According to the dictionary, “idolatry literally means the worship of an idol, also known as a cult image, in the form of a physical image, such as a statue or icon. In Abrahamic religions, namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism, idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than God as if it were God.” In more simplistic terms, idolatry “is putting something above God in our affections.” The people in our reading this morning were caught red-handedly worshipping idols . . . and, this did not make God a happy camper.
You all know the story . . . Moses is up on Mount Sinai talking with God. He is gone a little too long and the people become anxious in his absence . . . they fear the worse. They ask for some new leadership . . . some new gods . . . anything that will relieve their anxiety. Aaron bows down to their demands and builds an altar, creates an idol—a calf made out of gold—offers sacrifices to it and holds a celebration to install this “new god” as their “god”. Moreover, the people buy it and throw quite a shindig. God gets wind of it and it does not make God happy . . . no, it makes God quite angry. Angry enough to want to wipe out each and every one of the people for their corruption . . . their fickleness . . . their stubbornness . . . and, the fact that they were turncoats.
In the strictest and literal sense of the definition of idolatry, the people were worshipping an idol; in the most simplistic terms, they had put something else before God in their affections. God’s reaction? Wipe them out.
I guess we should be thankful that probably none of us is idol worshippers . . . that none of us have constructed idols and strewn them about our yards and homes to worship . . . or at least I hope we are not. I think that the issue of idolatry and the worshipping of idols is not as “black and white” as it once was. I think that there has been a gradual expansion of idolatry that radiates outwards into many shades of gray making it difficult to call it what it is . . . it is more subtle . . . and, I think that many of us walk a fine line when it comes to idolatry . . . especially as a society and as the human race.
How is this possible? Well, as I said, the idolatry we are witnessing is not in the strictest sense of the word, but in the more subtle. We might not have golden calves, but we have our idols. Jesus extolled his followers to do two things . . . to love the Lord completely and to love others. It was all about the relationship between the individual and God, the individual and others. Upon this, Jesus stated, that all the laws and teachings of the prophets were laid. Whenever something replaces these relationships . . . whenever something becomes more important than these relationships . . . then we are slipping into the realm of idolatry. This is idolatry in its simplest form . . .
. . . and, it is all around us.
Popularity, wealth, influence, success, power, sex . . . these are some of the subtle idols we worship in our society today. We see it in the advertisements . . . we see it in the media. A sociologist once remarked that where the most resources, time, and energies are invested is where you find the heart. And, where the lies one finds where one’s worship and affection lie. Remember, where the affection is that is where the loyalty is when it comes to idolatry . . . what comes first. Whatever it is, it is not God nor others.
Whenever something supplants the relationship with God and others . . . well, God is not happy.
God was not happy with the people in our scripture reading this morning. God was quite angry. Angry enough to want to destroy them all for their stubbornness to worship idols . . . anger is a mask that hides the true feelings of the one who is angry. I imagine that God was frustrated and hurt by the actions of the people to quickly abandon God and create their own gods to be relationship with. But, whatever the case, thanks to Moses’ quick thinking and actions, he reasoned with God to spare the people . . . to let them live. Disappointed, God did not give up on the people . . . and, apparently still hasn’t.
You would think that after all of these thousands of years . . . the human race . . . God’s children, would have gotten it by now. That they would have figured it out by now, especially after Jesus even told them . . . that it comes down to relationships . . . relationships between the individual and God, the individual and others. We hear it a lot, but in practice it is seems to be quite the opposite . . . there is a lot of lip service going on. So, why are we so stubborn? Why are we such a stiff-necked people? Why are we so persistent in buying into the worship of idols?
I wonder . . . I wonder in the fact that when it comes to the pursuit of all those other idols--popularity, wealth, influence, success, power, and sex—they have all come up empty in their promises; yet, we stubbornly believe. We believe that if only we can emulate our idols . . . be like our idols . . . we will have attained all that makes sense and brings purpose to life. Yet, we know better.
In the meantime, our relationship with God falters . . . our relationship with others falters. Our affections have shifted away from that which gives life to the hollowness of that which is nothing more than an illusion. In doing this we fail God, others, and ourselves.
From our reading this morning we should beware . . . we should beware the idols, golden or elusive, that pull us out of our relationships with God and others. Beware that movement away from loving God and others. Though the idols of our day are not made of precious metal and seem more elusive, we still have a means of evaluating ourselves when it comes to idol worshipping. We only have to ask ourselves, where are all the resources of our time, energy, and wealth going? Are they going to strengthen our relationships with God and others, or are they going to things and people that pull us away from them? Where we put our investments is where we put our hearts. This is the question we must constantly be asking ourselves when it comes to idolatry.
From the very beginning, for God it has been about relationships . . . the relationship that God has with each of us as individuals . . . the relationship that we have with others. This is what matters to God. This is what Jesus taught. As we look around our individual lives . . . our corporate lives . . . our lives as a nation . . . and, our lives as the children of God; are our relationships with God and others our number one priority? If not, what then is the problem? Have we replaced God with the pursuit of idle idols?
We are not the first to be caught up in this issue, nor will we be the last. I think that there has not been a generation since the time when our scripture reading took place that God did not have the opportunity to speak those words: “I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me along so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them.” Thank goodness, God is a God of grace and love, and not wrath. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment