The Idols in Our Heart

“You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods."

Exodus 20:3-5a, NLT

Enshrined in the Ten Commandments is a law that our generation of believers may not easily relate to though it is more relevant in our day than ever. Thanks to the grace of God that has spread the Good News of Salvation through Christ to many nations of the world, the wooden and stony idols that our ancestors worshipped are gradually become relics. For many in the 21st century, their first exposure to such is in movies or religious education in elementary schools. However, as we'll see in our study today, the first commandment was not only referencing the physical idols carved from wood, clay, stones or precious metals that our forefathers bowed and sacrificed to.

As Timothy Keller aptly explains, "An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then I'll feel significant and secure." An idol is anything that has occupied God's place in our hearts becoming the ultimate source of our joy, meaning, satisfaction, contentment and pleasure. It is the thing or being upon which our affections, strength and focus are centered. It is the thing that we seek above all else and besides God to make our lives complete. It is the object by which our lives are controlled and for that reason what has become the lord of our lives.

In our day, the idols we have mounted in our hearts cut across a broad spectrum. They could be money, material possessions, social belonging, the approval of others, reputable jobs, accolades, spouses, and even children. Our deepest emotions are unleashed when someone or some situation attempts to tamper with them and we go great lengths to secure or seek these things. As Timothy Keller adds, “Whatever controls us is our Lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves, we are controlled by the lord of our lives.” Consciously or unconsciously, a longing for these things seep into our hearts and displace the one true God from his rightful place in our hearts.

Timothy Keller said, “When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. When such a thing is threatened, your anger is absolute. Your anger is actually the way the idol keeps you in its service, in its chains. Therefore if you find that, despite all the efforts to forgive, your anger and bitterness cannot subside, you may need to look deeper and ask, ‘What am I defending? What is so important that I cannot live without?’ It may be that, until some inordinate desire is identified and confronted, you will not be able to master your anger.” Could your anger, desperation and disappointment you feel about the fact that you have attained all things except of this one desire be revealing an idol in your heart?

Though we sing that 'there's none holy as the Lord and none besides him', we reserve a special place in our hearts for these idols and prevent anyone, not even God, from touching these. Sometimes, we unknowingly 'use' God to pursue these gods when we should be using them to make His worship more glorious. We may even go through spiritual routines as long as they prove useful in attaining what our hearts truly seek - a good marriage, a reputable job, money, material blessings - but not because we are really seeking God. To some, these things become the proof that our worship of God has been acceptable. When these idols are absent, we feel incomplete, empty, and unfulfilled. This is a dangerous state to be in, and we must allow the Lord to search our hearts and help us get rid of these idols.

Years ago, I had an unmarried friend who often declared her strong desire to have a baby. I initially thought it was a passing interest so it wasn't of concern to me till I noticed how frequently she expressed it. She so wanted a child whose hair she could pleat that she was considering adoption. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with adoption, the extent she was willing to go revealed an unhealthy obsession that became a cause for concern. Once, she brought it up again, I asked her some questions. "What happens if you get married and don’t have this desire that you are so obsessed with? What if you have a boy instead of the girl you're craving? Would the birth of a girl-child be the chief goal of your marriage? What happens to your marriage after you arrive at this desired destination? She didn’t really understand me till events unfolded as I had warned. After three years of marriage without a child, she divorced her husband because it turned out the husband had complications. The objective for marriage that had lurked in her heart for so long was unattainable so she was greatly disappointed.

Has the quest to have a child become an idol in your life? It is so easy for an individual or a couple to allow the absence of the children they desire to sap the life and joy from their lives. They can easily lose sight of all the many blessings God has given them when a child becomes their ultimate quest in life. At this point, this longing of their heart becomes an idol that repels the very thing that could enable them obtain it - God's mercy. In Jonah 2:8 AMP, the prophet said, “Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness." So even though God is merciful ,the desire that their lives revolve around, has displaced God from his rightful place in their hearts and distanced them from His mercy.

God was very clear about what idols represent and how He feels about them. Idols are unworthy rivals to the God who has created and redeemed us for Himself. He was very specific in His instructions to the children of Israel about how to deal with the idols of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They were to destroy them all and not leave any of them. Anytime the Israelites tried to keep any idol, an enmity developed between them and Yahweh, and a painful process will ensue to separate these consecrated people from their worthless idols. That principle of God has not changed. This is how he treats idols even today.

What have you made the Lord of your life, taking preeminence at the core of your being and controlling your sense of joy and fulfillment? Power? Fame? Spouse? A good job? A child? Has the desire for a child gotten to the point that you feel if you don’t have it your marriage has no meaning? What of the obsession for a particular gender, probably a male child in some cultures? What if God ask you to sacrifice this longing of your heart to Him? Are you willing to still love and serve God if He purposes to take this beloved thing from your life? Would you still love your spouse and honour your commitment to the marriage covenant? We may not be asked to physically sacrifice that long awaited desire of our heart on an altar like God asked Abraham to. But if there is something that can stand in the way of our love for God, can the Almighty not request that we give it up?

Imagine God asking Abraham to sacrifice the one thing that was so dear to him. Was it because God did not want Him to have it? No! He wanted to prove what was in His heart, whether his beloved son of promise was more valuable to Abraham than Him.

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” ... "When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Genesis 22:1-2, 9-12 The most important thing God seeks from us is our heart because He alone is deserving of it. He will take away anything that competes for His rightful seat and becomes a hindrance to our love for Him. Today we exalt titles, ministry success, social status, moral uprightness as a yardstick for getting blessings from God. However, anything we feel we deserve because of how well we have lived our lives is an idol. If that child never comes or God doesn’t grant you that child, would that mean God loves you less? Are you equating God’s love for you to having a child? As we have learnt in previous bulletins, children are a gift from God, and not a reward for our worship. If we use their presence or absence in our lives as an indicator for God's approval of us, we risk losing the peace and joy that Jesus purchased for us.

There are some who say in their hearts, "God, I deserve a good job, a child, a promotion because I have been holy, I serve you, I give my tithe, sing in the choir. Truth is God does not dispute these facts or forget what you have done for Him. As Hebrews 6:10 NLT says, “God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.” But He will not allow us to use our service as a bargaining chip for His gifts. Perhaps, you have had this experience in your childhood where you whined for something - a toy, candy, TV program - and were denied this simply because you were being impatient and pushy. Like a father who wants a child to place the right value on things, our Heavenly Father may withhold anything we seek above Him.

Is it not interesting that the promise that none shall suffer miscarriage or barrenness was placed in the context of how Israel handled idols?

Exodus 23:24-26 says "

You shall not bow down to worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do [anything] in accordance with t heir practices. You shall completely overthrow them and break down their [sacred] pillars and images [of pagan worship]. You shall serve [only] the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and water. I will also remove sickness from among you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land".

If we would check the idols in our hearts, we would position ourselves to enjoy the blessing of fruitfulness as God's chosen people.

The only source of true satisfaction in life is Christ Jesus. In John 10:9, Jesus says, "I am the Gateway. To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction (TPT). It is through our union with Christ that we are made complete (Colossians 2:10). To seek God above all else, we need a fresh revelation that He is a Good Father who knows the needs that dominate our thoughts and is more than willing to give them to us.

Today, ask Him to help you get rid of anything or anyone else that you desire more than God or seek to make your lives complete or meaningful. As you spend time basking in God's presence, may every idol in your life be destroyed like the gods of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-4). Like Hannah, may find joy in God's presence from which you will be enabled to have a child. As you surrender that which you greatly desire out of reverence for God, may you,, like Abraham, receive it back as a gift from God.

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 22:1-18, Matthew 6:19-33, 1 John 5:21