“You Shall Not Make for Yourself an Idol”
Exodus 20:4-6
Rev. Clark Lynn Callender. 9/19/10
When you think of God, what do you see? How do you picture God?
Is God short or tall? Young or old? Male or female? Is God the traditional old man with a long white beard and a flowing white robe seated on a golden chair on top of a cloud? Or do you picture God as just pure light? Or as just a voice? Do you picture one of the standard paintings of Jesus? Is your God more Cecil B. DeMille, George Burns, or Morgan Freeman? How about something as simple as: Is your God generally frowning or smiling? Does your God laugh?
When you think of God, what do you see?
Believe it or not, your answer to this question is far more important than you might think – it’s not a trivial matter. And it’s what I’d like to talk about this morning: HOW WE PICTURE GOD.
This morning we continue our study of the Ten Commandments by looking at the one commandment which most people generally believe they have the LEAST TROUBLE with: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” Or, in older translations: “You shall not make for yourself a graven image” (that is, an image of God made of wood, or stone, or metal.)
Let’s face it, this is not something most modern people ordinarily think about. I mean, I trust that none of us here goes home every day and bows down to some little idol, some little statute of God, that we keep around the house... That’s a given, right? Right?!
You know, I’m reminded of a little cartoon I once saw that had two sailors, returning from shore leave, standing in front of the Navy chapel. The signboard on the chapel read: “This week’s sermon topic: Thou shalt not make for thyself a graven image.” Looking at this, one sailor is nudging the other, saying, “Well, at least there’s one commandment we didn’t break this weekend!”
None of us here has ever made a “graven image”. This is not something that would generally even come to mind to most people nowadays. So is this commandment unnecessary, obsolete in our modern age? Well, it’s curious...
If you look at the text, you discover that this commandment carries with it the MOST SEVERE WARNING against disobedience (most don’t contain any warning at all), and this is the FIRST commandment that the Israelites BREAK. Remember, the GOLDEN CALF? Could this commandment, in reality, actually be the most easily and commonly – and dangerously – broken one of all? Perhaps, even by modern people?
What gives here?
Well, last week we began our study of the Ten Commandments with the First Commandment, which dealt with the issue of RIVALS to God, REPLACEMENT “gods” we worship instead of God: “You shall have no other gods before me.” And as we noted, this commandment raises the key question: What is the PLACE of God in our lives? Sole focus? No focus? One of many?
This week, we continue our consideration of the importance of God’s “person” in our lives; only now, with the Second Commandment, we make a subtle distinction, a slight “shift”:
In this commandment, we’re not concerned so much with rivals to God, as we are with FLAWED UNDERSTANDINGS of this one God. That is, it’s not so much “others”; as it is our REPRESENTATION (or “image”) of the one true God.
Now, this is a subtle distinction – the first two commandments are very close, they can (and often do) blur into one; but essentially IDOLATRY is this: It is the worship of an IMAGE. The worship of a REPRESENTATION of God, not the true God. That is, at its most basic level, it is the worshipping as God of WHAT IS NOT GOD.
And notice something very important about this: Traditionally, idolatry is understood to involve the worship of some STATUE or something – some physical object. Yet, according to the definition just offered, no tangible object need be present for idolatry to take place. And this is what opens the text up to all of us today: Idolatry, as its most basic level, is “the worshipping as God of what is not God” – even just a FLAWED MENTAL PICTURE.
Now, what’s the big deal in all of this?
The big deal is that the way we picture God is the FOUNDATION for how we see, and understand, EVERYTHING else. As a great scholar once said: “A person’s concept of God creates their entire attitude toward the hour in which they live.” How we “picture” God shapes our lives, decides what we get – either what God wants or something else. Just think about how differently you see yourself and the world around you simply depending upon whether your picture of God is frowning – just waiting to punish; or smiling – eager to forgive and love.
It’s like looking through a piece of COLORED GLASS: If you look through red glass, everything appears red. If you look through blue glass, everything appears blue. Our “picture” of God is the glass through which we see everything. Someone once said: “The worship of the false in any form is idolatry.” We may not be worshipping “other gods”; but is the ONE LORD we are trying to worship who that one Lord REALLY IS? And if not, what’s it doing to our lives?
Our text today raises, I believe, a number of the MOST COMMON FORMS OF IDOLATRY at work within your average person of faith – the most common false concepts of God we worship rather than God; that lead to equally false and destructive living – and what we need to do about it...
(I)
The first most common form of idolatry is the worship of the COMFORTABLE GOD.
In the commandment you’ll notice that the prohibition is specifically against “MAK(ING) FOR YOURSELF an idol...” That is, MAKING GOD FOR US. A direct reversal of the true order of creation. In Genesis, we’re told that we are made “in the image of God”; yet this is what we more often do: Return the favor by making God IN OUR IMAGE.
Now, many may say, “But I don’t do this!” Yet really think about it... Each of us worships a “God” which, according to our minds, FITS who we think God should, and must, be. After all, who on earth would worship a God that doesn’t fit their image of God, their image of perfection and goodness? We all do this...
Have you ever noticed how conservative people seem to know only a very conservative God; while liberal people have a very liberal God? Those who seek judgment and vengeance know a judgmental and vengeful God; while those who want to experience only compassion and mercy see only a compassionate and merciful God.
We even do this as a NATION: God supports freedom of speech, right? God likes democratic governments, right? God is in favor of capitalist economies, right?!
Oh, really?! Where does it say this?! {Bible}
We “MAKE FOR OURSELVES” GOD, not the other way around! The problem with this being two-fold: First, it is simply a LIE – it denies the TRUTH OF CREATION. But secondly, and even more importantly, it results in a falsely UNCHALLENGING GOD. Such a God is very COMFORTABLE – it FITS who we already are, rather than challenging us to FIT who GOD would have us be!
It’s like... I don’t know about you, but whenever I picture God, I always picture God BALD! I know that God is invisible, that God doesn’t have a physical body like we do... But God is bald! I mean, c’mon, after all, what’s the old saying? “God made many heads, and the ones he felt were the most exquisite, he didn’t cover up with hair.”
Not buying it?
Picture Jesus for a moment... If you’re like most white, middle-class Americans, you picture a very northern-European looking, blue-eyed, Jesus. But let’s face it: What’s the odds of that? He was a Jew born in Palestine.
We all do this in one way or another: Making God fit us, comfortable; not challenging as God truly is. As preacher Robb Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis observes: “The moment God is figured out with nice, neat lines and comforting definitions, we are no longer dealing with God.”
The first question of this commandment: Is our God primarily safe and reassuring? Is this all we come to God for, rejecting anything else that might come along – and what’s this doing to us, what’s it keeping us from?
If your life is lousy – particularly, your faith weak, have you ever thought that the problem comes down to your “God” being too comfortable? A “house-broken” God that never leaves a mess?! When was the last time God really challenged you to think a new thought, to do a new thing? Most especially, consider this: Whom don’t you love? Whom do you struggle with? What individual or group? That’s a key. God is love. If we’ve got God, we love. Who is God challenging you to love? It has been said: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
Many years ago, during the darkest moments of our nation’s great Civil War, one day President Lincoln met with his advisors to plan strategy. At the close of the meeting, one of the advisors said, “Let us end this meeting in prayer. Let us pray that God is on our side.” To which Lincoln quickly replied, “No, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”
(II)
The first most common form of flawed image of God (that keeps us from life) is the COMFORTABLE GOD. The second is then the PHYSICAL GOD.
When one makes an idol, this is, of course, what one traditionally does: one fashions a PHYSICAL representation of God – a tangible object. But, as we’ve already noted: this is not something most modern people are into. We’re not going around melting down our jewelry to make “Golden Calves – the Home Edition.” We must thus be EXEMPT from this sin. Well, think about this:
What do we all most often come to God for? What are the concerns we most often bring to the Lord? 9 times out of 10, it’s PHYSICAL issues - this is all we come to God for – “O Lord, heal this, give me that...” “O Lord, I’m having a hard time paying my bills... I’ve got this pain in my arm... The car just broke down...” We want a PHYSICAL God!
Even better, think of how often physical concerns DECIDE the very nature of our whole RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – think of all the common excuses: “I can’t serve, I can’t give, I can’t pray, I can’t help, I can’t change, I can’t come to church...” Why? “Because I’m not feeling well, I don’t have time right now, I’m not good at that, I’m too busy, I’m too young, I’m too old...”
Ruled by the physical. Not that there’s anything wrong with asking for physical things or being concerned about them – they’re a fact of life. It’s just a matter of who is IN CHARGE of whom. In the commandment it says:
In other words, nothing created can represent the Creator. Why? Well, to start with, simply because those things which are created are physical, material things; while God – though present in all physical, material things – is by nature SPIRITUAL. The physical image can’t help but be flawed and insufficient because God is something GREATER: God is SPIRITUAL. And think about that...
If this commandment is telling us that we must always remember that God is by nature SPIRITUAL; and if (as noted earlier) we are created “in the image of God”; what then is this commandment also telling us about OURSELVES?
That we too are by nature SPIRITUAL!
We are SPIRITUAL beings and we have to remember this. But, of course, we generally have a very hard time with this. This is one of the essential arguments of this commandment: Everything FALLS APART when you get the CORE ORDER of life REVERSED: When you put the lesser over the greater, the created over the Creator, the PHYSICAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL.
Yet we do this all the time. We forget that we are spiritual! We allow ourselves to be led around entirely by our physical wants and needs and thus we have all sorts of problems. How often have we unknowingly fallen into the idolatry of worshipping a physical God – in our lives having the physical rule the spiritual – which can only lead to defeat; rather than (rightly) having the spiritual rule the physical - which leads to victory?
This text secondly reminds us to seek the spiritual: In physical hardship to not just see the problem but to seek how God is spiritually at work; in dealing with people to seek the deeper spiritual issues at work within them not just how they’re bugging us; in all things to seek the eternal not the temporal. Author Alan Kraft, in his book Good News for Those Trying Harder, writes:
“Not long ago, I read that a person my age should drink 16 glasses of water a day. The next morning I brought to my office a large pitcher filled with water. Throughout the day that pitcher on my desk frequently reminded me of my need, and I’d pour another glass and drink. Overall, it was a positive experience - other than having to go to the bathroom 27 times in a period of eight hours! Remaining hydrated, I learned from that experience, requires intentionality. I had to stop periodically in the midst of my busyness, become aware of my body’s need for liquid, and take a few moments to drink a glass of water.
“In a similar way, to drink deeply of Jesus is to build into our lives frequent moments in which we intentionally stop and become aware of his presence with us, allowing him to ‘hydrate’ our soul no matter where we are or what we’re doing. This intentionality is often referred to as ‘practicing the presence of Christ.’ We can practice it anytime, anywhere - while standing in a crowded elevator, driving on the highway, working at our cubicle, waiting for some medical test results, taking an exam, or lying awake at night.
“It’s remembering that we are spiritual beings and taking time to hydrate our souls with the Holy Spirit. Which, fortunately, doesn’t make you have to go to the bathroom - it just makes you live better!”
(III)
The second common form of idolatry: the PHYSICAL GOD. Which leads us then to the third most common idol: the OBEDIENT GOD.
This is probably the greatest thing about an idol: It’s doesn’t operate on its own. It’s ONLY there to do WHAT YOU WANT is to do, when you want it to do it! And despite any protests to the contrary, this is exactly the way we generally treat God! Think about it...
What most often causes a problem for a person in their relationship with the Lord? It’s when God fails to come through as expected or requested: “Why hasn’t God answered my prayer? How could a loving God allow such horrible tragedies and injustices to happen?” So on and so forth... We’re always talking about this kind of stuff.
Yes, at times, we may become upset by our OWN FAILURES to “come through” for God; but, have you ever noticed that we tend to devote a great deal more energy to the problem of GOD’S FAILURE to “come through” for us? That’s the real problem in life!
Yet, once again, as this commandment reminds us, this is a REVERSAL of the truth: God is not an idol – that is, meant to be in any way OBEDIENT; God is by nature COMMANDING! If we don’t get this straight, we can’t help but be messed up! Yet this happens all the time: we’re more hung up on God obeying us than our obeying God!
To see if you suffer from this very subtle, often hidden form of idolatry, ask yourself this: Which best describes my prayer life – is it more, “O Lord, do this for me, please”; or “O Lord, please help me do this for you”?
Third question posed by this commandment, simply put: How is God more my servant than my Master? How am I failing to be obey? How am I looking for something from God while I am not being obedient? Erma Bombeck writes:
“I had the meanest parents in all the world. When I was seven years old they dared to punish me just because I told them I would not do what they asked me to do to help around the house. My friend next door never got punished. He didn’t have to help at home. He had nice parents.
“I had the meanest parents. I had to eat all my broccoli and carrots before they would ever let me have dessert. My friend next door never had to eat vegetables. He had fast food brought in with burgers and shakes and brownies with all kinds of ice cream.
“I had the meanest parents. They made me go to church every Sunday as long as I lived under their roof, and sit there with them in that boring worship service. My friend next door could do as he pleased. He never had to go to church. Sunday was a fun day for him.
“I had the meanest parents. When I turned sixteen, they made me earn points before I could drive the family car. My friend next door was given a brand new luxury automobile. My folks had bought an old jalopy for me to get back and forth to school, but you think I’d drive that hunk of junk and park it beside those BMWs and Mercedes? My friend had it made.
“Or so I once thought, but, when we reached age thirty, I had a change in perspective. I had learned that my parents were not so mean after all. I was experiencing: the pleasure of work, the reward of recreation, the strength of a healthy body, the bonds of a strong marriage, and the inward confidence that comes from faith.
“As for my friend, things were not going so well: he was not finding his niche in the workplace, nothing seemed to satisfy him, he was having difficulty getting along with people who were not willing to do everything just as he thought it ought to be done, his marriage had not lasted even two years, his body was in bad health, and he evidenced a cynical outlook without any under-girding that comes from the assurance of faith.”
One set of parents didn’t give everything but rather demanded things. Another set of parents gave everything and demanded nothing. The results are plain. What type of Heavenly Parent would you prefer?
(IV)
The third most common form of idolatry: the OBEDIENT GOD. Which leads us to the final: the REDUCED GOD.
Finally, of course, we live in an age where reduction is king. We gladly pay more for less: “reduced calories, reduced fat, low sodium, caffeine free...” We love reduction, so why not a “reduced God”? Well, this is really the form of idolatry that finally encapsulates all the others...
By definition, this is what one does when one makes an idol, an “image” of God: One REDUCES God in some way. You have to. If God is everything, how do you make an idol of everything? You can’t. In order to make something that we, as humans, can hold on to, you have to pick out just a few qualities of God, focus only on them, and ignore all the rest. Basically, God is made SMALLER than God actually is – you end up with a SMALL GOD. And in the commandment itself, God lets us know just how serious and dangerous this is:
This commandment has what is called a “MOTIVATIONAL CLAUSE.” That is, a part that tells us WHY we should obey. It’s the part of commandment that most upsets people. It goes like this:
“For” – that is, BECAUSE (motivational clause):
By “jealous” that doesn’t mean that God is petty or envious or anything; rather, it comes from the verb meaning “to be RED-FACED.” In other words, to say God is a “jealous God” is to say that God is EMOTIONAL – that God TAKES THINGS VERY MUCH TO HEART, VERY SERIOUSLY. And just what exactly is it that God “takes so seriously”? Well, we’re told:
What God takes extremely seriously is both HUMAN EVIL and HUMAN GOODNESS. Now, this is where we normally run into all sorts of problems. You read this and everybody starts whining, “It’s not fair!” Well, consider a couple of things about this:
First of all, whether it’s fair or not, it is a statement of FACT: the sins of the parents ARE visited upon the children. Just ask any family that has ever tried to break out of cycles of abuse or addiction!
Likewise, note that the goodness of the parents is also visited upon the children; although, curiously, no one ever seems to complain about that being unfair!
Even more importantly, though, note that this very UNFAIRNESS is EXACTLY THE POINT! This is what God is trying to let us know here: that God is these TWO EXTREMES. These two incredibly unfair, illogical, sometimes irrational extremes.
Now, by this does it mean that God is somehow BI-POLAR or something? Like, when God is happy, God is real, real happy; but when God is sad, God is real, real sad? Like God needs a little Prozac or something?
No! What the text is saying is that God is these two extremes; but thus also EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN. And that we are in serious jeopardy any time we attempt to reduce God down to something manageable by us – anything less than all! This is what many believe all this talk about idolatry is essentially about: That idolatry ultimately is an attempt to TONE DOWN in some way God’s “JEALOUSY” – God less involved, less caring, less powerful, less emotionally-invested, less all-encompassing.
And why? Because such a God is terribly FRIGHTENING. If this truly is who God is, then what I do every day matters. The choices I make can affect the world, generations beyond me. Who I am affects the very heart of God and thus all creation! Which is exactly the final point here:
Our God is a “jealous” God who cares deeply, who loves profoundly, who is intimately involved. This is a God who takes sin seriously and can work wonders with good, and we have a part to play in that – we impact that for blessing or curse. Notice how, in the text, while evil has power to destroy, good has far more power to create. EVIL is visited only to the 3rd or 4th generation; but goodness to the 1,000th. By God’s own accounting, the power of good far outweighs the power of evil – if we will only chose it. Our acts of goodness bring incredible power of God to bear!
We don’t often want this because such a great God demands greatness of us in return. We want an easier, less-demanding faith. We seek to reduce this God, failing to realize that in so doing we reduce ourselves and we reduce life itself – down to nothing of importance. It all collapses on the lie that it is.
The answer is to insist on a GREAT GOD – a God who matters, a God who is active, a God who works wonders, a God who cares deeply. Essentially, know that you matter greatly, that all the power of creation is brought to bear for you, and that the only way you truly take hold of that is by choosing to matter in return. Quit trying to reduce God down to something you can hold on to; and instead expand your understanding of God out to something that GRABS HOLD OF YOU.
Simply put: We’re not just here, killing time. We are inseparably joined to God. Realize that God can change the world today, and you can be part of that. Your life matters to God today! Live that – because that’s where life is! Choose a great big God and get a great big life! One author writes:
“After a traffic accident took both legs of Grayson Rosenberger’s mother, she and her husband formed Standing With Hope - a ministry that reaches out in music and prayer to amputees in Africa. For most of his young life, Grayson saw how greatly his mother struggled – just in ordinary living and the stigma of deformity, and from this perspective he wondered if he could somehow ease his mother’s pain. He also secretly wrestled (having witnessed his mother’s loss) with the fear of how easily the gift of life can be lost. But what could a 15-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, do about any of this? Well, as it turns out, he could become the grand-prize winner in Sealed Air Corporation’s Bubble Wrap Competition for young inventors!
“Grayson devoted himself to helping amputees, and used Bubble Wrap-brand packing material to develop a low-cost cosmetic skin covering for prosthetic limbs. Through a careful process of using a heat gun to mold sheets of Bubble Wrap to the steel rod of a prosthetic limb, Grayson was able to give it a muscle-like tone and shape.
“Out of the 800 students who entered the contest, Grayson took top prize - a $10,000 and a trip to New York City. He used the money to travel to Ghana to fit patients with low-cost limbs.
“Today many poor people are back to living, without stigma, thanks to Grayson. He has brought tremendous joy to his mother, and he has lost all fear of the dangers life entails – because he has discovered that God can work wonders and he needs only decide to be part of that.”
When you picture God, what do you see?
Beware the Convenient God, the Physical God, the Obedient God, the Reduced God. Seek the true – challenging, spiritual, demanding, great - God and find life.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol.”
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