"Idols" is a word used much more frequently in the Old Testament than the New, most often associated with statues of false gods. The language used to refer to the worship of idols (idolatry) is often heavy and condemning, and as such, it can be difficult to consider what idolatry might look like in modern-day life without straying into accusation. In this article, we'll look at idolatry in a broader sense – activities, attitudes, and values that can distract us from worshiping God if they take too prominent a place in our lives.
Individualism
The Early Church functioned as a community rather than a collection of individuals – more "we" than "I". The Apostle Paul taught that the church is a body and that we all have valuable roles to play within it. None of us is to consider ourselves more important than anyone else, or to say "I don't need you" to another member of the body.
Modern life in the West, on the other hand, is individualistic – the individual is praised for pursuing their private goals and ambitions, and success is understood as the acquisition of wealth and position. The Apostle James warned against giving special prominence to rich or important people in the church, and taught that while the poor should celebrate their elevated position in Christ, the rich should celebrate that they are no more important than anyone else.
The Epistles are peppered with warnings against favoritism or special treatment, and yet, in the light of the cultural environment we live in today, individualism is a potential distraction from emulating the humility of the God we serve. We do well when we remember that Jesus served us, his own creation, by abandoning his heavenly privileges, taking on fragile flesh, and humbling himself to death on the cross for our sake.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-4).
Likes and Blue Checks
Social media wasn't something the Early Church writers could have conceived of, but seeking to please people rather than God was a familiar concept. Paul goes as far as to say that seeking to please people is at odds with being a servant of God. Seeking the adulation of others is especially tempting for people who lack positive self-regard, and the little dopamine hits we get from social media likes and loves can distract us from the stillness necessary to embrace true healing. Jesus himself warned against the deception of popularity:
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets (Luke 6:26).
God understands our vulnerabilities and longs to love us into a place of wholeness, but if we put too much stock in the opinions of others, we might divert ourselves from the more wholesome project of learning to see ourselves the way God sees us.
Christian Nationalism
Christians are most simply identified as followers of Jesus, and Jesus didn't come to build an earthly kingdom. When Peter cut off the High Priest's servant's ear in Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked him for it and healed the injured man, telling Peter that he could call on his Father to send 12 legions of angels if it helped fulfill the scriptures. When standing before Pilate, he declared that his kingdom is not of this world, or he would have his disciples defend him by force.
If we believe that Jesus is the perfect expression of God's nature, we have to concede that force is not in God's toolkit for establishing the Kingdom of God. Various forms of force are used by Christian Nationalists, sometimes with the best intentions, to support what believers might consider a godly value, but it is literally impossible to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth that way.
Along with military force, as was once used in the Crusades, the most common way believers err in the use of force today is through legislation. It might be tempting to ban or restrict activities or lifestyles we don't believe are aligned with Christian values, for example, but ultimately, legislation is a way to build an earthly kingdom rather than a heavenly one. The legal structures we build can become idolatrous, replacing the divine mission to love unconditionally with the more worldly mission of establishing an earthly kingdom by force.
The Bible Itself
This is a tricky one for some, but it's essential to recognize that the Bible points us toward Jesus rather than toward itself. It is entirely possible to mimic the appearance of devotion through our knowledge of the Bible, without understanding the text at all. Jesus encountered folk who were in exactly that position.
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39).
If this verse shows us anything, it is that knowledge of the scriptures is not, in and of itself, a pathway to holiness. We are better off meditating on a single verse until it sinks into our bones than reading through vast portions of the Biblical text without absorbing them.
Paul wrote of this same dynamic – a fleshly approach to the scriptures versus a spiritual approach. He declares that no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God, and that we, through that same Spirit, can perceive scriptural truths in a spiritual, even a mystical way. Head knowledge is of little to no value in understanding the things of God.
In Ephesians 3, Paul prayed that we would grasp the height, depth, width, and length of the love of Christ, and that we would "know this love that surpasses knowledge", which in turn leads to being "filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." These are extraordinary ambitions, utterly grounded in love, and the key to growth is to know (intimately, as a husband knows his wife) this love that surpasses knowledge (intellectual, carnal knowledge).
However much we value the scriptures, we cannot learn their true meaning or draw near to the One they speak about without the Spirit of Christ, who always and only points to Jesus. In this, the wise believer avoids the idol of biblical head-knowledge and keeps their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith.
