The Negative Effects of Idolatry
Day 7 - The Negative Effects of Idolatry
Negative Effects of idolatry
If we look to some created things to give us the meaning, hope, and happiness that only God Himself can give, it will eventually fail to deliver and will break our hearts!
Like all sin, the long-term effects of idol worship are not immediately seen. At first, the idol seems to meet all of our deepest longings. But in the end, the effects of idol worship are devastating, both to us as individuals and to the community around us.
Ironically, when pursuing an idol, the last thing that we think is that getting our heart’s deepest desires might actually be the worst thing that can ever happen to us.
Effect #1: Insecurity
The first negative effect of idolatry is insecurity. One of the key things we are looking for in our idols is a sense of control and security. The old pagan idols served this purpose. People would bow down to and worship an idol, like the god of fertility, in the belief that this would guarantee a good crop or a large family. It provided a sense of security to the worshiper. W e are no different. W e seek out idols that we think can give us a measure of control in an oftentimes chaotic and unpredictable world. So, perhaps we worship at the altar of money and save hoards of it in order to protect ourselves against the inevitable economic downturn, believing that it has made us secure.
But the reality is that anything outside of God is inherently finite and thus inherently insecure. Our false god may seem solid on the surface, but in reality it is not. It can desert you in a mom ent. The bank that holds my money may collapse or I may find that all of my money was invested in a Ponzi Scheme that has collapsed. Deep down we know this. That is why it does not matter how much m oney a person saves. They never feel that they have saved enough. Intuitively, we know that money is fleeting and could flee us at any moment.
And yet, despite the fact that it never grants us
Negative Effects of idolatry
If we look to some created things to give us the meaning, hope, and happiness that only God Himself can give, it will eventually fail to deliver and will break our hearts!
Like all sin, the long-term effects of idol worship are not immediately seen. At first, the idol seems to meet all of our deepest longings. But in the end, the effects of idol worship are devastating, both to us as individuals and to the community around us.
Ironically, when pursuing an idol, the last thing that we think is that getting our heart’s deepest desires might actually be the worst thing that can ever happen to us.
Effect #1: Insecurity
The first negative effect of idolatry is insecurity. One of the key things we are looking for in our idols is a sense of control and security. The old pagan idols served this purpose. People would bow down to and worship an idol, like the god of fertility, in the belief that this would guarantee a good crop or a large family. It provided a sense of security to the worshiper. W e are no different. W e seek out idols that we think can give us a measure of control in an oftentimes chaotic and unpredictable world. So, perhaps we worship at the altar of money and save hoards of it in order to protect ourselves against the inevitable economic downturn, believing that it has made us secure.
But the reality is that anything outside of God is inherently finite and thus inherently insecure. Our false god may seem solid on the surface, but in reality it is not. It can desert you in a mom ent. The bank that holds my money may collapse or I may find that all of my money was invested in a Ponzi Scheme that has collapsed. Deep down we know this. That is why it does not matter how much m oney a person saves. They never feel that they have saved enough. Intuitively, we know that money is fleeting and could flee us at any moment.
And yet, despite the fact that it never grants us