Tag Archives: idol

What/who do we actually worship?

26 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Politics, Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Martin Luther wrote the following explanation when he considered the 1st Commandment:

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

That is: Thou shalt have [and worship] Me alone as thy God. What is the force of this, and how is it to be understood? What does it mean to have a god? or, what is God? Answer: A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust be right, then is your god also true; and, on the other hand, if your trust be false and wrong, then you have not the true God; for these two belong together, faith and God. That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.

(Source: http://bookofconcord.org/lc-3-tencommandments.php)

I wonder, what are the gods we worship today?  I think they are different from Luther’s time.  With new technology comes new idols.  With differing ways of thinking comes news idols.  In a sense, they can’t be helped.

Considering all the coverage that is given to politics from the campaign through to the new administration, I don’t think it’s a bold statement to say that politics is an idol for many Americans.  We give an extreme amount of attention to what politicians and candidates have to say on any number of subjects – whether those subjects are important or not.  And it’s not just one party or the other – it’s both.

All throughout the campaign I saw people and even clergy seem to follow Luther’s observation – “a god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress…”  So many people were essentially putting their hope and salvation in who would be elected.  This isn’t new though, people do this in each election.  Obama even used the “hope” theme to help him draw people to support him.

Now that the election is past and a new administration is in power, it seems as though this continues.  But I don’t think it would have been any different had the results been different.  The only difference is who is disappointed in the results.  The attitude about politics and government haven’t changed though.  We place a great deal of emphasis on what our government does and what our politicians say.  We wait to see and hear what the pronouncements will be.  We read what the executive orders are.  All of this as if our refuge and hope for all good reside in Washington, DC.

And like all idols, it is false.  Yet many want to continue to believe otherwise.  Politics and government is a false idol – it can never be our refuge and hope ultimately because it’s made up of broken people, just like us.  Government, and the people who run our government, aren’t divinely inspired or morally more virtuous.  They aren’t smarter, or better, or more ethical.  They are just like us – broken.  And so by “expecting all good…which we are to take refuge in all distress” when it comes to politics and government, we are misplacing our trust and devotion.

I’m not arguing that there should be no government.  This isn’t an all or nothing situation.  What I am arguing is that I think we in this country place too much emphasis on the importance of government and politicians.  We have made what happens in Washington, DC far too important to our daily lives and that’s not healthy for anyone.  When we get to a situation where certain lives depend on what government does or does not do, that is not an advancement for society – that’s slavery.  That might sound extreme, but I’m not sure how else to describe it.

We in the church are just as guilty in participating in this.  Far too many Christians shift their theology in order to align with their ideology.  Politics becomes the foundation of our lives for too many Christians.  Ask yourself these questions – Are you a Christian that is more concerned with voting party line than looking at what people stand for?  Is your political party registration more important than living out what you claim to believe?  Would you vote for a candidate that opposes what you believe at the core just because they are in the same political party?

Do you consider yourself a Christian Democrat or a Christian Republican?  How about a liberal or conservative Christian?  Why are these labels so important?  Do you see other self-professing Christians who disagree with you on any given issue as Christian brothers and sisters and treat them with respect, love, and mercy?  Or does their political identification get in the way of that?

Politics, government and a whole host of other things can be and often are idols.  They offer us promises of hope and a bright future – often using religious terminology to do so.  That’s why idols are so appealing.  Yet, our ultimate hope and salvation reside in God.

Work with politics and government – it’s the way to accomplish things in our society.  And many times good things have come from it.  Yet be aware when they become idols – when we stop thinking rationally about policy, when our future relies on specific politicians, when we get locked into rigid conformity in thought and rhetoric, when we look at the abstract idea as more important than the practical application of policy and its effect on actual people, when we believe that we advance only when our political party advances, when we believe that a political party will help unfold the kingdom of God.

Idols that we have

29 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

MUDD1091

Here are two definitions of idol that I like:

  1. an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.
  2. a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.

Those come from a quick Google search for “idol definition.”

Those are pretty good definitions – straight and too the point.

I wonder, what are the idols we have in our lives?  What are the things that we have faith in?  What is it that we worship?

The last two weeks, I think it would be safe to answer those questions saying that there are many people in the US who have made partisan politics and politicians into idols.  We get plenty of language that refers to it that way.  How many times did you hear people talking about a politician who was going to “save” the nation and referred to the other party as evil.  These folks give messianic descriptions of their preferred candidates.

Some people make celebrities into idols.  I’m not sure why exactly.  They are just doing a job, which they happen to make a lot of money doing.  It makes as much sense as making an idol out of a well paid garbage collector who is seen on TV a bunch.

Sports has turned into an idol for some. In fact, often it seems as though sports is it’s own religion in the US.  You have professional teams that have die-hard fans who practically worship and hang on anything the team says or does and takes it as gospel.  “I can’t go to church pastor, I have to [worship] at the stadium instead.”

This list can get long, so here are some other popular idols that people have – wealth, sex, food, the environment, drugs, entertainment, patriotism, the bible (yes, I said the bible – the bible is not God and not to be worshiped.), automobiles, technology, work, safety, etc.

You can come up with your own list.  Here’s the deal, if we think about this a little bit, I’m willing to bet that we can all find and admit to the idols we have made in our lives.  Everyone – you, men, even the pope.

Idols provide us the sense of safety and control.  It’s right there when and where we need it.   Idols listen to us and make us feel the way we want to feel.  Idols give us words we want to hear.  Idols help us dream of what could be.  Idols help us to feel justified.  Idols give us something to defend and help us create us and them sides.  Idols do a lot for us – or rather, they give us the impression that they are a great benefit to us.  Which is why we have them and create them.

Yet the problem with idols is just that – we create them.  An idol doesn’t exist on it’s own.  It exists because we give it meaning and significance.  It comes from us and continues to exist because of us.  Idols are all about us.

Yet, idols are ultimately empty and worthless. They are made up. They will end up failing us.  They will never fill the hole within us completely or satisfactorily.

Only God can do that. Yet, that can be scary.  It’s scary because it means we aren’t in control.  We can’t control of God.  We are the limited ones.  Trusting in God is taking a leap of faith – not knowing what or where your next step will land and yet still taking that step.  Idols will fail us – they won’t be there when we need them most.  God never abandons us – especially in our time of need.  It may not appear that way.  We may not get the result we wanted.  Yet we are never abandoned.

Is being right most important?

11 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Is being right the most important thing in the world?

Our pursuit of being right over living rightly has been costly.  We have had wars, revolts, killings, terror, and devastation as a result of being right.  Being right has ended numerous relationships.

The fruit of making being right an idol is division, anger, conflict, belittling, dehumanizing, and insulting.

Being right is what props up the Just War Theology – you can kill your enemy in order to save them.

Being right allows you to impose heavy burdens and demand compliance with the letter of the law.

Being right means we can label those who won’t see the truth as we see it.

Being right means there are people on our side and then there is the other side.  Those people aren’t just wrong, they are stubborn for not hearing the truth.  Let’s damn them.  Let’s label them.  Let’s call down fire or missiles from the sky and destroy them.  They deserve it.  We’re right and their are so clearly wrong.  They are evil.

And then we’re confronted with a story:

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

– Luke 10:29-37

Making being right an idol means asking the question – who is my neighbor?  Who is on my side and who is on the other side?  Who is with us and who is against us?

Being a neighbor is different.  It’s costly.  It looks past the labels.  It doesn’t see enemies but rather people of God’s creation.  It costs control over your own schedule and plans.  It costs you time, money, and energy.  It costs you when your friends and family and countrymen see you being a neighbor to the one they taught you was an enemy since you were young.

And it’s what we are called to be.

Being right is important.  Wandering through life without a foundation or a rudder to direct you is not what we are called to.  And there are limits to it.  Being right at the expense of living right is not being right at all.  Belief that is not carried out is empty.  Faith that has no follow-up is worthless.

But I get it.  It’s so much easier and you can feel so much more self-righteous when you post a meme on social media declaring how right you are and belittling those who disagree with you.  I get it.  It feels so much better to hold the right beliefs and keep them pure, rather then risk getting messy with someone who is lost.  Much better to either avoid them or criticize them.  You wouldn’t want to open yourself to their story and the possibility that you would see the world differently.  It might cause you to change what you see as right.  Wouldn’t want that, would we?

Being right and being a neighbor are both costly.  Being right costs other people a great deal.  Being a neighbor costs you a great deal.  And it gives life to the one who you were a neighbor to.

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

-Luke 10:36-37

Modern False Idols

16 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by in Society

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

When you think of the term “idols,” what comes to mind?  Do you think of singers who are either really good or are making fools of themselves?  Do you think of the Bible?  What do you think of?

I’m not going to talk about the TV show, but rather those things that are idols in our life.  John Pavlovitz wrote an excellent piece on the Great False Idol of Modern Christianity just yesterday.  Here’s the main point – John claims that fear is our great false idol – it’s what we put our trust in.  Don’t believe him, just look around and see what everyone focuses on.  I totally agree with him.

I think fear is a huge challenge for people.  It’s amazing to see normally rational people succumb to the idol of fear.  And it usually doesn’t take much.  Pay attention to what happens in the US when the weather people tell us there is going to be a snowstorm – people flock to the grocery store to buy up all sorts of food as if they will be trapped in their homes for weeks.  Seriously?

American politics has gotten really good at using fear to drive votes, raise money and keep people attached to one political party or the other.  “They’re going to take your guns!” or “They’re going make grandma choose between buying medication and eating dog food” are actual phrases I have heard politicians and politicos use to put fear into people.  Seriously?

Religion is good at using fear too. “You have to do (fill in the blank here with your favorite must do), or else you’ll go to hell!”  Wow, that’s a loving message if ever there was one.

Yes, fear is a modern idol.  Yet, it’s amazing that we could probably list many, many more idols too.  Here’s just a few off the top of my head – anything dealing with a screen – TV, tablet, computer, internet, social media.  There are physical things – exercise, sex, drugs.  There’s identity things – work, religion (yes, religion can be an idol, it’s not God).  The list goes on and on.  We all have our favorite idols, only we typically call them habits in our modern context.  It’s much more sanitary that way and we don’t feel as guilty.

Why do we have idols?  I think part of the reason we do is because we fear the unknown.  An idol is something that is tangible or has tangible elements to it.  If it’s tangible than we can touch it, we can control it.  If we can control something, then there is no unknown anymore, or very little.

But with God, there’s a whole lot of unknown.  We are not in control and that scares the hell out of us.  It scares us because it brings us front and center with the truth – we are not in control.  We have never been in control. We will never be in control.

The only one in control is God.  Does this mean that all of a sudden we’ll just put away all the idols in our life?  I doubt it.  We’re both sinners and saints.  But it does mean that I can recognize the idols in my life for what they are – security blankets – things that give me a false sense of control over my life.  I can continue to examine why I attach myself to these things.  I can continue to pray and talk with God about these things and put them in God’s hands to deal with because Lord knows I don’t have the power to deal with them, to let go of them – they are too comforting many times.

Yes, my friends, the good news is that God’s got your back, your front and the rest of you.  God’s looking at that idol that we all cling to and saying, “Really? That’s what you’re pinning your hopes on? How’s that working for ya? I’ve got something better.  It’s so much better it’s not even a comparison.  Oh and by the way, I already chose you, so you don’t even have to worry about deciding what to do here.  I did this for you because I love you.”