Friday, Mar. 20
“An idol is anything that we turn to for help and security rather than trusting God.”—Tom Thieme. This was true for the Israelites of old and it’s still true today. Most of us don’t set up little idols in our homes and bow down to them; we are a little more sophisticated. The Israelites didn’t have cars or televisions to worship, but they had the same sin nature. They wanted to do things their way, just as we do today. And their perverse sin nature gave them a lot of creative ways to get what they wanted. They cheated and stole and lied, they coveted, they committed adultery, they killed and raped. They focused on themselves. They rationalized their behavior, they made excuses, they tried to justify their selfish, greedy ways. They turned to other gods that were more tolerant than the true God. They rejected God’s warnings, refusing to change their ways. Even their leaders succumbed, their priests, their prophets, their kings. Actually, Tom put a very positive spin on this. Putting it in terms of wanting help and security is a mild way of putting it. It makes it seem more like legitimate goals. And I guess that’s why idolaters would like to think of it. But Tom’s point is well taken. Any deviation from trusting and obeying God is a form of idolatry. And God hates it.
