A More Sophisticated Idolatry

I was all set today to write a post about Idolatry, but then a post on Tim Keller’s site came out today and said it better.

However, if I never spoke because someone else said it better, well I’d never speak. So I’ll add my take to the mix.

It seems that idolatry has evolved in the last several years. First idolatry was worshiping a literal idol made to represent a deity other than God, then idolatry took the form of saying “I love X more than God,” but the kind of idolatry practiced by most Christians today is more sophisticated, it’s just as dangerous and sinful (maybe more?), but it helps us sleep at night. This idolatry says “I love X as much as God because to love X is to love God.”

We’ve even created disturbing relics to proclaim our idolatry.

 

Some of these things are fine things to like, enjoy, and support (SOME!), but when we give them equal footing with Jesus in our hearts, that’s idolatry.

Your political party will lose. Those around you will disappoint you. Money will be fleeting. Your country will not forever stay the same. We had better put singular faith and hope into the only thing that will last forever.

What do you see as some of our blind spots at Christians? To what do we give undue prominence in our hearts?

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8 thoughts on “A More Sophisticated Idolatry”

  1. My personal favorite is the Longhorn cross.  Man that is awesome.
     
    “Whatever I order my life around is an idol.”  Dr. Frankie Rainey

  2. Blind spots?  That is an excellent question. Every culture is impoverished in some way.  Western culture is relationally impoverished.  I don’t think we know how relationally impoverished we are due to the fact that we are so relationally impoverished.  Big blind spot.

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  4. Thoughtful post.  I have to say, I love the Bush/God ’04 bumper sticker, but I don’t think it applies the way the other examples do.  It seems pretty directly satirical of exactly the type of idolatry you’re writing about.

    • @JohnThursby You’re probably right. However except for the “don’t blame me” part, I know some people who would love to display this sticker in earnest.

      • @beardonabike  @JohnThursby Yeah, the “don’t blame me” is the only thing separating it from an unsettling reality.

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