Do you worship idols?
Of course not, right?
Or do you?
When I was in seminary for my Master’s degree I took a course called “American Idols.” It wasn’t about the famous singing competition! Instead it was about the various ideas or objects that we Americans idolize. There are a number of really good possibilities for the category of “American Idol.” What possible idols do you think we studied in that class? Take a moment and make a list. What tempts you? Is there anything that usurps the role or focus that God should have in your life?
As you think about that list, let me repeat the question I started with, “Do you worship idols?”
I can’t answer that question for you personally. But I feel pretty confident in saying that American Christians are often tempted and actually succumb to idol worship. I’m not talking about statues made of metal or wood. I’m talking about other American idols that we’ll talk about next week, maybe some on your list. I say this not to judge or shame you, but because I know myself, and I know the pressures we American Christians face in our society. Idol worship is alive and well, even among Christians. Idol worship can infect a church, including church worship services.
This coming week on the blog we continue our study of the prophet Ezekiel, and we will learn that Israel was worshiping idols. They were practicing idolatry, and God will ask Ezekiel to call it out. That means we’ll need to talk about what idolatry was like for Israel in that day and age, as well as what it might be like in our day. In order to be followers of Jesus who have hearts becoming more and more like his, we will want to avoid idolatry. What we will find in this next section of Ezekiel is that when God asks Ezekiel to call out Israel’s idolatry, he asks Ezekiel to do so in a very bizarre way. Check out Ezekiel chapters 4 & 5 ahead of time to see for yourself, then I’ll look forward to talking about it further next week!
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