The Bible says:
“Neither be ye idolaters.”
— 1 Corinthians 10: 7
An idolater is someone with something or someone that has come before God. This something or someone is an idol.
When we think about idols we think about graven images of stone, wood, gold, silver, iron and brass, (Isaiah 2: 8; Daniel.5: 23) porcelain, glass, clay, or plastic. These idols are insensible and insentient (lacking perception, consciousness, and animation).
They have eyes but can’t see, ears but can’t hear, mouths but can’t speak, noses but can’t smell, hands but can’t grasp, and feet but can’t walk. (Psalm 115: 4-7) They can’t help themselves or anyone else.
But these idols originated in the imagination with an idea of a god in an attempt at the ideal. The image on the ground represented the idea in the imagination.
(Ezekiel 14: 3, 4) The idolater submitted to subjective truth at the expense of objective truth; God’s Word.
Though we don’t see idols or physical images of would-be gods around as there once was, idolatry is still widely practiced today. Ancient civilizations had their idols on the ground, but our idols are much closer than that. Our idols are in our mind.
Theologian A.W. Tozer said, “An idol on the mind is just as offensive to God as an idol on the ground.”
The word “Neither be ye idolaters” and “little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 John 5: 21) and “Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10: 14) was given to Christians.
The idols we, as Christians have, are not on the ground, but on the mind. And they are just as real, and distractive, and destructive as those on the ground.
One idol many have is “another Jesus” they imagined with their likeness when they refused to follow the biblical Jesus and His will. (2 Corinthians 11: 4) We know we have idols and are idolaters when before God’s revealed will, we first check to make sure His will doesn’t disrupt our will and the plans we have for our family, career, money, or anything else. These things, and many others unnamed, become idols when we put them before God and His will.
“Lord, I will follow thee; but ...”
— Luke 9: 61
To see if you have any idols don’t look on the ground, look inside your heart. Did you find any?
James H. Cagle is a Ray City resident who pastored several churches for a total of 11 years. Email him at pastorjameshcagle@ yahoo.com
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