All the various forms of modern idolatry have one thing at their core:
self. We no longer bow down to idols and images. Instead
we worship at
the altar of the god of self. This brand of modern idolatry takes
various forms.
First, we worship at the altar of materialism which feeds our need to
build our egos through the acquisition of more “stuff.” Our homes are
filled with all manner of possessions. We build bigger and bigger houses
with more closets and storage space in order to house all the things we
buy, much of which we haven’t even paid for yet. Most of our stuff has
“planned obsolescence” built into it, making it useless in no time, and
so we consign it to the garage or other storage space. Then we rush out
to buy the newest item, garment or gadget and the whole process starts
over. This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is
nothing more than covetousness. The tenth commandment tells us not to
fall victim to coveting: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You
shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exodus
20:17). God doesn’t just want to rain on our buying sprees. He knows we
will never be happy indulging our materialistic desires because it is
Satan’s trap to keep our focus on ourselves and not on Him.
Second, we worship at the altar of our own pride and ego. This often
takes the form of obsession with careers and jobs. Millions of men—and
increasingly more women—spend 60-80 hours a week working. Even on the
weekends and during vacations, our laptops are humming and our minds are
whirling with thoughts of how to make our businesses more successful,
how to get that promotion, how to get the next raise, how to close the
next deal. In the meantime, our children are starving for attention and
love. We fool ourselves into thinking we are doing it for them, to give
them a better life. But the truth is we are doing it for ourselves, to
increase our self-esteem by appearing more successful in the eyes of the
world. This is folly. All our labors and accomplishments will be of no
use to us after we die, nor will the admiration of the world, because
these things have no eternal value. As King Solomon put it, “For a man
may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave
all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is
meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil
and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days
his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This
too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23).
Third, we idolize mankind—and by extension ourselves—through naturalism
and the power of science. This gives us the illusion that we are lords
of our world and builds our self-esteem to godlike proportions. We
reject God’s Word and His description of how He created the heavens and
the earth, and we accept the nonsense of evolution and naturalism. We
embrace the goddess of environmentalism and fool ourselves into thinking
we can preserve the earth indefinitely when God has declared the earth
has a limited lifespan and will last only until the end of the age. At
that time, He will destroy all that He has made and create a new heaven
and new earth. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The
heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by
fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you
to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the
day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the
heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new
heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10-13). As
this passage so clearly states, our focus should not be on worshipping
the environment, but on living holy lives as we wait eagerly for the
return of our Lord and Savior, who alone deserves worship.
Finally, and perhaps most destructively, we worship at the altar of
self-aggrandizement or the fulfillment of the self to the exclusion of
all others and their needs and desires. This manifests itself in
self-indulgence through alcohol, drugs, and food. Those in affluent
countries have unlimited access to alcohol, drugs (prescription drug use
is at an all-time high, even among children), and food. Obesity rates
in the U.S. have skyrocketed, and childhood diabetes brought on by
overeating is epidemic. The self-control we so desperately need is
spurned in our insatiable desire to eat, drink, and medicate more and
more. We resist any effort to get us to curb our appetites, and we are
determined to make ourselves the god of our lives. This has its origin
in the Garden of Eden where Satan tempted Eve to eat of the tree with
the words “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). This has been man’s
desire ever since—to be god and, as we have seen, the worship of self is
the basis of all modern idolatry.
All idolatry of self has at its core the three lusts found in 1 John
2:16: “For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the
lust
of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.” If we are to escape modern idolatry, we have to admit that it
is rampant and reject it in all its forms. It is not of God, but of
Satan, and in it we will never find fulfillment. This is the great lie
and the same one Satan has been telling since he first lied to Adam and
Eve. Sadly, we are still falling for it. Even more sadly, many churches
are propagating it in the preaching of the health, wealth, and
prosperity gospel built on the idol of self-esteem. But we will never
find happiness focusing on ourselves. Our hearts and minds must be
centered on God and on others. This is why when asked what is the
greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew
22:37). When we love the Lord and others with everything that is in us,
there will be no room in our hearts for idolatry.
Article Link:
http://www.gotquestions.org/idolatry-modern.html
Other Related Articles:
The definition of idolatry,
Why idol worship is such a powerful temptation,
Is it okay to worship the Saints or Mary?,
What is a graven image?,
Eating food sacrificed to idols,
Superstitions,
What should we learn from the golden calf incident in Exodus 32?,
What is 'You shall have no other gods before Me' in the Ten Commandments?,
Is it wrong to have pictures of Jesus?,
Plastic/Cosmetic surgery,
Jewelry/Crosses,
Sports ,
Ancestor worship
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