faith

American Gods: What is Idolatry?

Rev. Dr. Richard D. Booker Leave a comment

So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, “This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:3-4)

The Bible, even the whole of the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), have at their core a fundamental belief, that there is only One God. That to have other gods in his place is idolatry. Idolatry means more than worshipping a graven image. Idolatry is simply placing value, importance, dedication, passion, desire in any thing at the a level approaching what ought to devote to the One true God. The Hebrew Bible can be summed up as a story about how God devoted all his love to humankind and how humans continually devote their love to everything but God. Jesus is the demonstration of just how devoted God is to us, that he gave his one and only Son for us. The teachings of the New Testament epistles reveal just how we, even as believers, continue to be devoted to every thing but God.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:14)

In wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, the culmination of nearly 150 politically motivated attacks in 2025 (Jensen, MU) including the assassination of Democratic representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, I have been pondering what has led to this. For Christians, it’s easy to say, “the Devil is at work.” Well, sure. But the Devil is in the details. So, what’s the detail? What do Americans value above all else? What are we, as a nation, devoted to that leads to the killing of those with differing opinions from us? The answer, I’m afraid, is as simple to state as it is difficult to overcome. Idolatry. We are still devoted to every thing but God. When we define ourselves by political parties or movements, by race or ethnicity, by gender or sexuality, by generation or national borders then we are separating ourselves from God and one another. To be sure, we are a part of each of these categories and they are a part of us….but only a part. Our identity does not come from these things but from the God who made us. We are God-breathed into this world, intentionally made by a loving Creator to love and to be loved. When we forget that, it opens a void in our soul that will be filled with something. Idolatry is the sum of those things with which we fill our hearts. Those things we devote ourselves to mor than to God, his love, his truth, his Person. When that happens, a culture of death follows. It always has and always will.

I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen. (Revelation 2:4-5a)

Let’s Pray!

Gracious and Loving Father:

All of us are prone to idolatry; indeed, our minds are constantly manufacturing new idols; we are so prone to wonder from You. Today, I confess my sins; show me my idols, but also show me how destructive they are and how they grieve Your Spirit. I pray that I might “put away my idols” so that I might not repeat the same sins. Break the power of Satan on my behalf. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

On Service in the Local Church

Rev. Dr. Richard D. Booker Leave a comment

Therefore, it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:8, 11-13)

Much can be said, has been said, will be said about the need for Christians to volunteer in their local church. The fact is, the Church runs on the generous participation of its members, their time, gifts, talents, resources, and yes, their time. Often, pleas for volunteers are made by trying to appeal to the needs of the church or even to guilt members into stepping up. But I’m reminded of what Mother Teresa of Calcutta said:

Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Jesus, in his bodily human form, ascended into heaven somewhere around 2,000 years ago. He is no longer here to lay hands on the sick, to cast out oppressive spirits, to proclaim the Good News to the poor of spirit, to minister to those who are imprisoned or hungry or naked or outcasts. Yet, the ministry of Jesus is meant to continue until his return. How? Through us, his people, his Church, his Body on Earth. Mother Teresa’s admonition that Christ has “no body now on earth but yours” is not only a plea for us to step up, it is a bold proclamation about the Church itself. If we are not being the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet, the mouth of Jesus in the world, then can we claim to be his Body at all? And, if not his Body, then are we really followers and disciples? And if not followers and disciples, are we really “Christian” in a biblical sense? It is only in being the Body of Christ to the world that we become the Body of Christ bound for heaven. The call to ride this glory train to our heavenly home is tied inextricably with the call to minister to our neighbors. We cannot have one without the other! So, I invite you to pray this prayer in earnest:

Gracious and Loving Father:

Please reveal to me where you would have me serve. Open my eyes to the opportunities around me, equip me for the work of the ministry, and give me the wisdom to discern your will, so that I might serve You faithfully in and through Your Church. I surrender my desires and plans to your guidance. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.