WRONG WORSHIP OF FALSE GODS
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.” Psalm 115:4, ESV
Theme: When God doesn’t operate the way we want, one wrong response is to attempt to build and worship something more convenient.
THEY CLAIMED IT WAS GOD
When the Israelites created a calf statue out of their own gold, they didn’t claim to worship a new god. They simply used their own resources and declared the resulting thing “god.” “And he [Aaron] received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt’” (Exodus 32:4, ESV). However, God was not in the golden calf statue. He was not the thing they worshiped, no matter that they claimed it was Him. I wonder if it was hard for them to recognize the folly in their declaration? It seems so obvious to me.
Recognizing our own idols – especially ones we claim represent God – is equally challenging. Maybe we tend towards worshipping attributes of God like power, love, faithfulness, humility, knowledge, perfection, and beauty. God alone is worthy of worship; not anyone or anything with a subset of His attributes. Like the Israelites, we may begin with good intentions, truly blind to our error. But when the “god” is fashioned out of gold jewelry, the idea that it embodies Yahweh is ridiculous. We can almost skip over that part as we read the account in Exodus 32 without thoughtfully considering the possibility that we idolize unworthy things in God’s Name, too.
WHAT WE BUILD AND, MAYBE, WORSHIP
Before we zone out and imagine that we don’t worship created things, consider the potential idols in your life.
- A “forever” home or vacation home;
- A vehicle – car, truck, boat, motorcycle, or airplane;
- Our church buildings and programs;
- A garden or outdoor space;
- A business built over a lifetime or passed down for generations;
- A successful career;
- A healthy, well-dressed, beautiful, and well-maintained body.
While none of the things listed above must be an idol, each could be one! Each may be built with our own resources and can garner the kind of worship reserved for God alone.
OUR CREATED THINGS
However, you might rightly say: “I don’t claim that my home is my god. I don’t say it rescued me or delivered me like the Israelites did... I use my home to host Christian gatherings. I host parties and such; it has to look great because it represents God to the people attending.” No, that’s not right. “It has to be a certain size to allow a group to gather here.” Wait, does it really? Or could God show up in any place He chooses without my created thing?
Almighty God appeared in a bush: “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2, ESV). And God even shows up in a small breeze (1 Kings 19:11-13). And, of course, in the temple: “...and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (1 Chronicles 7:1b). Jesus taught in homes; in fact, almost every account shows that the home was too small to hold the crowd, and yet He still went: “And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them” (Mark 2:2, ESV). God does not need our created things to carry out His mission or inhabit space in the world.
TIME AND EFFORT
If I’m being honest, there are days I spend most of my time caring for my outside environment (things like: home, car, porch, yard), my physical body (like: health, appearance, and activity) or personal goals and concerns (like: power, status, accomplishments, wealth/independence). This doesn’t leave much time for worshiping God.
Care and time show regard and honor. When we spend time in worship, it is not out of obligation so much as out of devotion or deep allegiance. Worship bleeds out of us. When I long to dance with abandon or sing the tune to a Psalm and I do it – that's worship. Yet, when I rise at 4:30AM to exercise an hour and then return to a cardio class and squeeze in a walk any spare moment I get, is this excessive attention also worship? If it is, what is being worshipped? There is nothing wrong with exercise, housekeeping, or earning a living. Yet we must consider what may be an idol or could grow into one. Then, we can build on our desire to worship God alone. We must redirect the over-enthusiasm we display for gifts from God or attributes of God onto the only One worthy of worship.
Make It Personal: Which thing built by hand takes up the most time in your schedule? Which created thing do you feel you can’t live without? Consider whether care and maintenance of any of the items listed above seems to be similar to an act of worship to God. How can you tell if you are worshipping God or an idol?
Pray: LORD God, only You are worthy of worship. Please help me to see through the things I build that remind me of You or the boxes I try to fit You into. Help me see the idols I create for what they are – lesser things. You alone are God.
As it is written: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ... then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 12-15, ESV). Amen.
Read: Exodus 32:1-10; Mark 2:1-12
Weekly Memory Verse: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3, ESV