Identifying the Idols in My Life

The place to begin is with knowing what an idol is and what an idol does. We are not referring to literal, pagan idols like the ones which dominated the ancient world of the apostle John's day or like those that dominate the Eastern world of our own day. We are referring to idols in a metaphorical way (which is the way the apostle intended in 1 John 5:20). As a metaphor, and according to the Bible, an idol may be defined as 1) anything which removes God from His rightful place and/or 2) anything which removes from God that which rightfully belongs to Him.

With this in mind, we may further identify three types of these “idols”:

1. Idols of God’s De-Glorification – of which John is chiefly concerned (bad theology or false doctrine; e.g., open theism, prosperity gospel, etc. cp. 1 John 2:18-24; 4:1-6; 5:7-10) “We call all too easily think we have him sewn up, we know all about him, we can predict his responses and even condition them. But what we have is not God. It is an idol of our own making, a thinly veiled excuse for worshipping ourselves.” (Jackman, p. 172)
2. Idols of Self-Glorification (i.e., wealth, fame, success: “The world is filled with self-made people who worship their creator.” cp. Psalm 10:3-6 and Matt. 6:24)
3. Idols of Self-Gratification (i.e., materialism, sexual sins, covetousness, any other pleasure pursuit; cp. 1 Cor. 10:5-7, 14; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5)

First, we must note that the worship of these idols is often quite subtle and sometimes those who succumb to idolatry of this kind aren’t even aware of it – in fact, they may even believe they are worshipping the God of the Bible! Second, we must also be aware that frequently when we find we are following one of these idols, we are in actual fact under the influence of all three! Third, we must identify the motivation behind such idol-seeking – control. Think about it. Idols are made by men so that men, who believe that the gods can be manipulated, may use them to bring about their own desires. God frequently points out the irony of idol-worship to His people in the Old Testament (cf. Isa. 44:9-20).

But Jesus has given us an understanding so that we may know Him who is true (1 John 5:20)! “(Jesus) will win the supremacy he is owed. And he relentlessly undermines all that is not god to make room for the God who has redeemed our hearts.” Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III, Breaking the Idols of Your Heart (InterVarsity, 2008), p. 17

So, being mindful that we are all recovering idolaters (1 Cor. 6:9-11; cp. 1 Cor 12:2; Gal. 4:8-9), we must be vigilant in keeping ourselves from further acts of idolatry.