We began our long caravan trip a couple of weeks ago. We used several things to help us to get where we wanted to go – a paper map; GPS on our phones and the navigation system in our car. Once we set up our destination, we just had to follow the directions.
As I wrote in https://jesusontheroad.com/special-days/epiphany-wise-men-visit-jesus , on 6th January we celebrated Epiphany, when the wise men visited baby Jesus. They followed a star.
There are many ways to finish the sentence, “Just follow…” The map; me on social media; your heart; the leader; the crowd; your sporting team; your dream; your horoscope; the trends; the stock market; the scent; the trail; your favourite TV show; movie star; music idol…It seems like we humans are meant to be followers.
Who are you following? Who or what do you idolise? Maybe you think you aren’t following anyone or anything – you just do your own thing, regardless of others. But how do you feel being different to everyone else? Or are you really so much different after all?
Do you have idols? Think hard. What would other people see as your idols, the things you can’t help talking about; the shows you must see; the music you always listen to; the thing you can’t do without; the thing that takes up much of your time.
It used to be a bad thing to have idols. Now, however, there is even a television show showcasing people who compete with each other to become national idols.
Recently, we passed through the town of Parkes in New South Wales, where an Elvis festival was going on. Elvis Presley was born on 8 January 1935. Apparently, the Elvis festival has become a real tourist drawcard. We saw lots of people dressed up in Elvis costumes. And we had our photos taken with the life-size model too – just because we could. Elvis was an idol in his 43-year lifetime. And it seems people continue to idolise him, long after his death. If Elvis had a Facebook page, no doubt he’d have many, many followers. Actually, I just did a search for him on FB. At least 8 pages showed up. The page for Elvis Presley has 11 million followers, and 10+ posts were made in the last two weeks. That’s pretty impressive for someone who has been dead for 48 years!
I did an internet search on idols. Two of the definitions of ‘idol’ given by https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idol are:
- an object of extreme devotion, a movie idol. 2. a representation or symbol of an object of worship broadly : a false god
You probably know that the Bible has a lot to say about idols. God doesn’t want us to have any other god but Him. But is the Bible relevant today? Doesn’t it just talk about golden calves and carved statues? Not many of us in Australia have sculptured statues to which we bow down, do we?
https://jefferypoor.medium.com/idol-worship-today-6-modern-idols-that-we-worship-7bee3cf9eebe lists 6 idols that are common today. He includes: our identity; money/consumerism; entertainment; sex; comfort; our phones.
This website also gives four questions that you can ask yourself, to help you identify your idols:
Where Do I Spend My Time? Where Do I Spend My Money? Where Do I Get My Joy? What’s Always On My Mind?
Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
1 Corinthians 10:7 (NIV)
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:14 (NIV)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5 (NIV)
Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
Isaiah 45:20 (NIV)
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.
Jonah 2:8 (NIV)
God tells us to give up our idols. The five verses above are just a few examples. But giving up my idols is NOT easy!
Looks like I’ll have to take another look at this topic in a future blog…
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Can’t it sometimes be a good thing to idolise something or someone?
Shouldn’t we have a lofty goal that we strive to achieve?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on idols – please leave a comment below.
Actually…I’d love it if you would subscribe to this website, and follow me on FB – Jesus on the Road. But, message to both of us: Don’t let this become an idol!