Idolatry in the Church

Definition of idol

1 : an object of extreme devotion 

2 : a representation or symbol of an object of worship  

broadly : a false god

 

( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idol)

 When you think of idols in the church, what do you think of?  Statues, maybe?  Throughout the Bible we see idols depicted as images made out of stone, wood, or metal.  They appear in the second of the ten commandments:   

 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." (Exodus 20:4-5a)

 

Not many protestant churches have likenesses in their sanctuaries.  Catholic churches have statues, but I don't think they're looked at as things to worship or serve, so they might not quite meet the definition.  However, I want to think about the first of Webster's definitions, above: "An object of extreme devotion."   And as I think about it, I would argue that many churches and Christians do have idols today.

 

Paul identified idolatry with covetousness (Eph. 5:5), and greed (Col 3:5).  Jesus identified the great commandment as  ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 6:27).  The second, he said, was  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’(Matthew 6:29).  These commandments leave no room for covetousness or greed.  But we are a greedy people, even in our worship and service.

 

The church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the temple of God, and the family of God.  All of these refer not to objects made by hands, but to the people who make up the church.  They also depict things belonging to God, not man.   So any time that we raise the importance of a physical object, ministry, or ritual, we are creating an idol in our mind.

Are you devoted to your church building?  

 

It doesn't matter the age, size, or location of your church, or whether it is plain or ornate; do you feel that without the building, your church would cease to be?  This is idolatry.  You have taken your devotion to God and transferred it to a building.  You cannot love God with all your heart, soul, and mind if you are worried about a property, and you cannot love your neighbor as yourself if you are worried that "those people" would in some way harm your beautiful "church" or the physical items inside or around it.

 

Maybe you're not that physically minded.  You may not care so much about the building or the objects in it.  Good for you.  But what about your church service? 

What is the service like at your place of worship?  Is it structured or free-flowing?  Are there certain things that happen every week?  Month?  Year?  What if these things suddenly stopped?  Or what if something was inserted that was not usually done?  What if you had no music?  No sermon?  No prayer?  No quiet time?  No offering?  What if your church suddenly changed its meeting time to Thursday?  Could you still worship?  Or have some of these things become idols in your mind - replacing God with worship?

Maybe this isn't a problem for you.  You can worship God in any circumstance.  But what about your ministry?

Many of us are involved in "ministry," either within the church or outside it.  It may be music, Sunday School, community programs, visiting the sick, or even taking care of the building or setting up for communion service.  I'm sure I've missed many ministries that you may be involved in!  But what if your ministry suddenly stopped?  What if your church decided to stop funding the ministry?  What if you, yourself, became unable to contribute to the ministry you've been part of?  Would this put a rift between you and God?  Believe it or not, it is possible to make our service to God an idol.  Remember the great commandment?  Love God with ALL your heart, soul, and mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself, not as God!

I'm going to add one more thing that can be made an idol.  Your church.  This time I'm not talking about the building, but the people.  

 

God loves all people.  We are to love all people.  But we are not to love them more than we love God.  When serving others and having fellowship with our church family becomes more important to us than our devotion to God, we are allowing them to become idols.  If church has become a social club for you, a place to find human companionship, or a group of people to help, you may have started worshiping people instead of God.  People are not perfect.  If you equate God with the people in your congregation, even with your pastor, get ready to be disillusioned.  We are meant to be a family, but we are all fallible people on a journey to God.  We can and should help each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but the only one who will never ever let us down is God himself.  He is perfect.  

Why am I going through all this?  Because idolatry in the church is damaging to church members and those we are trying to reach.  Any time we elevate something above God, we are cheapening him in our hearts and in the eyes of the unsaved.  If we teach devotion to any of the things I've mentioned, Heaven help us!  Jesus told people to drop everything and follow him.  No one was allowed to follow him until they had given up the things of this world.  Unfortunately, we have used the past 20 centuries or so to heap more and more things onto our backs.  What if Jesus walked into your church this weekend and asked you all to follow him?  How many truckloads would you take with you?  Could you go with only one set of clothes and no money as he told his disciples to do?  Or would you have to bring your Bible, hymnal, piano, notebook, flat shoes, purse, sunglasses and extra sweater...Oh, maybe that's just me.  Sorry!  

We're all searching for the "perfect church."  Well, the only perfect church is the bride that Christ will introduce at the wedding supper of the lamb.  Until then, we have to rely on God to perfect us, and remember that His ways are not our ways.  In the meantime, take a look at the idols in your life, and turn back to God himself.