My Personal Gods

I have idols in my life. I think, if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we all do.

We don’t set up statues of stone and wood in shrines and establish a religious devotion to them.

Or maybe we do.

Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, points out that many modern adults bow each morning in their empty devotion to money, sex, and power. It is very clear in areas surrounding major sports franchises that we really do have our own pagan temples set up to the gods of sports. We enter into ritual worship at regular intervals of our year, complete with feast days and celebrations. We even have songs, statues, icons and shrines set up to enhance our worship.

Consider these words from Paul in Colossians 3:5: Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

My personal gods are a little more subtle than these, though. I struggle with three, and one of them is even viewed as a positive characteristic.

• I value pleasure and entertainment. The idea of entertainment is, on its own, innocuous and amoral. But sometimes I can get so into a TV show or game app on my phone that it affects how I engage with my family, and sometimes affects my mood and dreams. At that point it is an idol that has control of my mind.
• I was introduced to porn when I was 12 years old. For years afterward my struggle bordered on addiction, though it was much harder to come by in my teenage years than it is today. And like drugs or alcohol, the struggle is never really over.
• I really want people to like me. If I am in conflict with someone, I can’t sleep or think about anything else, and it is so very tempting for me to do almost anything to appease them so they will think well of me again. Others’ opinion of me has been a life-long idol and requires constant diligence for me to not bow at the altar of public opinion.

In our Midweek study of the Minor Prophets, we have come to Zephaniah, who witnessed an incredible revival led by the boy King Josiah. The people tore down altars and temples to the Ba’als and Asherah, and devoted their lives to worship only Yahweh! But there remained an undercurrent of idol worship, and toward the end of Josiah’s reign, as he made a foolish agreement with Babylon, the Israelites returned to their old ways.

Zephaniah predicted judgment on Judah and on Babylon (the Day of the Lord), and “the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.” (Zephaniah 3:8) But this judgment feels a little bit different from some others.

The final 12 verses lead us to view the consuming fire of God not as a destructive force, but as a restorative force. It was meant to purify God’s people, not just to punish.

The remnant of Israel will no longer do wrong or tell lies; a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. But they will pasture and lie down, with nothing to make them afraid.
Zephaniah 3:13

The words of Zephaniah 3 help us to see beyond the immediate consequences for the Israelites to recognize God’s desire for His people.

When we give ourselves over to our idols and addictions, our hearts are turned away from the Lord and toward things that will inevitably lead to broken relationships and wells that promise life but leave us empty and wanting more.

God allows us to feel the consequences of our idolatry with the goal not of punishment, but of purification and restoration! He wants our hearts, and He wants us to experience the full benefits of a full life lived the way He designed it to be lived!

 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Psalm 16:11

What are your personal gods? 

How can you help your kids recognize and deal with their gods in a healthy way so they can experience life the way it was meant to be lived?