Overcoming Idolatry

The Apostle John concluded his five-chapter epistle with these words: Dear children, keep yourselves from idols (I John 5:21). John was writing to believers who had been delivered from pagan sins like idol worship. He wasn’t worried they would go back to those ignorant practices. He was concerned with things that still affect believers today.

Idolatry is not limited to images people worship hoping to entice divine power. In his epistle, John warned believers against the corrupt world system. He was concerned with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (I John 2:16). When people indulge in lust, covet possessions and exalt their accomplishments rather than the love of God, they are practicing idolatry.

According to Ephesians 5:5, greed is a form of idolatry. Greedy people crave more money and possessions. They are not satisfied or thankful for what they have. Being driven to become famous is idolatry. Those who crave fame become narcissistic and ignore the needs of others to promote themselves.

Idolatry takes root in our hearts whenever our priorities cause us to neglect the love of God. We need to work hard and provide for our families, but the drive for more money makes many Christians too busy to seek and serve God. I hear people say they don’t have time to read the Bible on a regular basis. They may read a scripture on their phone but they skip regular spiritual devotion. They pursue success and miss the wisdom God gives through his Word.

I like to compete at sports and I like to win when I play games. However, if beating my friends is more meaningful than loving my friends, I’ve got an idolatrous obsession with winning. It is vain to try to prove your worth by being better than others. We should receive our value from our Father in heaven. I’ve tasted the futility of vain accomplishments and they leave me empty.

Years ago, my back went out suddenly and I could barely walk for several days. I had to crawl out of bed to use the bathroom and crawl back into bed until my back gradually loosened up. In hindsight, I realize my lifestyle was so full of ministry, family and recreation that the energy required was unsustainable. I loved what I was doing, but rest days were not part of my schedule. I had to learn the hard way why honoring the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments.

When I was forty-four years old, I experienced an emotional breakdown. At the time I was leading Living Streams Church, hosting a daily radio program, writing for a national magazine, conducting TV interviews, traveling and helping oversee several churches. Then, some back to back tragedies pushed me over the edge.

I now realize that it was only a matter of time before I was going to break down. It was not the specific tragedies, but the reality that I had been living on adrenaline and had no reserve for emergencies that left me so vulnerable.

I have learned that you can get into trouble doing too many good things, just as you can get into trouble doing bad things. You can go bankrupt not only for spending money on frivolous things–you can also go bankrupt becoming overextended with too many investments. A crisis emerges when an investment needs a cash infusion and there are no savings to cover a shortfall.

Saved people should live a healthy lifestyle. The Greek verb sozo, translated save in the Bible, also means wholeness or health. We are saved by the grace of God from our sins. Spiritual health is a gift from God through our faith in Christ. However, the daily choices we make determine whether our lifestyle is healthy or not. If our lifestyle is unhealthy, the Lord will prune us, and correct us. If we don’t respond with humility, there will be consequences.
I was ignoring the warning signs of my overextended life. I was trying too hard to be fruitful and make a name for myself. I had to prioritize being faithful over being famous if I was going to have a healthy life.

I was also driven by fear at times. I believed if I didn’t keep doing more, I was going to fail. This fear brought unhealthy pressure to my family and coworkers as well. It became vital for me to resist fear and learn to trust God with our church, my reputation and our future. I had to learn to live with the rhythm of grace to be healthy and bless those around me.

Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). If we feel a heavy burden of responsibility all the time, it probably isn’t coming from the Lord. We all have times when we have to deal with crisis, but God doesn’t give us an unhealthy amount of pressure on a regular basis.

Idolatry causes us to not listen to wisdom and counsel from friends, or the Spirit, or to our bodies. We override the messages they give us because we believe we have to satisfy another insatiable master in order to be successful. If you are too proud to receive the counsel of those who love you, you are being foolish. Your pride will cause you deeper problems and bring grief to those who love you.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (I John 4:16). Loving God and loving our neighbor are the most important commands. If these commands are not our priorities, we are building our houses on sand and wasting our time pursuing idols.
If you like to walk on the beach, you know that no matter how beautiful a sandcastle may be, it won’t last long when the tide comes in. I hope you realize the tide is coming in for all of us.

You can estimate how much money you have by adding up the value of your assets. However, time is more valuable than money and we don’t know how much time we have left.

When it is all said and done, the love we receive from our Father and share with others is what matters most. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.