In Old Testament times, people would pick up a block of wood in one hand and a chisel in the other and carve a "god." Polytheism was common. The icon, or statue, was intended to represent a god.
So God commanded, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand (generations) of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20)
Today we don't carve gods out of blocks of wood, but that doesn't mean we don't have idols.
What is an idol? An idol can be anything you are attached to that comes between you and God. This can be money, an addiction, perfectionism, or a toxic relationship. In religious terms, an idol can be a fancier-than-needed church building or professing to comprehend the mystery of God and the trinity.
God said, don't get mixed up between the carving and God. The carving is not divine. God is. The line between the symbol and God becomes obscure during idol worship.
Strongholds are gods with a little g. An idol is anything that stands between you and God.
Don't give into idols, God commanded. Serve God, not idols.
When God said He is a jealous God, He didn't say it for Him, He said it for us.
Don't make anything more important than Me, God was instructing. He knows the consequence. When our lives are full of stuff, be it physical or emotional, there is no room for God. We sell our souls for idols.
In the second commandment, God is saying, you don't need all that; you need Me. Give up your attachment to the material world. Instead of looking to yourself and other people for guidance and direction, trust Me. Give those strongholds that are consuming you emotionally to Me. Enough with the tears. Let go of the worry. Stop agonizing over the opinions of others. Open your heart. Make room for Me.
The commandment also offers is a promise. The payoff for loosening the grip on the idols in our lives is God's extravagant love.
Chris Karcher is the author of "Relationships of Grace" and "Amazing Things I Know About You." She can be reached at www.relationshipsofgrace.com.
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