Idolatry in the modern Church

Do you know what the most condemned sin by God in the Bible is? Idolatry. The first two commandments, as well as other scriptures, repeatedly denounce any form of idolatry. “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3), whether it be a god carved in wood or a famous football player, a musician, a pastor, a priest, a Hollywood star, or a gospel star. God deals with idolatry in two ways: either we repent or are destroyed by it. He did not even spare his own people when he allowed the Assyrians to invade the northern kingdom of Israel because of their idolatry and later allowed Judah to be taken as a slave to Babylon. John Calvin was right when he said, “Our heart is a factory of idolatry.”

Within Christianity, we currently see the continuation of the sin of idolatry. How does a modern idol emerge? Typically, he or she is good-looking, charismatic, and possesses a seductive discourse to please their followers. These individuals often have experienced an act of bravery or pseudo-heroism. For example, they may have undergone a significant healing or converted from a highly sinful life. They become a hero and are admired for their courage. I have never understood why the Church promotes the testimony of people who, after extreme sinning, convert. Wouldn’t it be more consistent to celebrate the lives of those born, growing up, and continuing to obey God? I also don’t understand the heroism celebrated in the life of a healed person when, ultimately, it was God who healed them. The same applies to pastors who heal crowds and end up being idolized when it is God who performs the healing.

Many Christians have this need to follow and idolize historical figures circulating in churches and in the media because they often bring thrill and ignite a fire in our emotional makeup. They sweep us away to their world where everything is perfectly harmonious, God never says no, and all battles are won. Sorrow never ever shows its face in their world.

The message of a hero-leader fills our ego, making us forget who we are. The enemy of your soul always makes you forget who you are because if you are aware of who you are, you will remember that you are a child of God, born in Christ, and His power dwells in you. Indeed, you won’t need a hero to worship anymore.

The problem with heroes like the Incredible Hulk, Batman, Superman, Marvel characters, and others is that they need to wear masks, and their ego ends up being different from what is presented. They adopt a secret identity, and what we know is their performances. Heroes often rely on the argument that they have a spectacular story, an excellent calling, and have been entrusted with powers that other people do not possess. All these claims are antithetical to biblical truth, as, apart from their function, they are all normal human beings. 2 Corinthians 5:18a says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

The reality is that modern heroes are artificial because no one has ever been able to save a soul, much less snatch someone from hell, except for Christ. When we observe the heroes of faith in the Bible, we detect something common among them: the humility to deny themselves and glorify God with their deeds, life, and death. For example, David did not become a hero by defeating the giant Goliath because he did not fight to become famous but fought so that the victory from God would bring glory to His name in Israel and the entire land. Paul, who had a personal encounter with Jesus after His ascension, was used by God to perform numerous miracles, wrote 14 epistles, and did not turn his faith into a theater or spectacle. Instead, he summarized it in his curriculum: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

We are influenced by the examples of our idols or heroes, so we need to esteem the right people. The heroes of faith, those whom the world was not worthy of, left us a legacy to observe God is not seeking strong and extraordinary men and women; He is looking for people who walk in His power, strength, and dependence.

Our idols and heroes speak about us. They reveal who we are, what we believe, and the destiny we will have. Who are your idols? Who is your hero? What are you projecting onto that person? Your pain, failure, secret, dreams? We live in a broken and fallen world, and if your idol only inspires a life on earth, you will be disappointed when he or she removes the mask. We do not belong to this world. John 15:19 says, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” so let us seek things from above and take as an example those who inspire us to one day dwell with Christ.

The Bible strongly condemns idolatry. We often have a comfortable idea that idolatry is kneeling before an idol and worshiping it. However, the original word for idolatry means to possess extreme admiration, flatter, reverence, love, veneration, and so on. Anything in our lives that is more important than God is idolatry. Anything or anyone that takes up more space in our lives than God is idolatry. Spending more time reading about a Hollywood or a gospel star than reading the Bible is also idolatry. All these actions make it clear whom we worship.

Indeed, there is nothing wrong with mentally associating with people who inspire our Christian journey. Moses, Noah, Esther, Abraham, Sarah, Paul, Ruth, Deborah, and David are people from the Bible. We need to get to know them by reading about them, observing how they related to God and people, their behaviors, what they believed, and where they went after their deaths.

As Christians, Jesus Christ should be our only prototype of a superhero and the only one we should worship. He is more than a hero; He is the Son of God, our Savior and Lord. He alone should be our inspiration and model. He left us the example of how to mirror ourselves in Him, who, being God, humbled Himself. He is a true superhero because He died, rose again, and lives forever. And one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is the Lord, worthy of all worship for all eternity.

God loves us. He has always loved us and will always love us. How terrible is it when we replace His place in our lives with idols made from elements created by Him?

May we repent of all idolatry in our lives. May He give us discernment to remove idols from our hearts before they destroy us. Hugs, Helia.

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