Idolatry and Identity

Recently, I had an explosive moment of revelation burst through my mind (a somewhat startling event). All of my life, I’ve been taught that worship with idols was wrong, due to the admonitions against it in the Ten Commandments. The simplified explanation for this was that when we create and worship an image of God, we steal from him by substituting God for an object.

However, I believe there is much more to it than this. According to scripture, we humans were designed to represent God, to live and breathe created in his image. When we allow an idol to take the position of depicting God, we steal from our own calling and privilege to reflect Christ.

So, how does this relate to the teachings that things other than statues can be idols in our lives? Perhaps when we allow our career, hobbies, people, or addictions to become more important than God, we allow them to signify our identity; when our identity should be found in Christ. In this reciprocal relationship with God, we have been chosen to reflect his image through our lives and in turn, we find our identity in him.

What an amazing gift and opportunity. Although I’ve always felt this was a non-issue for me, I’m purposed even more to live my life idol-free.