When Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments he found that his followers had made a golden bull which they worshipped instead of God.
That was their idol.
I would like to offer another definition of idol: Putting something before God.
Choosing to prefer something or someone more than God.
In today's modern society, wealth is an idol; but then, it was ever so. Other idols are power, influence, celebrity, fame, various possessions, cars, houses, ... beauty. Yes, some people so idolise the perfect body that they often spend fortunes to achieve it and maintain it for as long as possible.
For some, even marriage can be an idol. They see marriage as a must have or a must do status symbol and true love and shared values often don't feature in their agendas.
There are on TV many dating programs where people meet for the first time and go on a date. They are interviewed before they meet their potential partner, and they often, (always), say they want someone who is handsome, beautiful, with a sense of humour, adventurous, and other physical features which they consider essential to a successful relationship. Rarely does someone say they want someone who shares their values in life.
Secularism is the most modern and fashionable idol of our times. Everywhere it seems to shout at you that it is a good thing not to believe in God. Not only trendy to do so, but it is also the intelligent thing to do. To believe in a Creator God is not only so "yesterday" but it also betrays a certain lack of intelligence on your part.
The young people of today have little choice but to follow this trend. Not only is religious education lacking in our schools but it is often non-existent in the home where the parents are just as ignorant on the subject as their offspring.
Even Christianity itself can be an idol if we are not careful. Many just wear their Christianity as a badge, a medal of honour, something to be proud of; yet their lives are far from being Christian and would shame Jesus to be associated with them.
Idolatry is putting other things in our lives before we put God in our lives.
Our love for God, our respect and obedience of God, should be paramount. I believe that's how we will be judged one day.
...I find it interesting here that many conservative Christians are obsessed with idols.
ReplyDeleteSad, but I think it applies elsewhere too.
DeleteGod bless, Tom.
Interesting...
ReplyDeleteI was raised a 'good' Sicilian Catholic..
I learnt my bible, catechism.. a summary
of the principles of Christian religion in
the form of questions and answers, used for
religious instruction...
First communion aged eight..confirmed age ten!
Both being considered a sacrament in Roman Catholic
and Anglican churches..
I was also a reserve alter boy..if the usual boy
was ill..l stepped in..!
And..of course in the Catholic faith, we have
many statues, paintings and relics..but none
regarded as idols..! So we never 'idolise' any
of these, as other religions idolise there statues
or figurines..No wailing or nashing of teeth..!
But! Then in my late teens, l was becoming an
adult..learning the ways of the world..won't
bore you with all the reasons, there far to many
to mention..
I put my hand up..I now consider myself..'A Lapsed
Catholic'..Shame on you Willie! :(.
No! Don't get me wrong..I am still a believer...
in my faith and in myself..but..disagree with certain
man made decisions, within the church..AND..I still
believe the bible to be the truest book written..!
So lets be quite honest here..The only thing the
current generation 'idolise' are..mobile phones,
lap tops, iPads, the internet of course..Oh! and
not forgetting toilet paper of course..HeHe! :).
Bless them..!
I'm in the middle of laying a new carpet in the
dinning room..so..l must get back to it..very
enjoyable read Victor..and..as it's Sunday, hope
that my comment was in order..each to his/her own!
❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏
a lapsed Catholic is still a Catholic 😊❤️
DeleteYes! Thankyou..Bless you!
DeleteI think Sandi got it right. Basically, you are still a Catholic at heart. We all have issues we don't agree with in our Church; regardless of denomination. I know I have issues with the Catholic Church.
DeleteMy advice, for what it's worth, is go back to church. Get involved. Make your peace with God if you are in any way alienated from Him. Remember, it is a one-to-one relationship: God and you. No one else.
God bless.
Thank you Sandi for your comment. God bless.
Goodness! Heaven forbid..
DeleteI am certainly 'NOT' alienated from God..
far from it..certain times during the day,
l need to pray, usually something short
and sweet..a thankyou perhaps, a small
favour, and you know..It does work..!
That's good to know, Willie. At all times praise and thank God for what He us done for you.
DeleteGod bless.
I absolutely share your beliefs written here, Victor!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Ladka.
DeleteGod bless you.
It is always a pleasure to see and read common sense. I also appreciated ol' Willie's comment. Thanks for the prayers, still needed.
ReplyDeleteFrom the later shore,
Sherry & jack
Thank you Jack. I always pray for you and Sherry, as I do for all who visit here. (The list is ever growing longer. God has now put me on a prayers answering-machine).
DeleteGod bless.
"Rarely does someone say they want someone who shares their values in life."
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine this show? I would watch it.
"Secularism is the most modern and fashionable idol of our times. Everywhere it seems to shout at you that it is a good thing not to believe in God."
It's crazy out there.
But,
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6
There are many such TV shows here in the UK, Sandi. Always the contestants are looking for physical features in their potential mates. Beauty, blond hair, tall, slim, good teeth and so on. No one says they want things like loyalty, honesty, caring, love rather than just sex.
DeleteSecularism is winning over here. At least on the surface it seems so.
God bless you always.
Thought-provoking as always. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathy.
DeleteGod bless.
Mr. Mourbarak: Well Said, I am 71 it has always amazed me how so many people in my immediate family have given up God and trusted in their likes and loves, love of smoking, spending time drinking till they cannot walk and all things not related to a clean life, of course it's rather hard to drag you butt out of bed (if you do not live a Christian life) and spend one hour with Our Lord Jesus Christ, I have been asked why do you go to Mass during the week and on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteIf Jesus who devoted his life to the teachings and died on the Cross for my sins, then I can surely spend an hour on Sunday and Mass during the week for him.
I asked God for a favor he granted it to me, I asked for a man I could love, and he would love me back, ( I had a bad very bad relationship before I met my husband) I was Blessed with the most amazing man on earth, 45 years strong and a very Faithful man, I truly am Blessed.
Thank-you for writing wonderful and beautiful posts.
Catherine
Thank you Catherine for visiting my Blog. It is nice to see you here. Please call again soon and often.
DeleteThanx also for your kind and honest comment and for telling us your story. It is sad that over here in the UK regular church attendance is only about 5% of the population. I don't know what it's like where you are. But it seems to me that people prefer to follow their own idols, whatever they may be.
God bless you, Catherine.
So sorry about the r in your name above its auto correct I just do not like it to correct for me.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
Don't worry. I have difficulty spelling my name myself!
DeleteGod bless, Catherine.
Dearest Victor,
ReplyDeleteWell, Pieter and I have often said whenever there is some 'important' sports event, the streets are empty, the Churches too of course and there is no activity on line or whatever. Time for ALL ELSE must CEDE...
Yep, that is very much the image of modern idols. What they wear, what they say, what they eat becomes HOLY and will be imitated en mass.
A tragic development and Religion has lost its shine, it seems.
May people timely see that this way, nobody will score for their final journey!
Hugs,
Mariette
It is really sad to see people turning to materialism.
DeleteMariette, I cannot comment on your Blog. The computer will not let me. Thank you for all your good works about leprosy.
God bless.
Victor, use the link above the last image...! This post itself will not allow comments.
DeleteThanx Mariette. I wanted to thank you and Pieter for all your good works.
DeleteGod bless.
💞
DeleteWell said, Victor. Unfortunately I think it will get worse and not better. People think they have all the answers and don't care at all for God or conversations about him. I would love to hear some of their answers to who they think God is. Some of them wouldn't even know.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Bill. The world will become more secular and Christianity will become a minority. But I'm certain God is and will always be in control.
DeleteGod bless you.
Years ago for a while I made my husband my idol and our marriage began to suffer. God gave me a trial to show me how wrong that was. When I turned back to God and put him first in my life things turned around and fell back into place. Today we celebrate 50 years of marriage.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations and Happy Anniversary to you and your husband, Happyone. I know that we can be sometimes diverted from our focus. But God does not give up on us and always gives us an opportunity to return to His loving and forgiving mercy.
DeleteGod bless you both.
It is good to see someone speak out so honestly and open, Victor. We live in a fallen world. It doesn’t seem to be getting any better either. We have so many things blasted at us, about one product or another, telling us how all that will turn our lives around and make us beautiful/Handsome and happy. The masses wonder why there is this huge hole in them that can’t be filled with worldly, material things.The answer to that is to fill our lives with Jesus, and see how fast that hole inside fills up. Thank you for this timely post. God bless always
ReplyDeleteThank you Nells for your kind words. Yes, I agree that peoples' lives seem to be empty; and so they fill them, with materialistic things that give temporary pleasure and gratification. There appears to be no hope. And many don't believe in eternity. It is just the here and now.
DeleteGod bless you always.
You, my friend, are a welcome breath of fresh air. None so blind, as those who cannot see. Like your excellent book says, Don't Let The Devil Win!
ReplyDeleteThank you for being such a kind friend to me, Mevely. The devil may appear to be winning, but I'm certain he is not.
DeleteMany thanx for your kind and generous review on AMAZON of my book "Don't Let The Devil Win!" This book was inspired by someone I know who is undergoing many difficulties and is in need of prayers.
God bless, Mevely.
Idolatry, it seems, has been with man since the Fall, Victor. We fall into temptation, especially when we aren't grounded in God's goodness, and wander away from His truth and light, only to lead to our eventual demise.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I pray for the lost souls of this world who think that anything is preferable to a life-saving faith in God!
Blessings, my friend!
(I'll be starting on your new book tomorrow! )
I agree, Martha. What saddens me is the number of vulnerable people who are so enticed and tempted by materialism.
DeleteThank you for buying my latest book. Please let me know what you think of it. Many thanx.
God bless you and your family.
They spend more time planning a wedding than planning a marriage and wonder why they end up incompatible and get a divorce. It's sad.
ReplyDeleteVery wise words, Mimi. Very wise.
DeleteGod bless.
I try to live as Christian a life as I know how. Being kind, being tolerant, helping out where I can, not doing any harm. I raised my kids the same and they in turn have raised the grandchildren the same.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good start, River. Getting to know God and what is our role in His plan for us.
DeleteGod bless.