When you think of idols, do you who live in the United States think of American Idol? How about in Europe? Do you think about British Idol and Pop Idol? There are other TV shows in other countries just like these. They are all produced for the public’s viewing and hearing pleasure and entertainment. The audience in the studio and at home can vote to choose the singer they think should be idolized. The singer whose voice is voted as best is chosen based on individual taste and appeal.
May I please tell
you something very important? If you don’t know this already, the only One who should be idolized is our
God, the creator of every human being, and the creator of Heaven and earth.
“… We know that an idol is nothing in the
world, and that there is no other God but One.” (1 Corinthians 8:4)
In fact, in
The Holy Bible, we can read what God told Moses: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the
place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol
of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the
sea.” (Deuteronomy
5:6-8)
Whoa! We have
idols all around us. People, things, and places are idolized. Even those we
think are deserving of our adoration and special attention are idolized. What
do I mean by that?
When I was
growing up in the religion of my youth, I was taught to kneel down in front of
statues. These statues represented Mary and Joseph (the human parents of Jesus
Christ [our God in the flesh]). I was taught not only to kneel down in front of
them, but also to pray to them. I was also taught to place money in the box for
the poor in honor of my prayers.
This religion
taught me that Mary and Joseph were praying to God on my behalf. This teaching
is incorrect! This is not Biblical!
These teachings and practices have been created and taught by man, not God!
God’s Word (The
Bible) teaches us the truth:
“For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) “Now
a mediator is not a mediator of
one, but God is One.” (Galatians 3:20)
I never felt
very comfortable kneeling down and praying to those statues. Somehow, something
within me was telling me that it was not right, but I didn’t know why. What was
wrong? My parents taught me that it was correct, good, and holy. But my
conscience and my heart were struggling with what I was being taught.
I’ll tell you
why I was struggling. It was because these statues are idols! That gnawing feeling
I had inside of me was meant to make me question this practice. In reality, I
was idolizing Mary and Joseph, and I was praying to the dead. Yes! That’s
correct! They are dead, and we are not to put anyone in between God and
ourselves. We are to only to give God our love and our prayers, and adore only Him.
When I was reading
my Bible diligently, I came across this scripture and everything became quite
clear: “... and you saw their
abominations and their idols which were among them — wood and stone and silver
and gold.” (Deuteronomy 29:17)
“Then God gave the people all these
instructions:” (Exodus 20:1) ... “You
must not have any god before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
Giving
someone or something other than God any idolization is placing that person or
that object as a god before the real God. We cannot do this! We must not do
this!
We
may or may not realize we’ve been doing this. We must be very careful. All of
our love, adoration, and any type of idolization must be given only to the One
and only Almighty God.
Otherwise: “...
You shall serve other gods... — [of] wood
and stone.” (Deuteronomy 28:64)
These are “idols of gold, and
silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.”
(Revelation 9:20)
This is what
has been done: “You took the very jewels
and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and
worshiped them. This is adultery against me!” (Ezekiel 16:7)
If we idolize
a person or an object (even if it represents a person), then we are committing
adultery against our God! We must be careful. We must seek forgiveness for our
idolizations.
“You must not make for yourself an idol of
any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
You must not bow down to them or worship
them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your
affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their
children; the entire family is affected — even children in the third and fourth
generations of those who reject me. But
I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and
obey my commands.” (Exodus 20:4-6)
After having
left that religion of my youth (that I had actually continued on throughout
most of my adulthood and through marriage...), I realized that I had sinned
against God. I had committed “adultery” through my idol worship (through my
religious upbringing). How awful, I realized, as I repented of my sin. Although
I was not certain why I felt uncomfortable when being taught and following the
actions of my parents in praying to these statues (these idols), God was
faithful in showing me the truth. He will show you, too, if you are open to Him.
That
discomfort when bowing and kneeling down to statues was there for a reason. I
simply needed to find out why. God will lead. We simply need to seek Him for He
is calling you to Himself.
Although my parents’
instructions were wrong, I believe it’s because they never really sought God
out enough to really know Him. They would pray the rote (repeated) prayers they
were taught, and they would follow the church’s man-made teachings, but would
they come to know the truth? According to the scriptures, “... the entire family is affected...”
God allowed me to understand the error of my ways from the error of my parents when I diligently sought Him and His Word. He allowed me to learn, to repent, and to be saved.
It is really
quite simple to earnestly seek God and His truth with all our heart. Let go of
the world and everything in it, and stop and seek your Creator!
God tells us:
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search
for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
I pray you
will seek God with all your heart. I pray you will see the truth, too. I pray
you will not allow any idols to pull you in the wrong direction away from God.
I pray you will repent of any idolization in your life that is not of God.
For
God says in His Word, the Bible: “Blessed
are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of
life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the
sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone
who loves and practices lying.”
Don’t
be left out of your eternal salvation to enter into Heaven. I want to see you
there someday!
Until
we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word
for Today: “Little children, keep
yourselves from idols [or] from
anything that might take God’s place in your heart.” (1 John 5:21)
Copyright
© 2014 by Patricia Shehan
All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set in italics and quotation marks.
All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set in italics and quotation marks.
