Idolatry

Hey what's up Adam's Apples? Time to look at Idolatry

In Exodus 20 God gives us the Ten Commandments, and I would like to focus on Idolatry. Idolatry, put simply, is putting anything before God. God should be out number one priority in life, but when we don't have our priorities straight we are essentially saying that something is more important than God, which is idolatry. God says “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." In this time Israel was worshipping golden calves and whatever cam their way, however I would like to talk about the things that cause us to be idolaters without even knowing it. Brian Zanhd mentions in his book Beauty Will Save The World that the way we have approached things has removed the beautiful mystery of Christianity and we now utilize it as a tool.

Phones. Cellphones 'can' be a wonderful thing. You are able to talk and text to everybody and anybody if you really wanted to. But, sometimes they take control of us and we spend too much time on Instagram, Snapchat, etc... It becomes a huge problem when the time spent on the phone is taking time away from spending it with God. We should be doing devotions daily, but instead we 'have' to spend time on our phone because we are addicted to it. Whether we choose to agree with it or not, being glued to your phone screen can be idolatry.

Music/Art. Music and art are fantastic ways to show your love for God, and praise him through it. Worship music can help lead you on the right path in life with some of their powerful lyrics. Art, for many years, has been a way for people to just paint and reveal Christ through the story on the canvas. The problem here is when we start to view those things as God. We can sing and dance to music, but if we are doing those things because we view the song to be more than what it is, that's a problem. Music can lead us toward God, but seeing the song as God doesn't fit. The same goes with art. People have tried painting pictures of what Jesus looks likes and I am still unsure where I stand. But, it's the same as music. If we start to view the paintings as something more than what they are and not as something that will lead us to Christ, it is ultimately idolatry.

"Whenever we assume art mediates God's presence or causes him to be tangible, we have begun the trek into idolatry."

Peace out Adam's Apples!

Bibliography

Zahnd, Brian.  2012.  Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure & Mystery of Christianity. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House.

Best, Harold M. 2003. Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts. Downers Grove: IVP.