IDOLS OF THE HEARTS, IN ALL THEIR SNEAKY GLORY
Wednesday Word is back…again, delivered on a non-Wednesday, but let’s not get bogged down in the details. Someone with lesser…one might say, “REALISTIC”…view of remote possibilities, would rename this mini-series…maybe Thursday Thought, Tuesday Tidbit, or at the very least, Someday Synopsis…because the bigger reveal is that this post has legit existed in every day for the past 3 WEEKS! Good grief, I know. But to be honest, the second chapter in the Peacemaking Women book contains my most frequently used, quoted, applied…all the things…ideas in the past decade, and it’s been tricky to narrow down the ideas I wanted to share. This chapter tackles another area of our conflicts with God: Idolatry.
No biggie…just the whole hidden idols of the heart deal…really small potatoes. But seriously…even though it’s a massive issue, it’s not a new issue. The most obvious Biblical examples on which we can land are the OT Israelites. We see a glimpse of this disastrous reality in the book of Jeremiah. The book essentially opens with the Lord remembering the devotion and love the Israelites had for Him. But quickly we hear this reckoning in chapter 2:
What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
…my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
…for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
It’s so easy to look at the nation of Israel in the OT narrative…much like we gaze at the disciples in the NT…and judge their lack of faithfulness and wisdom. We rarely hold ourselves up to the same magnifying glass. So that’s what we’re going to do…magnify that which might be hidden in the deep recesses of our hearts so that we aren’t pouring water into DIY jugs that are broken and empty.
Every follower of Christ would affirm that God is the only One worthy of worship…because of the finished work of Christ…through the power of the Spirit. For sure. But we all have the potential for hidden idols lurking around every corner of our heart. We’re obviously not talking about bronze statues prominently displayed on the hearth of our homes. They are hidden for a reason…even from ourselves. That’s the rub. So let me share some of those quotes I mentioned from this chapter to “rub the lamp,” just a bit…let’s just see what comes out when the smoke clears.
“To worship is to ‘ascribe worth’ to something. The objects of our worship are the things we value supremely and the things in which we find our greatest pleasure, joy, and security.” In my heart of hearts…in my daily life…do I find my greatest joy in God? Is Christ my greatest pleasure or would that be my kids, friends, hobbies, etc? Is my greatest security in the Lord or my marriage? I don’t think any of us would want to say…or even consider…that we worship our kids or anything I mentioned! BUT using these first two definitions, could any number of these things have become objects of my worship?!? It’s important to note that all the examples I used are good and beautiful gifts the Lord gives us. We should all long for good and godly relationships and activities! HOWEVER, “It is not the object that is the problem…it is how much we desire it that is the problem.”
One of the most compelling ways to identify idols of your heart is to consider a few simple things: What do I chase after the most? What makes me the most angry? What would I be the most devastated to lose? What makes me the happiest?
To be clear, the answers you’re seeking aren’t the “churchy” answers or the things that roll easily off the tongue. The deeper answers are what you need…self-awareness is rarely “easy.” We are all-too-often blind to the idols of our heart because they are, in fact, hidden…again, even to us. Let me share this list of self-evaluating questions from the book as they’ve been so helpful to me over this past decade.
“Complete the following statements as honestly as you can…(right in the moment, just finish the statement):
I would be completely happy if only…
All I want is…
I feel hopeless whenever…
If only I could avoid…
Don’t ask me to give up my…
If I could force someone to do something, it would be…
If you complete any of these statements with something other than a Christ-oriented response, you are engaging in idolatry. ‘All I want is Christ’ reflects rightful worship, but ‘All I want is a loving and godly husband’ reflects idolatrous worship.”
Yea…I know. This is tough stuff. It’s been beating me up for what seems like forever. You’ll remember in the 1st WW, I mentioned that I’ve led this class 3-4 times since 2009. While I’m so grateful the Lord has been giving me more growth and wisdom, I had a good punch-to-the-gut when I looked back in my old notes to see how I finished those statements above…after I answered them this past January. There were a couple differences, but my answers were largely identical to my answers in 2009 and 2016. Ick. Now listen…I’m no slouch. I knew what the “punchline” of the assignment would be! What I didn’t remember was exactly how I answered them the first several times…and I answered them quickly so I couldn’t “filter” my answers…even in my mind. My kids, my husband, my marriage, my ministry…all taking top bids when answering honestly and without hesitation. Again, all. good. things…just aren’t supposed to be the TOP thing…in my heart. There is so much more I could share from this gut-check, but lest this post take you days to read, I’ll let this simmer for now. But let’s all remember that what we affirm with our beliefs and words doesn’t always match up with how we function in our daily lives. We are growing in Christ when our practice lines up with our profession.
“We are too often functional idolaters as we seek satisfaction in things outside of the Lord. We cannot feast on the Bread of Life when we are gorging ourselves at the trough of idols.”
Just to clarify: this isn’t about adding more to your to-do list in how to get your Christian life together. It’s about recognizing and calling out those things in our own hearts that have crept onto the throne of our lives…not in an effort to give them the proverbial boot…but to give them the proper seats-of-honor they fit into so much better and allowing Christ alone to reign supremely. To that end, let me close by sharing an analogy from Paul Tripp’s book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands:
A man and his wife had an apple tree in their front yard that always produced rotten apples. Every year, the apples would develop. Every year, the fruit would be inedible to its core. One year, he came up with a brilliant idea. He went to the grocery store and bought a crate of beautiful apples. While his wife was not looking, he removed all of the rotten apples and stapled the good apples to the tree. The next morning, he encouraged his wife to behold the tree. She was delighted. Her tree was filled with good apples. Tripp concludes, “The problem with much of what we do to produce growth and change in ourselves and others is that it is nothing more than ‘fruit stapling’.”
A pastor commented on Tripp’s analogy, “The tree in the above story will continue to produce rotten fruit because its problem is systemic…in its root system. Cure the root system, and you cure the tree…Jesus is the only one who can change the systemic problems of the human heart.”
And so to Him, we go…on Him, we lean…by Him, we are changed.