https://odb.org/MY/2023/01/18/heart-problem
In this day and age, it is unlikely for a believer to be in Christ and yet be openly and directly worshipping idols. Chances are, if they are both, they are likely nominal Christians – Christians in name only, not genuine bible believing ones. This is because both are incompatible with each other unless one subscribes to the deception and lie that all gods lead to heaven like the saying, all roads lead to Rome, that Jesus is not the only way but one of the ways. Idols are a clear-cut no since we can not be worshipping two spiritual powers at the same time.
Yet idols go deeper than just visible gods or deities that people pray to or worship. This is because anything that takes the place of God in our hearts is an idol. Anything that draws us away from God is an idol. It could be our job and career. Or even our real-life idols like people we idolise that obsess us, even Korean soap operas and their actors and actresses if we are very much into all that. Or our music and musical heroes, people we emulate and ‘worship’, and that could also mean leaders that we idolise; business leaders, or even world or political leaders.
Having said that, in my view, as much as idols can take many forms, the prohibition to worship other gods remains a clear-cut prohibition against other gods in the literal sense. The commandment is that “Thou shall not have other gods besides Me” (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). The context remains other gods as in those worshipped by those living in and around the Promised Land; Baal, and the Asherah poles – basically the gods of Jezebel whose prophets Elijah confronted and killed. Those are the deal breakers for our hearts as we can not worship and serve two spiritual powers. They can not exist side by side in our hearts.
The message today, I believe, is that as much as we must be wary of other idols that can draw us away from God and create an obsession within us, there may come a time in the near future when we may need to choose between Jesus and death or an idol and live; or in a more subtle form, Jesus and misery or another god and prosperity. Will we renounce Jesus to avoid persecution or trials and tribulations that come our way because of our faith? Will we follow Jesus all the way through the narrow road, or will we give in to other idols and choose the path of least resistance? It may well be a one-off decision or something we continually have to contend with. In the end, the commandment can only be fulfilled by what’s really in our hearts. Who is our true Lord and God?
Ronnie's Thoughts 