“Learn not the way of the nations,nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity.”
Jeremiah 10:2
(thoughts to prepare you for “Cold” – a Jaunuary sermon series)
All of us fall into the trap of following trends without thinking — not all of them are offensive to God (take for instance the Mullet, or Pokemon Go) but many of them are – – especially when it warps the way you worship or fail to worship the true God.
Scripture calls this idolatry.
The ultimate problem with idolatry is this very basic fact as described in Psalm 115:8, “Those who make idols become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Or to put it in laymen terms, “You become like the thing that you worship.” And if you worship an idol that you have first made, you only are reinforcing the importance of self. Jeremiah, in verse 10:3, calls this vanity. Meaning it is: Empty, stupid, foolish, and downright embarrassing.
Two modern day examples of our worship of self is our obsession with the “Celebrity culture” and the growing atheist movement.
Celebrities are people who play parts and act out roles that aren’t real, and we obsess over them. We are caught up in the fame game. Self wants to be known and seen as important by others. We want praise and adulation. So when we see someone who gets the praise and adulation we want for ourselves, we assume they must have some intrinsic greatness – – they are special, people to be exalted and praised.
Take for instance George Michael who just died: He was a man with a God-given ability to sing and write pop songs. But he also was a seriously broken person: he struggled with a heroin addiction, a sex addiction and was severely depressed most of his life. But, because he was famous, the “cultural custom” is to place him on a higher pedestal than the regular rabble. Because his songs sold millions we are led to believe that he will somehow triumph in death.
In fact, God himself must also bow to George Michael’s super-star status – – and his human proclivities for debauchery and songs that promoted sex, God must ignore, because Michael was “famous.” And if you are a Star Wars fan, you can be certain Carrie Fisher made it to heavenly glory, she was Princess Leia after all. Even her brother tweeted, “My sister has graduated to heaven, she left us all with so much of her.” Wait, wasn’t she a Jewish atheist? Who cares, she was famous.
But what if you aren’t famous? What hope is there for the average person who is not that pretty or talented?
Ironically, the celebrity is like the idol of wood, they need you and your applause to prop them up and make them famous. What happens to the celebrity that no longer shines? They implode, unable to stand up under their own weak humanity – – another illusion of their own making.
The second popular idol of our day is Atheism; the belief that there is no God. It too is a made up system where the raw material of the idol is not wood and stone, but ideas and philosophies. Sadly this idol is growing – – especially in suburban America. There are many reasons given for it’s spread – – from rejection of politics tainting religion, the globalization of tolerance through internet use, and the hatred of God’s moral authoritarianism (people don’t like it when any powerful authority tells them what to do – – especially telling an 8-year-old girl who thinks she is a boy to “grow up” is now considered the height of cruelty). But one of the biggest factors of why people adopt atheism is called, Existential Security Thesis (EST). EST teaches that the wealthier a community is the less need there is for God.
It is very simple: the more secure I feel through my own abilities, resources and social networks, the less I need God. Atheism thrives the most in homes where anxiety over food, clothes and shelter are minimal or even non-existent. That is why most atheists come from wealthy, upper-class homes. In other words, why do you need God when you feel as strong as God? Why pray when you can go to the bank and take out enough money to get what you need?
Money becomes the raw material to erect an idol of the self-sufficient man. But the self-sufficient man has no time for other people with needs. The self-sufficient man is too busy surviving and gloating over his accomplishments, living on his cold island alone, proud of his privacy, secure behind his fortress. Cold and dead to the world. Since idols are made by people, they have no ability to give back life to the person who made them. Your soul turns inward, it can’t grow or expand, it only fights for self.
Remember, what you worship you become. I wonder, is your heart growing cold because you think so highly of yourself?
