Have you heard of the TV Reality Show called Idols SA?
It is a music competition where young people from the ages of 18-30 compete to become the South African pop Idol. In 2014 the show is entering its 10th season. Thousands of young people enter the show each year. Millions more watch on their television sets and vote for their favorite idol.
What many aspirant idols and fans do not know is that they themselves are already idols. Did you know that humans were created as an idol of God? God created us to idolize him, and for him to idolize us. We are told that God created humans in his own image as male and female (Gen. 1:27). The word image in Hebrew is tselem, which is the same word also translated idol in English.
We want to be like our idols
Being jealous of the fact that we were created to idolize God, and for God to idolize us, the devil decided to deceive us through a lie. Humanity has believed that lie since then. He said to the woman, For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, [equal to God] knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5).
All humans live with this desire to be like their idols, yet they are already like their idol, God Almighty. They want to be like Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Lionel Messi, a music star, a Beauty model, and so on. What they dont know is that they are already an idol. The Creator of the universe idolizes them. He created them as an idol/image of himself.
For example we read that the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars (2 Kings 11:18). The idols of Baal were the images of Baal, or the tselem of Baal.
Did you know that the number one thing God hates most is idol worship? Why do you think that is? In the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus chapter 20, God tells the Israelites that they shall not have other gods, they shall not make images or idols of those gods, and they shall not bow down to and worship those idols. The reason God does not want them to make idols and worship them is because they are created to be Gods idols. God idolizes humans. He loves them to bits. Humans are idols of God, and God is their idol. It is him alone they should bow down to in adoration.
That is why God is against humans lying, stealing, committing adultery, or murdering his idols. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind (Genesis 9:6). When a person idolized by society dies or is hurt, the people who idolize that person get very angry and hurt. For example, many people cried when Princess Diana, Michael Jackson and Nelson Mandela died. God feels the same way when a human being is hurt or dies.
God adores you. He has made himself your servant. just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). God sees and treats you like the idol you are. That is why in the story of the prodigal son, the Father(God) throws a welcoming party when the son comes home. That is how God feels about you, and about all humans. You are his idol, and he should be your idol.
Idolatry the root of all evil?
Idolatry is the root of all evil. If you know your Bible you will probably object. Isnt the love of money the root of all evil? Well yes, but the love of money is idolatry. Greed is idolatry. That is what Paul tells the Colosians. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry(Colossians 3:5).
Did you know that money has always been a closest thing to replacing God in the lives and minds of humans? When people have money, they think they dont need God. If they are hungry, instead of praying for food, they simply buy it. If they are sick, instead of praying for healing, they simply visit the doctor or buy expensive medication to make the pain go away. If they want to be in London tomorrow, they just hop on the plane and fly there. If you want people to worship you and serve you like you are a god, you simply flash your money in front of them, and they will be at your beck and call.
People do not idolize poor people. In fact, once they become rich, they feel like they are like God, and stop believing in the creator God. That is why Christianity is almost dying in the Western world of Europe and America, where people enjoy the best lifestyles in the history of humanity. The truth is: humans are idols of God even in their poverty. That is why James condemns the tendency to show respect to the rich and not to the poor (James. 2:3-4).
When Jesus was challenged whether it is okay for a Jewish person to pay tax to Rome, he asked the Pharisees who were asking him the question, to show him the coin. Show me the coin used for paying the tax. They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, Whose image is this? And whose inscription? (Matthew 22:19, 20).
The money says it all
During Jesus time, the inscription on the coin was an image of Augustus Caesar, and an inscription which said, Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus, and on the other side of the coin it said Pontif Maxim which means Chief/High Priest. When Jesus asked them to show him the money as we read in Matthew 22 above, he knew the money was inscribed with idolatrous words. After they showed him the money, he said to them,So give back to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God what is Gods (Matthew 22:21).
When we read those words today, we do not understand the weight of them to those who were listening to him. Those Pharisees would have known the words of Haggai the prophet which said, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord Almighty (Haggai 2:8). Jesus was reminding them of the idolatry of money. He was saying that the kings of this world have put themselves up as the gods of this world. He was challenging them to think carefully about their relationship with money. Is Caesar and money their God, or is God Almighty their God? That question still needs to be answered today by you and me.
Money and idolatry are twins. Most countries mention God on their money. In the United States of America, the money is inscribed with the words: In God We Trust. In reality, it is in the money that many trust. In South Africa, the One Rand coin is inscribed with the words Soli Deo Gloria, which is Latin for Glory to God alone or Glory to the Only God. However, for most of us God shares the glory with our money, or receives no glory at all.
As you watch and vote for your favourite Idol this year, I want you to remember that you are already the idol. God made you as his beloved idol. Dont believe the age-old lie of the devil which says you need to become like God. You are already like him. He made you his idol, and he wants to be your idol. Would you vote for him? Let God become your 2014 idol, and your life will never be the same again!