In Exodus 20:4 the second commandment is given, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” We like this command, after all we don’t have idols, so this is at least one command I can keep. But is it really that easy? God speaks through Ezekiel speaking of the elders of Israel, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.” Ezekiel 14:3. An idol isn’t just some statue or image I build in my yard or house to bow before. I first set up the idol in my heart, and it colors everything I look at in the world around me. We often talk about money becoming an idol for many. How does that happen? Money is something that I find I have to spend some time and effort on, otherwise I can’t provide for my needs and that of my family. So I do think about it and try to be a good steward of what money God brings into my life. Little by little it isn’t just about having enough to survive, but we decide we need a little more of this and a little more of that and therefore we need a little more money. After a while I’m not in control of my money, but my money is in control of me and I will do anything to please my new master, because I begin to think I need all this “stuff” that the money provides. Now the money is my main thought and concern, from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed, and it even haunts my dreams. All this time God is taking more and more a back seat in my life. I have filled my heart with money and my face has turned from God and is focused instead on the almighty dollar.
Money isn’t the only substitute we have for God. It may be our family, or a hobby or even our flower garden. The path is usually the same. It doesn’t start out as central, but little by little we nudge it to the center and nudge God out. Then one day there it is, an idol smack in the middle of my heart, a stumbling block before my eyes so that it is all I see.
How do we keep the second command and avoid building idols around us? Prayer is the place to start. Psalm 139:23,24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We need to be open and honest with God. Let him do any x-ray of our heart and then share the results of it with us. We need to look at where our hope and confidence is for all of our life, not just on Sundays or for after I die. What am I hoping in right now? Ask yourself, “If I were to lose ____(whatever we are putting in the place of God) would that change my hope, the foundation for my life?” Job lost everything that most people put their physical hope in, his possessions and land, his livelihood, even his children. He grieved that loss, but still kept his faith in God. His life was shaken, but not destroyed. He didn’t worship these things above God.
This is a matter of priorities, and God must have first place.
Don
Money isn’t the only substitute we have for God. It may be our family, or a hobby or even our flower garden. The path is usually the same. It doesn’t start out as central, but little by little we nudge it to the center and nudge God out. Then one day there it is, an idol smack in the middle of my heart, a stumbling block before my eyes so that it is all I see.
How do we keep the second command and avoid building idols around us? Prayer is the place to start. Psalm 139:23,24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We need to be open and honest with God. Let him do any x-ray of our heart and then share the results of it with us. We need to look at where our hope and confidence is for all of our life, not just on Sundays or for after I die. What am I hoping in right now? Ask yourself, “If I were to lose ____(whatever we are putting in the place of God) would that change my hope, the foundation for my life?” Job lost everything that most people put their physical hope in, his possessions and land, his livelihood, even his children. He grieved that loss, but still kept his faith in God. His life was shaken, but not destroyed. He didn’t worship these things above God.
This is a matter of priorities, and God must have first place.
Don
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