The Delusion of Idols

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

made by human hands.

They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears, but cannot hear,

nor is there breath in their mouths.

Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them."

Psalm 135:15-18

Relationships.  Success.  Romantic love.  Sex.  Power.  Money.  Financial Security.  Comfort.  Adventure.  Education.  Materialism.  Science.  Food.  Self-fulfillment.  Self.  There are many idols which mankind worships.  It's easy to get my priorities off, to place my trust in something or someone other than God, to give away God's rightful place at the center of my attentions.  

While I'm quick to wander away from my First Love, I am only deluding myself when I do (Revelation 2:4).

Impotent.  Whatever basket in which I place my eggs will one day bust wide open, spilling all my hopes and dreams onto the floor in a sticky mess.  Anything in which I lean on, putting my confidence in, is created.  Everything that has ever been made receives its power from its Creator.  Nothing in all of existence, then, has any power unto itself except for God.  Therefore, I am trusting in an impotent object whenever I have faith in anything or anyone other than the Almighty; a risky proposition, wouldn't you agree?

Yet I often go there, believing scientific findings hold the answers to my deepest questions, or medical research is my hope for healing, or my best shot at a meaningful life will come once I attain that diploma.  We all pin our hopes on something that is unable to deliver, that was never meant to carry us through, that can't do all that we want it to do.  Only God is able to do more than we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  Only God has the power I need.

Anything other than God will let me down because it is impotent to generate the change I need, the love I crave, the security I seek.

Useless.  A carved image made by man's hands sits on the altar.  It may have eyes, but they're only for looks.  It might have a mouth, but no words every emerge from it.  I can see ears formed on the side of its head, but it never gives any indication that it hears me.  I can pour my heart out, crying tears of desperation before it, but it will never respond.  I'm better off confiding in my dog; at least he will act like he cares.

While I have never placed my hope in an idol made of wood or stone, I have trusted in things that will never be able to help me.  I hear the common sense that comes from television personalities and I try to imagine in vain how they might respond if I were able to seek their advice (1 Corinthians 3:19).  Or I cry my eyes out over a sink of suds, feeling a sense of relief but never finding the peace I need (Philippians 4:6-7).  Or I spend hours researching answers on the Internet, but never seem to find anything that will truly help me (James 1:5).  All on which I pin my hopes is useless.

Looking for help in anything other than God is an exercise in futility because even if it promises the answers I need, its assurances are empty and useless, like the eyes, mouth and ears carved on a wooden idol.

Transformational.  It occurs without fail.  No matter how hard I may try to resist, I am unable to stop it from happening.  Even if I have the best intentions, I'll soon find myself where I never wanted to be.  Idols have a way of sucking me into their world and before I know it, I'll resemble them in some way, kind of like how dogs and their masters end up looking alike.

I become like what I worship.  Whatever I adore or look up to will influence me in ways I don't even realize.  If I want to become more cold-hearted, I need look no further than technology where the latest and greatest is always sought and there is never a thought to the human behind the device.  If it's temporary satisfaction I desire, I can place sex and sensual pleasures on a pedestal, and I'll find myself always wanting more.  If it's emptiness and a feeling of meaningless is what I want, I can place my hopes in modern science where I'm nothing more than an accident, here completely by chance. 

Since I become like whatever I look up to, worshiping anything other than God will lead me to become more and more like the world that is headed toward destruction.

There are a million places where I can place my faith.  When I trust in anything besides God, I will find such an idol to be impotent to help me, useless in every way, and transformational in it's influence.  Therefore, I would be wise to make it my intention to keep God at the center of my vision, pinning all my hopes on Him.  He will never let me down: In Him there are no delusions.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God with all of my heart.

When do I find myself becoming someone I never wanted to be, not realizing that I am simply being influenced by whatever it is I'm revering as the next best thing.

How am I fooling myself into believing I don't have an idol problem?