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Idolatry
Today the vacuum created by the
attack on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture and the tradition of the
Church has left the way open for a secular humanist mentality to pervade the
life of the Christian people. The new goal is happiness and satisfaction, not
holiness. Whatever makes a person happy is what he or she is encouraged to
pursue. When given the choice between God's will or our will, far too many
Christians choose their own will.
Man Placed at
the Center
The secular humanist call
to fulfill oneself, to achieve individual happiness, to place one's faith in
the inevitability of human progress has a powerful hold on the minds of many
Christians today. For many Christians the desire for worldly happiness and
success has become the driving force in their lives. God is important only when
His dictates do not conflict with our selfish desires.
The displacement of the biblical
faith that once informed Western society by the Enlightenment faith that is
undermining it provides the unifying theme for the various idolatries that
populate our society. When Jesus said that false Christ's would come to lead
people astray (Matt. 24:24), he did not mean there would be lunatics thinking
they were he, but rather that messianic figures and movements demanding
ultimate allegiance would deceive people into following idols. The practice of
idolatry has serious consequences, which the prophets of Israel identified as
oppression, injustice, and bloodshed. That is why the ascendancy of
Enlightenment faith to a position of dominance in recent decades has brought
the pathologies of the West to a state of virulence. Herbert
Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, pg. 262.
Since ours
is not so much a pagan (which is to say pre-Christian) society as it is a
post-Christian one, the dangers are all the more serious. The forces of
idolatry do not urge us to worship Zeus but rather use the language that for
many centuries has been associated with the Christian church. Profound
religious differences may on the surface appear trivial, and one who points to
them runs the risk of being called a hair-splitter. Just as an observer in the
seventh century before Christ would be hard-pressed to distinguish the altar of
the Lord from one dedicated to Baal, so are we faced with similar confusion
when devotees of the idol state use the language of Christian compassion in
their evangelistic mission. Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for
Destruction, pp. 322-323.
What's your
idol?
- Money?
- Pride?
- Your own opinion?
- Fame?
- Power?
- Academic degrees?
- Sports?
- Job?
- Family?
- Pleasure?
- Church programs?
- Religion?
- Food?
- Exercise?
- Politics?
Whatever comes between you and
the Lord, in your daily living, is your idol.
(Ex. 20:3-5; 32:3-4; Ps
24:3-5; Isa. 44:15-17) |
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