Idol Talk: Setting the Heart Free

"They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshipped & served the things God created, instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen" Romans 1:25

God created us for the glory of an intimate relationship with Him. Our lungs, the organs responsible for respiration; are an amazing picture of the human soul. Genesis 2:7 tells us God formed Adam from dust, then breathed His own breath into him and he became a living being. We have one heart, one brain, but two joined lungs, symbolizing kinship. We are designed for connection. Like inhaling and exhaling; giving and receiving, the soul was made to be in relationship with its Creator and other souls.

The Curse:

Choices (heart)

Understanding (mind)

Relational (soul)

Structural (body)

Effect (consequence)

The curse of sin caused disconnection from God and people. Adam ran from God and then blamed Eve and God for his actions (Genesis 3:10-12). Without a repentant heart, and a renewed mind, the soul will not connect to God or others in a life-giving way. Just as the heart muscle sits in the middle of the lungs and pumps life-sustaining oxygen, so the heart center needs the pure love of God flowing for healthy relationships. Without it, we will love what God created more than God, Himself. We will fear the wrong things. We will avoid speaking truth in love, engage in dishonoring patterns and make excuses for sin. We will have idols.

"As I have loved you, so you must love one another" John 13:34

Jesus always went deeper. In Matthew, He said lusting in your heart for someone was adultery and holding anger towards another was like murder. The first commandment was to have no other gods. If we love and serve anything as much or more than God, we are practicing idolatry. Without true love and reverence for the Living God, we will turn to idols to manage our suffering. Whether it's a relationship, a way of numbing pain, or a carnal mindset; the devotion to dealing with life apart from God, is the disconnect that feeds idolatry.

God is a rightfully jealous God.Only He is worthy of our complete devotion and obedience. Repenting from loving anything more than Him, sets the heart free to love as He intended. As we apply His laws and walk in His ways, the mind of Christ becomes activated and old ways of connecting can become new. How do we know if we have an idol issue? When the subject in question justifies sinning. If we love escaping pain more than God, we will develop addictions that harm us. If we love people more than God, we will either manipulate or appease to control relational hurt. If we cling to a fear mindset by refusing to exercise faith, we will convince ourselves that disobedience is a viable option in decision making. Wherever the practice of sin seems reasonable, an idol is in the making.

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" Col 3:5

Consequently, this disorder of worship leads to other harmful conditions. Codependent/toxic relationships, substance abuse, pornography addiction and workaholism are all forms of spiritual idolatry. Our refusal to process pain in a Godly way sets us up for idolatrous escapes, often with devastating results. Ps 16:4 says, "Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more". Deuteronomy 28 describes the many physical, mental and spiritual ramifications of rejecting God's ways, for idols. Verse twenty-eight mentions "Madness, blindness and confusion".

Isaiah 44:12-20 gives an interesting account of the formation of a physical idol. The description of the process includes a person's hunger, thirst and tiredness - legitimate human needs. The wood used for the idol is the same wood used for a warming fire and cooking. Verse nineteen reflects on the person's inability to reason that half of the wood was burned, so, how could the other half be a god? Verse twenty: "Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself or say, 'Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'". A heart that's not fully dedicated to the truth of God's sovereignty, will be susceptible to deception. Idols represent our preference of a poor substitute for divinity. There is only One God.

Through awareness, repentance and obedience; our hearts can be set free to value created things, but, worship our Creator, alone. He is worthy.

Veronica Jimenez, Sound Mind Awareness ©2019. All rights reserved.