Replacing Idolatry with Reverence

 

    Idolatry may seem like it is a problem of biblical times, where people were worshiping actual idols made of wood or gold, expecting them to provide or save them in some capacity, even though they were objects created by human hands.

But I assure you, it is very much a problem of today.

A few weeks ago, my pastor spoke about idolatry and defined a god (little g) as “that which gives our life meaning, the thing we put our trust in.” If that thing is not God (big G), then we’re ensnared in the sin of idolatry.

This means that modern day objects, titles, people, and achievements can all become idols for us, if we do not keep them in their rightful place beneath God when it comes to the thing we are trusting in the most.

If we are trusting in our job to provide for us more than God, that’s idolatry.

If we are looking to earning a higher degree as what will give our life meaning over God, that’s idolatry.

If we are trusting in our spouse to care for us more than God, that’s idolatry.

If we are looking for a bigger house to finally feel like we’ve made it instead of God, that’s idolatry.

For me, and maybe for you, that thing has almost always been motherhood. I have mentioned here before that being a mom was my biggest dream growing up. I told people that, if I had to choose between motherhood and my dream career, I’d choose motherhood every time. I placed this role, this milestone, on a pedestal, believing it would make my life complete when I finally achieved it.

So, when we first began walking the path of infertility and loss, I was terrified that this dream would never be realized. At first, I spent so much time focusing on finding solutions that would help us achieve parenthood, that I rarely sought God as the solution. My drive to become a mother had replaced Him as the meaning of my life, and the longer we walked that path, the further up onto the pedestal I pushed motherhood.

Eventually, I dragged God into my idolatry. I had placed this role so high above Him that I couldn’t fathom having a good life without it. I looked to Him in prayer and asked, “How could a good God plan a life for me that doesn’t include motherhood?” And while this is a valid question to ask when you're deep in the grief of infertility and loss, my entire happiness hinged on whether or not it would ever happen for me. I had taken something that God meant as a blessing, and I had twisted it into an idol. I had given it more value in my life than He had, and I was trusting it to bring me happiness more than I was trusting Him. If God had chosen not to answer our prayers and give us a child, this misplacement of worship would have resulted in a serious mental health crisis for me.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and looking back, I shudder to think what would’ve happened in my life if God’s plan for us was to remain childless. I’m grateful that God blessed us with a child, not only for the dear miracle our son is, but for avoiding the spiral that surely would’ve come. This is not to say that I don’t still struggle with idolizing motherhood; at times, I find myself fretting over the happiness and health of my son, fearing that I’m not doing something to make sure he turns out as the smart, strong, faithful young man I hope he will be. In those moments, where I trust myself more than God to take care of my son, I’m idolizing my role as a mom, but worse, I’m idolizing myself. 

Our anxieties can cause us to idolize the roles we have, the relationships we have, and the milestones that we desire, believing that achieving those things or maintaining possession of them is so important to our happiness that we’re actually worshiping them in place of God. We trust them for our security, protection and care instead of looking to our omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God. All of these things have limits and will surely let us down at some point, no matter how wonderful they are and no matter how much God wants to bless us with them. But God is limitless and He will never fail us, and it is He alone who deserves our reverence.

In preparation to study for this piece, I looked up the words “worship” and “reverence.” Worship is the act of expressing and feeling reverence, while reverence is having deep, profound respect and love, honoring, expressing gratitude, and obeying someone or something. I looked at both of these words in the context of Scripture.

The first mention of these words in Scripture is with the word “worship” and it is in a well known story from Genesis 22. We’ve talked about Abraham before. God made a covenant with him, promising that his descendants would be the same number as the grains of sand. This was shocking to Abraham, since he was 90 and his wife 80- well past child-bearing years. Ten years later, at 100 and 90, their son Isaac was born, and this is through whom God promised to grow Abraham’s nation.

Then God threw Abraham a curveball- He called to Abraham and commanded him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering to Him. Verse 1 says that God is testing Abraham with this command, but he does know that. Without questioning, Abraham gets up the next morning, gathers supplies, and takes his son and two servants to the place God has told him to go to. When they arrive, Abraham says to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5 NIV).

So much is said about Abraham’s heart in this one sentence. First, he sees this sacrifice as a way of worshiping God. Remember that definition of “reverence”? It included obedience. God has commanded him to do this, so he will worship by obeying God’s command, no matter how devastating it may be. I also see hope and deep faith in Abraham’s statement when he says, “We will come back to you” (emphasis mine). Not “I” but “we.” Abraham trusts God’s ability to bring Isaac back down the mountain, despite His command. This trust is another requirement of worship.

The Hebrew word for “worship” used here means “bow down, prostrate oneself.” In particular, this is done before someone superior, as homage, or before God. I find it interesting that, according to the definition, this word can also apply to false gods. So the question we have to ask ourselves is this: where do we see ourselves behaving like Abraham? What are we obedient to? What are we trusting? Who are we bowing down to in inferiority? Are we following Abraham’s example and putting this level of worship towards God, or are we misdirecting it towards something of this earth?

Abraham could have been so easily tricked into idolatry in this situation. It took he and Sarah so long to have a child and it was supposed to be this child that would be the answer to God’s promise. Abraham could have put his role as a father on a pedestal. He could have put the outcome of God’s promises on a pedestal as well. But he left those things where they belonged- below God- and he walked in obedience through God’s test.

Abraham goes as far with his worship as to build the altar, tie down Isaac and raise his knife to his only son. Before he can slay his child, an angel of God calls out to stop him and confirms God’s covenant with him. The beauty of this story is that it so parallels the sacrifice of Jesus: the group walked for three days to get to the place of this sacrifice, Isaac is the one to carry the wood for his own sacrifice, the angel refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only son,” and God provides a replacement sacrifice to save Isaac. Regardless of all the other things that God has done for us (blessing us with our Rainbow Babies!), does the sacrifice of Jesus trump all else in deserving our worship? It should.

Abraham is not the only Bible character to paint a very clear picture of where we should and shouldn’t place our worship. Mordecai, in the book of Esther, and Shadrach, Meshach, Adebnego, in the book of Daniel, face situations where they are asked to choose who they will worship.

In Esther 3:2, King Xerxes commands his people to honor Haman, one of his advisors. “...all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence” (KJV). When he is asked why he refuses to kneel for Haman, Mordecai’s answer is that he’s a Jew. This response indicates that Mordecai is refusing to kneel to Haman because he is not God. Mordecai will not show anyone the level of worship that he reserves for God. This gets him in a heap of trouble (Haman becomes so enraged, he convinces the king to sign an edict ordering the destruction of all Jews- read the book of Esther to see how things end! It’s one of my favorites!), but Mordecai chooses to obey God’s command to worship Him alone and trusts that God will protect him if things go sideways (which they do!).

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a similar demand of his people, but for himself instead of someone else. He makes a golden image of himself and commands the people to bow to it. He also gives them the punishment if they fail to do so: being thrown in a blazing furnace. The people comply, but it is reported to the king that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (also Jews like Mordecai) refuse to worship the idol. When the furious king calls them to answer for their actions, they reply, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18 NIV). Unlike Mordecai, these men know the consequence for their refusal and still they maintain their worship only towards God. They are willing to die for this obedience (!!!) and they trust that God will protect them for this (finish reading Daniel 3 to find out what happens!).

These great actions, among a long list of great actions in the Old Testament, are why Ethan the Ezrahite wrote in Psalm 89, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him” (verse 7 KJV). The Hebrew word here carries a definition that includes, “cause astonishment.” When I look back at my life, there are things God has done for me and my family that truly cause me astonishment! He should receive my worship above all else for these things!! Focusing on remembrance, as we’ve talked about here before, can help us maintain our worship in the correct direction.

When we replace idolatry with reverence, it puts everything in its appropriate place. We can rightly worship God while having joy in our roles, relationships and milestones. We give our obedience to God and put our trust in Him above everything else, which allows us to more fully enjoy those things that God has given us as blessings.

We may not be worshiping gold or wooden images like the Israelites did, but our idols might be made of technology, paper, or flesh and blood. We don’t get a pass because we’re not giving our idols offerings or calling them “gods.” We need to take them off the pedestals we’ve placed them on and turn our bowing to God, who sacrificed His only son to save our souls. That, above all else, deserves our worship.