Exodus 20:4-6 - The Second Notch on our Spiritual Measuring Stick

Exodus 20:4-6 “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. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Today we shall be continuing on in our review of the 10 commandments, and looking at them to see where we differ in our lives. Last week, we looked at the first commandment and perhaps found areas of our life where we had placed other things ahead of the Lord. Today we look at our lives to see if any idols have crept into them.

Have you ever come home after work and the first thing you did was sit on the couch and watch a TV show? I know that I have.  After a long shift at work, I would return home, grab something to eat and relax in front of reruns of one of my favorite crime dramas. Eventually I would turn the TV off and fall asleep. Eventually I realized that I knew more about the fictional lives of the cops on the television than I did the actual lives and concerns of my neighbors. The TV, and that show was dangerously close (or perhaps it had already crossed the line) to becoming an idol in my life. For many, however the TV has become an idol. They would much rather sit there and watch their shows and interact with the world through it. If you add in video game machines and suddenly every man will have to struggle with having it turn into an idol.

In essence, an idol is something that receives adoration and devotion from someone. Typically an idol is also a made object, but it can also be a person or an idea.  Anything can become an idol. I know one of my co-workers collects pictures of a certain actress, and the image of that actress is quickly becoming something he spends more time with, giving it attention – and dare I say veneration – that exceeds the attention he gives to others. To him (and he freely admits it) she is practically an object of worship. 

Even good God gifted things can become idols in our lives. When the people of Israel had sinned and God sent a plague of snakes, to provide salvation for his people, God also told Moses to build a bronze snake and raise it in the sight of all the people (Numbers 21:4-9), but we learn that about 500 years later it had become an object of worship in itself, rather than pointing to God's power and it had to be destroyed (2 Kings 18:4).  Could I suggest that perhaps we are turning the idea and the representations of the Cross and other symbols of the Christian Faith into idols as easily?  Perhaps we attach significance to the object that was originally supposed to draw attention to God. Perhaps we see or hear about miracles performed by various evangelists or preachers, and we forget that it is not that preacher who is doing the miracles, but rather God through them. Perhaps even we might be turning our bible or version of it into an idol.  You might say that I am taking this too far, but I think we need to maintain the awareness that anything, virtually everything, can in time become an idol in our lives, no matter what we think right now.

This week then, lets re-evaluate the objects of attention and devotion in our lives. Are we putting any of them above the Lord? Are we starting to adore and pay overly much attention to things other than God? What idols are starting to rear their heads in our lives? The first step is to find them, the next step is to remove them, be it cross, painting, television, or even just an article of clothing.

Let worldly minds the world pursue, it has no charms for me;
Once I admired its trifles too, but grace has set me free.
                                                             ^{John Newton, 1779.}