There are many idols. Things we may have not ever considered as idols: Children, family, friends, personal health and fitness, education, reputation, science (so-called), love for the things of this world, popularity, money, pride, celebrities, professionals (therapists, counselors, life coaches, etc.)
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the importance of biblical interpretation. I mentioned I would write a second post as to why I believe people are being so loosey-goosey with their approach to scripture. I’ve been reflecting on this much over the past month or so. Before I even wrote the first post.
I think this is the answer: Idols.
Let me give a few examples—
—A parent says they believe in the historical interpretation of the Word of God and teaches their child this very thing. But this child grows up to choose a different lifestyle. A lifestyle that the Bible clearly deems as sinful. At this point, the parent has a choice to make. Will they continue to stand on their belief in the historical understanding of scripture or will they believe that all Christians throughout history got the whole thing all wrong and go with a “new”, liberal, twisted interpretation of these clear scriptural passages?
Many parents have decided to go with the thing that is less painful (i.e. it isn’t sin and it doesn’t matter) rather than to believe the truth as it is stated in God’s Word. With a little twisting here and there by a celebrity pastor or author, combined with the belief that there can be more than one interpretation and that none of us can really know, well, you can see where it can land you.
This person’s idol is their child. And they have clearly chosen which is most important to them in this scenario.
—Worldly Science declares a lot of things about this world. Things that go clearly against the Word of God. But to believe differently than what the world believes in this area is to be viewed as unintellectual and even stupid. And so many will try to combine the truth of God’s Word with what the world teaches. Or they will just believe what the world teaches, ignoring clear scriptures that say something completely different.
This person’s idol is science.
—A person wants to live like the world. They want to watch what the world watches; listen to what the world listens to; dress like the world dresses; and talk like the world talks. But, in order to do this, one must reject the traditional understanding of worldliness. And so this “you can interpret the Bible in any old way” comes in handy, yes? Suddenly, “remove obscene talk from your mouth” doesn’t mean foul language but it can mean something totally unrelated. Modesty can be talked around; filthy entertainment is “never spoken of” in scripture, etc etc. This person loves the world and wants what they want and will twist scripture in whatever way they want.
This person’s idol is the things of this world.
—A person is struggling to find their way in life. For whatever reason. Something has them upset and they decide to seek counsel. And so they find a “Christian” Counselor. This counselor, as most of them do, tries to marry modern psychology with the Bible by taking verses out of context and twisting scripture. But because these two things cannot be combined, as they are at complete odds with one another, this counselor leads them away from the Bible and towards worldly thinking. At this point, if the person stays with that counselor, they are idolizing their counselor or perhaps the wisdom of the world. They are, in essence, saying they believe this counselor and their worldly ideas will help them more than God’s Word.
This person’s idol is a professional.
There are so many more examples we could list. It seems there are as many idols as there are people.
But I guess what I’ve been mostly thinking about is this: What is MY idol?
I am not immune from this approach to scripture. What do I hold so dear that it colors my interpretation of scripture? What verses do I conveniently ignore because I don’t want to obey them.
What are the things that “ruffle my feathers” when they come up in a discussion about the Bible and what it teaches, simply because I am unwilling to relinquish my grip on it or to move towards change?
Mark Twain once said this: “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.”
I don’t believe Twain was a Christian, but he puts into words the plain old truth of the matter for us all, doesn’t he?
Because, at the end of the day, we can understand so much. But we don’t always like what we read in the Bible. And we certainly don’t always want to obey what it says.
And so to claim that interpretation is up for grabs and that the Bible can be interpreted any old way really works for us. It releases us from the obedience God calls for. Because we all get to decide what we need to obey. What you need to obey may not be what I need to obey.
It sounds so silly. And that’s because it is. And yet this is the “intellectual” thinking that is out there. Man thinks he can determine what is true for HIM. There are no absolutes.
We saw this kind of thinking coming years ago—no absolute truth— and now this has even weaved its way into the way church-goers think—even those who would consider themselves “evangelical Christians”.
Idols blind us so fully that we can’t even see that we have relinquished the absolute truth of scripture so that we can keep our hold on our precious idol.
I believe the first step to change is prayer. Let’s pray that God will show us what we are idolizing over and above Him and His Word. Let’s pray for humility and a willingness to SEE. Yes, it’s a painful process but spiritual growth often is painful. May we not let that stop us.
Oh, that we may cast aside our idols and believe scripture for what it simply says.
No, this is NOT easy to do. But it is So VERY CRITICAL. It always has been but perhaps never more so than in the midst of this confusing, chaotic “Christianity” we find ourselves living in.