[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2021]
In what is often called the rich tapestry of life we find threads of different types and colours; some fine, some course, some bright, some dull. If we concentrate solely on the fine bright threads then we miss their context; the dark colours are essential to showing the complete picture. The brightness of a tropical beach is complemented by the dark palms alongside, bright flowers grow in dark soil, the still small voice loses its impact without the thunderstorm as its herald.
Throughout history people have paid greater attention to the bright and golden whilst disregarding the more mundane essentials. It did not take the Israelites very long to make two golden calves whist Moses was otherwise occupied. Gideon did something similar with the spoils of war, albeit with a nobler intention, and it too led to the Israelites diverting from the worship of the true God.
In 1 Samuel ch 19 we read of an incident when king Saul sent some of his henchmen to kill David. His wife helped him to escape and then we read that she placed an idol with a goat-hair wig in David’s bed and claimed that he was ill. The account does not explain why David had an idol in his house but it does suggest that even the most Godly people are at risk of loosening their focus on Him.
Of course, that was long ago and far away. As we endeavour to worship God in the New Testament style, surely we are not prone to the same temptations. On the contrary, we do well to remember that two of the letters to the churches in Revelation contain warnings about idols, showing that those who follow Jesus are not immune to temptation.
Magnificent buildings, fine works of art, great music have been created with the declared intention to glorify God. In times of widespread illiteracy, icons have been used to illustrate Bible stories and the achievements of our predecessors in the faith. These things can point us to God but there is the risk of venerating the icon to the point where the icon itself becomes the idol.
But idols are not necessarily in the form that we associate with idols. For us, an idol is anything that detracts from the worship of God, even if those things are otherwise noble and of good report. There is no need to list them here – each person’s list will be different. Anything that demands a disproportionate amount of our time, our money or our devotion carries the risk of becoming an idol.
Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. [1 John 5 v21 NIVUK]
So, how do we tackle the threat of idols? In 1772 William Cowper penned these well-known lines:
The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be,
help me to tear it from Thy throne and worship only Thee.
These words are not just a couplet from a hymn, but rather they can be a simple prayer asking God himself to help us. The first and most difficult step is to recognise our own vulnerability. You might find it appropriate to mention a specific object or activity within the context of the prayer, or or simply ask God if there is anything that He wants to talk about.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. [1 John 5 v14 NIVUK]
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