Do You Have a Hidden Idol?

Meet Harriet, a kind, gray-haired woman who embarks on a personal pilgrimage seeking solace and purpose at the corner church at least three times a week. She stands in awe of the church’s peacock-palette of stained glass windows portraying the false, long-haired, emaciated-looking “Christ”—actually, “another Jesus” (II Cor. 11:4). And when Harriet sees the statue of “Mary” looming near the pulpit, tears well up in her eyes.

For her, these images have spiritual meaning.

But for true Christians—those led by God’s Spirit, allowing it to actively work within their minds (Rom. 8:9, 14)—revering false images would be ridiculous, even laughable, if it were not so tragic. Billions of human beings in all nations have been deceived into practicing customs, rituals and traditions that involve idolatry. They seek hope, purpose and direction from the Creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25), and end up living a way of life that is empty, vain—that offers no lasting value—that sheds no light onto the true purpose for humanity’s existence.

Consider idols that are prevalent today. Some religionists use prayer beads to aid them as they repeatedly chant dull, monotonous prayers to a deity that does not exist. Some people believe they see images of biblical figures virtually everywhere, in clouds and tornadoes—even the face of Mary in grilled-cheese sandwiches!

And what about sports fans, athletes and gamblers who insist they absolutely must wear that special jersey, hat, bracelet, gold chain or anything else they believe will bring them “good luck” so their team will experience the thrill of victory instead of the agony of defeat?

Such people have become slaves to what are essentially idols—false, non-existent gods.

In Isaiah 44:13-20, the Creator reveals how absurd it is for men to worship Creation: “The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fits it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He hews him down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain does nourish it.

“Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yes, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down thereto. He burns part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eats flesh; he roasts roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he makes a god, even his graven image: he falls down unto it, and worships it, and prays unto it, and says, Deliver me; for you are my god.

“They have not known nor understood: for He [God] has shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feeds on ashes: a deceived heart has turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Yes, we have been called out of the world’s darkness, including idolatry, and into the light of God’s truth. Our minds have been enlightened. For us, idolatry is a thing of the past.

Or is it?

Two Kinds of Idolatry

Rachel had a problem. While her sister, Leah, had no problem bearing children for their husband, Jacob, Rachel had difficulty conceiving. Even the sisters’ handmaidens were able to give birth to Jacob’s children, but Rachel was barren. She prayed to God, asking Him to intervene; she soon gave birth to her firstborn son, Joseph.

Sometime later, she heard Jacob say startling words: “Pack up everything—we’re leaving!” After having spent 14 years laboring for Laban (his uncle and father-in-law), Jacob had enough. He had used a moment Laban was elsewhere conducting business to return to Canaan before his uncle could intervene.

As Jacob and his family and servants scrambled to gather everything they would need for the long journey, Rachel set her sights on something she highly treasured. Instead of considering God’s will, focusing on how she could serve Him, Rachel was most concerned with one thing: her father’s “images”—the family’s idols.

Rachel believed the true God existed. She had turned to Him in her hour of need, and prayerfully asked Him to intervene in her life. God answered. Yet, when faced with pressure and quick decision-making, Rachel revealed that the family idols were precious things she could not bear to live without. She even stole them, while her husband swore to Laban that the idols were not among the caravan.

Why would a woman who sought God also value idols?

Idolatry is a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-20). Physical minds worship physical things. Spiritual minds worship God, who is “Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24; Rom. 8:9, 14).

In the First Commandment, God declares, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). He also commands people not to make “graven images”: “You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (vs. 4-5). An idol can be anything in a person’s life that comes before the true God.

Despite being delivered by God time and again, ancient Israel had a long and tumultuous history of wavering “between two masters” (I Kgs. 18:21; Matt. 6:24). It is in man’s nature to try to get as close to sin as possible without actually sinning. A person living by human reasoning will convince himself that he can somehow “handle sin”—the “heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer. 17:9).

Let’s look at the Israelites. The Bible records they indulged in two kinds of idolatry.

First, they made and served images of false gods, patterned after birds, bulls and other animals of creation. They worshipped Baal, Molech and other phony deities devised by the perverted thinking of men, and committed perverted acts in their service—even sacrificing the lives of their children!

Second, the Israelites committed idolatry through vain or unauthorized worship of the true God. For example, when the house of Israel split from the house of Judah, Israel abandoned God’s Holy Days and His Temple in Jerusalem. Instead, the northern tribes established their own centers of religious worship, without God’s consent, and created their own “Holy Days,” under the reasoning of making it “easier” and “more convenient” to worship God. Israel even installed its own priesthood! From its rulers to its citizens, the kingdom of Israel—including its modern descendants—no longer sought the ways God previously established.

God said of their religious observances, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? says the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you: yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood” (Isa. 1:11-15).

The latter-day physical Israelites often promote an outer facade of appearing godly while actually serving the wrong god. Can this be said about any of us—those in the Church of God?

Uncovering Hidden Idols

While true Christians do not bow down to statues of “Mary” or rely on “lucky” rings or other items, there is a form of idolatry of which we all must be on guard: “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that comes according to the multitude of his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols” (Ezek. 14:3-5).

They appeared to be righteous. They seemed to be godly. Some might even have had noble intentions. But in the end, they worshipped God their way, when it was “convenient” to their timetable and thinking. They kept the seventh-day Sabbath—their way. They fasted—their way.

“Idols of the heart.” This was the state of ancient Israel, and prophetically describes the birthright nations today. If we are not careful, it could describe members of spiritual Israel—us!

But how can one know if he has an “idol of the heart?”

A Self-examination

Looking at how you spend your time can help you identify what is first and foremost in your life.

Your life is comprised of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds—time. And like a river, it always moves forward, never backward.

Time is a necessary and crucial component to the greatest building project God is supervising: the development of His holy, righteous, godly character in you! It cannot be built in a human being instantaneously. It requires tests, trials, pressure, exercising the Holy Spirit—and time. God wants us to put our time to good use, while Satan wants us to waste it.

Life, especially in this gadget-filled age of instant gratification, offers countless distractions: multiple apps for streaming movies, millions of webpages, and an endless variety of recreational pursuits.

Of course, having a hobby or rooting for your favorite football team every Sunday is not, of itself, idolatry. Neither is buying a brand-new car and keeping it in top condition, or purchasing new clothes. But if you find yourself consuming too much of your time on physical things, they can become idols.

Those who have God’s Spirit are at risk of being distracted from the primary focus of why God called us now, in this lifetime—to do the Work of God, and to prepare ourselves to become teachers, judges and rulers upon Jesus Christ’s Return.

Ask yourself, if you (like Rachel) suddenly had to make quick and serious decisions, what would you treasure most? Is there anything you would not be willing to give up to serve God? How is your time being spent on personal pursuits in comparison to studying the Bible, prayer, meditating on God’s Word, regularly fasting, and exercising the Holy Spirit? When making purchases and paying off bills, does paying God His tithes and offerings always come first?

During prayer, to what degree is your mind focused on asking God to fulfill the needs of the Work, the ministry and the brethren, in comparison to your own requests?

Ask yourself: “When I fast, what is my motive—to get God’s attention on me, or to get my attention on God? When the Sabbath arrives, do I wholeheartedly embrace it and look forward to attending God’s commanded assemblies—or do I simply ‘endure’ the Sabbath and Church services until sunset comes?”

Do you put children, family members or friends before God and His Commandments? Remember, Christ said, “If any man come to Me, and hate [love less] not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). God must be first priority when it comes to our time, obedience and focus.

Honestly assess yourself in these areas—prosecute your thinking!

Again, idolatry is in man’s nature. Christians might not be tempted to literally bow in reverence to idolatrous statues masquerading as the God of heaven and Earth, but idols can be hidden in one’s heart—for “covetousness…is idolatry” (Col. 3:5).

Does your job or your bank account consume too much of your time, attention and energy?

History and the present state of this evil world—filled to the brim with war, strife, crime, adultery and fornication, bribery, falsehood—stand as testimony to humanity’s insatiable appetite to get at any cost!

But God has called us to “come out of her, My people” (Rev. 18:4). To no longer be “conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). To “seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God,” and to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1-2). To receive the shortcomings of ancient Israel as “examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted,” and to “neither be you idolaters, as were some of them” (I Cor. 10:6-7).

Our special calling demands that we “flee from idolatry” (vs. 14)—in every form.