May 21st, 2021: Us and Idolatry


Another Day another big name fails! Please understand that I have no desire to comment on people's personal life. We have been witnessing the collapse of many icons in our time. Many of them are in the business, high tech, and religious worlds. Sometimes I wonder whether God is bringing to our attention the nature of icon worship. It is not that hard to commit such a form of idolatry because idolatry is part of human fallen nature.

Idolatry is a root of indulgence
(1 Corinthians 10: 7) - "Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry."
We see that in music and other milieus of the entertainment industry. It is also amazing to see that there are people who are known for no reason. They have no significant talent. They have done nothing for humanity. Yet, they are celebrities. They become idols in the emptiness of the human mind.

Idolatry springs from our earthy nature 
(Colossians 3: 5) - "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
We need some to hang on to life. Somehow we have a need to worship something or someone. We talk about movies, music, food, and sport athletes that we like and adore. We practice idolatry as if it is naturally acceptable.

Idolatry is an outcome of our ignorance
(Isaiah 45: 20) - "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save."
When we are unaware of God's activities and intervention in human life, we are ignorant of His presence. We then fill our lives with various forms of idolatry. There will be an increasingly restless spirit within us. Our ignorance now becomes our resentment. The callousness of the heart begins.

Idolatry is the beginning of our suffering 
(Psalm 16: 4) - "Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips."
When we turn away from God, we practice idolatry. It is the beginning of human suffering. It doesn't just distort our understanding of God. It destroys our appreciation for one another. When two human beings fail to acknowledge each other as His gift, suffering begins in the depth of our being.

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