Idolatry

Idolatry, in its simplest form, is when I replace the worship of God with some physical image or object that I can see and touch. Romans 1:25 alerts us to the fact that there is an innate tendency in every human being to replace the spiritual with the physical.

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen."

The truth of the matter is that life can be found only in the Creator. Yet we seek to find life in the physical not eternal. Physical things by their very nature have no power to offer what the Creator alone can give. Heed this warning in Jeremiah 10:1-16:

1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2Thus says the LORD, Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens although the nations are terrified by them;

3For the customs of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

4"They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter.

5"Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good."

6There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might.

7Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

8But they are altogether stupid and foolish in their discipline of delusion--their idol is wood!

9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men.

10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King at His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

11Thus you shall say to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens."

12It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

13When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouses.

14Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his shamed by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them.

15They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.

16The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.

Think about it! Behind every powerful physical thing stands the God of glorious power (the Creator). Behind every moment of physical beauty is the God of awesome beauty. Beneath every physical wonder is the God of awesome wonder. Above every moment of love there is the God who is the source and definition of all true love. Still, our sinful tendancy is to replace the spiritual glories of the Creator with the physical glories of the creation while forgetting the spiritual glories of intimate communion with the Lord of Lords, the Kings of Kings, the awesome Creator.