In the last post, “IDOLS. WITCHCRAFT. REVIVAL.,” we talked about how we can open the door to witchcraft and idolatry in our lives. It’s a tactic of the enemy to keep us spiritually blind and deaf and shut down revival. But not on my watch! In this post, I’d like to unpack what "idols" are a little more, so we’re not blindsided by the enemy’s schemes. Let’s start with a passage of scripture:
Genesis 35:1-6, NLT
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” 2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5 As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family. 6 Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan.
Jacob is a complicated character. His life has been full of many problems, but also much promise. He’s not perfect, but yet he still carries God-given purpose. Aren’t you glad that God uses imperfect people?! Jacob’s life is good, bad, and ugly… but he teaches us how to be relentless in our pursuit of God. Even though Jacob has made many mistakes, he’s a man on a mission… and he keeps on pressing forward towards the plan of God for his life no matter what.
And that is what we see in Genesis 35. We’re at a moment in the life of Jacob where he is choosing to move from where he’s at to where God wants him to be. Currently, Jacob is in a place called Shechem. God tells him it’s time to move to a new place called Bethel. “Shechem” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “place of burdens.” But “Bethel” is a Hebrew word that means “house of God!” Essentially, God is telling Jacob to move on from the place of burdens into the house of God!
Jacob’s response to this instruction is powerful and profound. He instructs his family: “Get rid of all your pagan idols [and] purify yourselves” (Genesis 35:2, NLT). Jacob has realized that as they leave Shechem—the place of burdens—they must leave all their burdens behind! And idols are the epitome of a burden! In order for Jacob to be in full obedience and submission to the Lord, the idols have to go.
What is an idol? Perhaps the most obvious form of an idol is something like a golden statute or figurine, representing a false god. In Jacob’s day, people would worship these statutes and take part in various idolatrous practices. Idols were symbols of rebellion, disobedience, and impurity. But here’s the thing: idols are not limited to a golden statue. An idol is anything that steals our attention and affection away from God. Idolatry is worshiping anything or anyone other than God. And these idols are the burdens that keep us from living the life that Jesus died to give us.
Psalm 24:3-6, NLT
3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. 5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. 6 Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
When we cling to idols, we turn away from God’s love for us (Jonah 2:8, NIV). The Apostle Paul points out that there cannot be any union between an idol and us as God’s temple (2 Corinthians 6:15-17, NLT). He also lists idolatry as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5. And the Apostle John puts it plainly: “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21, NIV).
Like God told Jacob, I believe God is telling us: It’s time to leave “Shechem” for “Bethel!” Leave the burden of idols behind and come dwell in the house of God! Here are four types of idols:
1. INSECURITIES
Insecurities target our identity, specifically things like our self-image, self-worth, and self-confidence. Now, you might be thinking, “How can insecurities be an idol?” Notice the common denominator in the list: SELF. Insecurities cause me to revolve around me. Insecurities put my focus and my attention on me, which means I’m making myself my own idol. There’s a word for that: PRIDE.
Insecurities are idols because they make who I am not bigger than who God is in me. Insecurities get you thinking too much about you. It gets dangerous when your thought-life revolves around self. It gets dangerous when you start to turn your attention and affection inward. And when we become so focused on what we are not, we miss what God is and who we are in Him!
Ultimately, insecurity and pride go hand and hand because they are both about you. And it’s not about you! INSECURITY is an IN-SECURITY — trying to find SECURITY IN yourself. But that’s not where security is found. We have to stop looking in ourselves and start looking up to God. If we don’t, an insecurity will become an idol and probably manifest as pride. Idols give us a false sense of security. But the only true security is in the loving arms of God.
Dr. Myles Munroe said, “Often we become self-conscious because we are not God-conscious.” I’ve found that pretty much every insecurity I’ve had or have can be traced back to a lack of trust in God. But the more God-conscious I get, the more secure I become and the more these idols of insecurity start to fall away.
2. DISTRACTIONS
We can be distracted by so many things. Everything from sin to social media can be a huge distraction in our lives. Some distractions might be harder to recognize. Things like fear or other emotions; thoughts about the past or future; bad memories that keep replaying in your mind; work; significant others and kids; ministry; opinions and traditions and politics; and the list goes on. We can be distracted by good and bad things, but they always pull our attention and affection away from Jesus.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we neglect our responsibilities. But it does mean we keep the main thing the main thing — and that ONE THING, as it says in Psalm 27, is JESUS. The enemy can’t stop your destiny, so he’ll try to distract your focus. He’ll try to get you to idolize something or someone, so that you’ll become more focused on that than on God.
One of the most famous stories about distractions is found in Luke 10. Martha, a friend of Jesus, is preparing a meal for Him. She becomes so consumed and distracted by so many things… good things… that she misses an opportunity to be with Jesus. We have to be careful that we don’t become so busy doing things FOR God that we forget to be WITH God.
It isn’t so much about how “busy” we are, but rather about how distracted we’ve become. You can be busy and focused. You can be busy and still have your priorities right. Distraction is the breeding ground for idols, so bring your focus back in… back into the heart of God. The Apostle Paul says it best: “feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm” (Colossians 3:2, TPT).
3. OFFENSE
“Offense is an event, but offended is a decision.” - Pastor Steven Furtick. Offenses will come. It’s pretty much a guarantee. People are going to offend you. Church people are going to offend you. Church leaders will too. But whether or not you are going to live offended is up to you. Offense is an event, but living offended takes that event and then allows that experience to dictate future actions.
We can either base our lives off of experiences with people or we can base our life off an encounter with Jesus. Now, I’m not saying we don’t learn from our experiences or allow ourselves to stay stuck in a cycle of abuse. Use wisdom! But what I am saying is that experiences with people shouldn’t take precedent over an encounter with Jesus.
Offense becomes an idol when we make what a person did to us bigger than what Jesus has done for us. Offense is an idol when we base our actions and reactions off of what they did instead of what He has done. We cannot allow another person’s behavior to change our behavior. We have to live from our encounter with Jesus, not our experiences with people.
This is no excuse for bad behavior. This is not to minimize the wounds caused by others. My greatest heartbreaks and heartaches have been caused by the actions of people in church. But it’s not about them. It’s about the choice I get to make. A choice you get to make too. Do we hold onto the idol of offense or do we let go and return to intimacy with Jesus? Like Joseph in Genesis. His brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery. He had every right to be offended with them. But Jospeh forgave. And when it mattered most, God used Joseph to save his brothers, his whole family, and an entire nation!
4. LIES
The enemy is the master liar. He lies about anything and everything. Lies abut God, our identity, the future, and so on. Lies become an idol when we make what the enemy is saying louder than what God is saying. Lies are idols when our attention, and thus our actions, get filtered through those untruths.
It’s so easy to become more focused on the lie than the Truth. And sometimes we don’t even realize it’s happening. We can have a whole reality based on a lie. I would encourage you… on a regular basis… check in with Holy Spirit and ask Him if the are any lies you are believing.
One way to spot a lie is to find any area in our lives where we are not fully at rest in Jesus. If something is taking us out of rest or peace, there is most likely a lie we are believing. The best way to get rid of a lie is to flush it out with truth! Replace the lie with truth and you’ll find rest again. Now more than ever, we need to know what God’s truth is and that truth is found in His Word.
Idols can get dressed up in spiritual clothes. It’s so easy to make spiritual-sounding excuses for the idols in our lives. So that’s why we have to know the Word. Lies are exhausting… they consume our attention and affection. But if we’re in the Word, daily meditating on it, His Truth will flush out the lies and bring us back to rest and freedom in Him.
I.D.O.L.
- Insecurities
- Distractions
- Offenses
- Lies
Now that we have uncovered some idols, what do we do? Remember what Jacob did: “So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he BURIED them under the GREAT TREE near Shechem” (Genesis 35:4, NLT). This is a picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Jesus died on a tree and was buried in a tomb. And that’s where our idols belong… buried in the grave under the cross of redemption!
We bury idols when we repent. Repentance is not a bad word. And it’s not something we only do once when we first get saved. We repent anytime and every time Holy Spirit nudges our hearts to do so. And when we repent, we turn back towards God and His endless grace, mercy, and love. It’s a beautiful thing.
Repentance is all about turning our attention and affection back to Jesus, surrendering afresh and anew. It’s about focusing on back on the only One worthy of our worship. Idols can’t live in a repentant heart. When we bury the idols, it makes room for what God wants to do! After Jacob buried his idols, God showed up and announced:
“Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you” (Genesis 35:10-12, NLT).
This moment in Jacob’s story ends with God calling out his true identity, his true purpose, and his true future. As we bury the idols in our own lives, we are able to move unburdened into all God has for us… our true identity, purpose, and future. It makes room for what God wants to do in and through us! It creates space for revival!
Bury the idols!