Spiritual Idolatry Part 2

The Illusion

Aside from the illusion of conditional happiness, Satan has created another trap to bring us away from God: spiritual idolatry, which is worshiping other things besides God. This worship of other material objects can be very inconspicuous.

The Bible says, “You shall not have other Gods before me” (Exo. 20:3). Scholars consider idolatry one of the most severe sins in the Bible, calling for austere punishment for those who engage in it. While this was Yahweh’s commandment to the Israelites, it applies to us Christians even today. The wrath of God meted out to idolaters applies to us even today.

Having other gods or worshiping other gods is not as straightforward as it seems. Over time, it has become insidious and inconspicuous. It was about creating an image or object representing another god or deity and worshiping it in the early times. In our day and age, idolatry can also mean putting our trust in an external object other than God. It allows the created thing, rather than the Creator, to satisfy us.

According to scholar and theologian Brian Rosner, “idolatry is the diagnosis of the human condition.” Idolatry is the sin that arises from the insatiable deprivation of man and results from Satan’s distortion of the God-given gift of desire and fulfillment. However, Satan distorts desire with idolatry and manipulates us into thinking that satisfaction can be found in an earthly object rather than God.

You cannot serve two masters.

Idolatry is the result of the “cravings of sinful man.” Notice that it doesn’t say just cravings, but it qualifies it as the cravings possessed by the sinful man. Therefore, what makes the passion sinful is not desire itself but the sin in man’s heart.