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Proverbs of a 40 yr. old man- Idols are everywhere series
God created people. People did not create God. The pagan gods and goddesses, their attributes, their histories and antics, all the myths and stories about them in ancient and modern times were incrementally conjured up from the imaginations and fantasies of the people who projected on to them their adulterated needs, aspirations and fears. Fashioning and then worshipping metal, stone and wooden gods and trying desperately, unthinkingly to imbue feelings and sensory organs into the metal, stone and wood, pagans had/will become like the statues they created. Christians were targeted and martyred by the Roman State because they pointed out the futility, folly and falsity of paganism with its mute, blind, deaf pieces of wood, stone and metal. We become what we behold. When we behold Christ, we become like Him. But if we behold world we will be like the world and its idols. I want to focus on nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature. This becomes an idol as people trust in divination and planetary beings. The worship of the sun is one of the oldest forms of false religion and was common among the Egyptians and Chaldeans and other pagan nations. When people look at the incredible power and brilliance of the sun, their first response should be to worship the One who made the sun, not to worship the sun itself.
God gave us intelligence and the curiosity to make use of it, for a grace-filled purpose. So that, as we investigate our world, we’ll discover its Creator and hold Him in awe. When surrendered to Him, our studies become acts of worship that bind us intimately with our Creator. Intellectual pursuits apart from Him, however, are not only futile, but dangerous. Whenever we seek truth more than its embodiment, Jesus, we slip into idolatry. The solution? Remember our sin, where we were and where we’d be without Christ. The challenge with modern day idols is they often arise from really good things, even necessary things. These are needs and pleasures our loving heavenly Father longs to provide. The Sun is the largest object in the sky. Its brilliance is overpowering, and its heat could destroy. In the ancient world, the sun was the most powerful object known to man. As a result, it was common for ancient peoples to worship the sun or perhaps, more accurately, the sun-deity. Today people trust in the spirit of the age, in astrology and zodiac. But Christ never fails. When we place our security in Him, we remain strong, unshakable, no matter the chaos we encounter. To find freedom from the idol of security, we simply need to lean deeper into Christ. As we do, we discover He is strong and present enough to carry us through whatever we’ll face. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Idols are everywhere.
Study Duet. 4:19
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