Our Most Sacred Idol

We learn in the Bible that idolatry was a perpetual problem of all civilizations – not only among pagans, but also among God’s people. Nothing enraged God more than idolatry. But also, nothing enraged the idol worshippers more than when their treasured idols were threatened. Nothing has changed. We too are made from the same stuff - the bent to worship idols. And we have a lot more idols than they ever had in Bible days. We have modern conveniences, countless choices, opportunities, things, people, status, religion, and institutions, to name a few of the many things that can be more important to us than God. There is one particular idol that has always been around since the beginning. I suspect that it is our most sacred idol. No one ever talks about. It is very difficult to detect, for it cannot be seen, heard, or felt. It lurks quietly in the recesses of the mind. Few even know that it exists. However, when this cherished idol is threatened, there is often a sharp defensive reaction by its worshipper. You are now wondering, What is this idol?A statement I heard once from a marriage therapist gives us a clue. He said, “I could help couples progress better if they each would let go of their need to be right.” Aha! There it is! Their need to be right. That is the culprit – the demon idol that lurks in the hidden recesses of our minds. We likely don’t view our rightness as a potential idol. Yet we carefully pattern our lives in such a way that it cannot be threatened. We imply in one way or another: “Don’t you dare tell me I’m wrong or need to change my thinking.” …”I will let you know how right I am.”…. “ I will correct you to my way of thinking” We control conversations; we control our family, friends, and subordinates – all in order to protect this beloved idol. We live our lives with an evangelistic fervor to testify to our treasured idol – our rightness. This idol keeps us in a terrible bondage. It keeps us from admitting our spiritual poverty. It keeps us from seeking God for his infinite wisdom and truth. It keeps us from receiving helpful insight from others. It keeps us dishonest about ourselves. In order to begin our journey to God, we must recognize and then surrender this idol. We must admit that we are poor – poor in mind, and poor in spirit. This is a humble path to take. However, only then can we be filled with wonderful treasures from above – God’s Spirit and truth. Diane

This is so true, Diane.Thanks for posting it.God BlessNellie :-)

I remember many years ago, having to let go of the pride which prevented me from admitting I might be wrong about anything - let alone everything....!Wrong about everything?!?!?!?!? Dorcas, I'm trying to understand you here - wondering how that is possible. That would be like having 0% on every test in school. I'm wondering if you're refering to spiritual truths - that through the natural minset, all spiritul truths are misinterpreted. That would be a very humbling truth to have to face. Other thoughts: In school, each time you were wrong you got a BIG X on your test. So you learned that it was bad to be wrong and good to be right. One way we can help children rise above this is by letting them see that we are are not afraid to admit we are wrong.Diane

Basically 3 idols Israel had to deal with, the same ones we deal with.1) Ashera- the female goddess of fertility associated with sex2)Molech (sp?)- god of power, associated with position ect...3)Baal- god of increase associated with prosperityThat's a real quick thumbnail sketch . For us to day it's summed up in one sentence, "deny your self and follow Jesus". But there are times when we will have to stand up and contend for the faith, or compell with strong arguements them to come in. But in a sacremental way I do kinda understand where you're coming from. Just rember that there is no new revelation by private interpetation. So always be like the Bereans who were more noble and searched diligently to see if the things they heard were true. God Bless, Bro. Daryl

Sometimes (most times) we don't even know (want to know) our own idols, and can only ask God to reveal our 'own' heart to us and be ready to see the worst.So true, Grannie! And it takes a lot of courage to ask God to reveal them. I don't know if we can ever be prepared enough to see the worst. That would mean being told that we are wrong about something important to us, and that violates our need to be right. there are times when we will have to stand up and contend for the faith, or compell with strong arguements .... I feel I need to make some clarifications: I am not pointing us to favor the absence of absolutes in our lives - as I suspect some may think, but to surrender our idolatrous need to be right. There is a difference. Think about it for a while. Anything good can become an idol when we lean on it instead of on God himself - even aspects of God's word. We know our "rightness" is an idol if we are angry or threatened when someone challenges us, or when we are not willing to receive further enlightenment - thinking that we have arrived. When we "take a strong stand for the truth" while not really ever trying to learn about those we are talking to, or trying to hear it from their life-view, we are in danger. We may be trampling over others with very little love, all the while convinced we are standing up for God. The pharisees were like that. Jesus called their idol: SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESSDiane

This idol keeps us in a terrible bondage. It keeps us from admitting our spiritual poverty. It keeps us from seeking God for his infinite wisdom and truth. It keeps us from receiving new revelation through others. DianeSo very true...just the other night with paper and pen in hand I started writting out a description of this idol, in a journal type prayer. Sure did not like what I wrote but it was all true. This started after I read the chapter in A.W. Tozers book the Pursuit of God, named, The Blessedness of Possesing Nothing. At frist it did not make sence to me about the chapter and the journal...now it all fits together.Eileen Blest be that Power, which hath that Idol broke,Which did so long depress me with her Yoke!

recurring theme is the need to lay down even what we think is good. If God thinks it's good, He'll give it back intact, And I think it was unhealthy for me at the time - definitely - but, in relinquishing my high opinions about one thing, I had to be open to the possibility, I was wrong about more than I knew. And I think THAT is a healthy thought, when one is laying down something big.Dorcas, I think your point helps to fine-tune the issue. While it was wrong for the spiritual leaders to make this request (no doubt trying to avoid idolatry), I feel that you made the best of the situation and applied it wisely to yourself. Churches have always tried to control the problem of idolatry by forbidding something that for SOME PEOPLE was an idol. It is wrong for us to empty our our minds because some people make an idol out of what's in THEIR minds. Diane

I have shaved the concept of being right at all costs to this question? And I put this on myself, too.Who won the last argument you got into? You, the other guy, or Christ?

the idol of being right is the biggest idol on all discussion boardsthe next biggest is the idol of needing to be heard

after posting just previously, this AM, I went to listen to a sermon I'd downloaded that speaks exactly to what I just posted from the speaker : "( I have done ) ... more harm in the name of Truth than in error "“ ( I have been ) a bull in a china shop” ...Also, the two phrases in the subject line of the post are the speaker's words“blurting out from your own inadequate understanding" "wisdom speaking thru you " here is a transcription of part of the teaching:.. the ego always wants to be expressed .. always wants to show itself off --even in what is correct ... because we’re certainly not going to be bringing honor on ourheads by speaking lies -- but by speaking truths and bringing correction ... yes, that can bean ego trip .... so what is prudence ? prudence is self-discipline ... prudence is holdingsomething and not blurting it out immediately .... with a sense of caution about firstexamining one’s own heart before speaking to that point or to that issue ... and that’s adiscipline .... because the flesh wants NOW .... to receive the gratification of being“heard” .. acknowledged .... people patting you on the back ..... “boy that was realsomething .. you really said it ..... “ .. it’s amazing how we can be ego-driven over spiritual things ! .. so it’s a discipline .. toKEEP that filthy thing checked .. and to be cautious .. and know what is thedeceitfulness of our own hearts ... and wait until the Lord will GIVE a proper occasion,time and release for that very thing .. and when it comes forth in His time .. and in Hisway - it will come forth as if He himself has spoken it ... and you’ll not receive any of thecredit - you’ll not be able to boast ... and the person ..or .. church body to whom thosewords are addressed will receive it - as a life-giving word - there’ll be no recoiling ...one of the characteristics of Righteousness is Peace ..... so whatever is being conducted -even necessary correction - if it is being conducted in the prudence & wisdom of God ...the end thereof will be Peace - and if it’s not .... the end thereof will be strife ---so one of the ways you can know whether you’re imprudent or prudent ... is what hasbeen the result of your speaking or sharing - has it brought strife ? or has it broughtpeace ?the speaker also quoted from Oswald Chambers in this "informal teaching" session :“ the Christian must be consistent to the Life of the Son of God in him ... not consistentto hard and fast creeds “ ......“ men pour themselves into creeds .. and God has to blast them out of their prejudices ,before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ “

Can we add to this "discussion boards problems" list, a lack of Love and an over abundance of judging ?Everyone in the Body of Christ deserves to be 'heard' ... and no one would sign onto a "Forum" and start threads unless they had that "need to be heard".And we're all here to also listen to each other and hear each other out ... or at least we should be.Hi Annie,My question is ... do our words bring/increase "strife", "dissension" - in our 'needing' to be heard .... or do they bring Life. I submit that that doesn't have to be the reason for a saint to come to a forum - that one "needs to be heard" ... but rather, to come and impart Life, without the need for personally being heard.if it's to impart Life ... it's Christ in us ... that's "being heard" - not you or II must decrease, so that He might increase ....by the way, Sister, on the other thread ( anti-babylon ), sorry that I apparently misinterpreted you. it just sounded that you were questioning the validity of "unity", which I wondered why ... and couldn't get the "gist" of your postno probs in Christ,Bro baruch

a lack of Love and an over abundance of judging ?I also submit, Annie .. that a lack of Love and an over abundance of judging is hand in hand with needing to be heard ( rather than staying "buried with Christ" & not judging & not lashing out at someone's post cause one disagrees with them theologically .. or whatever )if we loved one another more ( and indeed loved Christ more - for love for one another IS LOVE FOR CHRIST ) .... then we would remain quiet, rather than indulge in the fleshly need to cry out and hit at a brother/sister's post.are we seeing the same thing ?baruch

I still think we need to cut each other more slack. And give everyone the same space we've taken for ourselves in this public gathering.Annie, this is the path of mercy. We learn through what we see ourselves write and what we hear ourselves say. We give others that same gift - the gift to share as they are, to learn, to fail, and then to admit, and recieve mercy from others and from God. It is a humbling process when we realize: Oh, dear! That was my ego showing itself. But that is what it means to be poor in spirit... is it not?If we can't speak or write till we have arrived, this forum would be quite silent, I suspect. Diane

I just received this response from someone who is not on this forum. I thought that it was a worthwhile read: A psychologist may argue with my definitions or claim they are too simplified, but that's okay. As far as I can ascertain, pride and ego are our two primary defenses against the outside world. My ego's job is to convince you, despite all evidence to the contrary, that I'm okay. Its tools are subtle and may take the forms of distraction or camouflage. For example, if my ego walks into the room before I get there, dancing and singing and flashing bright coloured lights, you may never get to see the real me underneath. That distraction is required because if you penetrate my disguise and you don't like what you see underneath, then what do I do? Alternately, my ego may cause me to be very, very quiet. Again, if I hide in the bushes at the periphery of events and I'm very careful, then once again, you'll have missed seeing the real me. Or my ego may erect a front not dissimilar to the Wizard of Oz (another idol) and set it loose to represent me in the outside world.Pride is a whole different kettle of fish. If through some misstep on my part or exceptional cleverness on yours you manage to penetrate my ego, you'll meet the next line of defence - pride. My pride's sole purpose is, once again despite all evidence to the contrary, to convince me that I'm okay and it will join battle with all comers. It rejects all suggestions of positive changes in actions, behaviour, and thought because that would require admission that in some senses, I'm not okay -- a proposition that is simply too scary to contemplate. Pride's weapons against me are embarrassment, shame, humiliation, regret, sorrow, angst and, the biggest of them all, a closed mind. Its primary weapons against outsiders are anger, rage, jealousy, envy and the ilk.When my ego and my pride are intact and operating at full steam, I'm unapproachable. You may make any suggestions you like about positive changes I could make in my life to make it better and I won't hear your suggestions as anything other than as an attack. And the saddest part of all is that part of me may be perfectly aware that you're trying to help, yet be powerless to act. The internal dialogue may go something like this: "Change? Change what, for Pete's sake! Do you think I like the way I am any better than you do? Don't you think if I knew what to change - and how to change it - that I'd do it in a second?" The rest is an incoherent howl.So, the observer might ask what happens when my ego and pride take a day off. I'm not completely certain, although I suspect the state in which I'm left is one of humility (not humiliation). It definitely produces feelings of peace and serenity.The observer may also wonder how someone gets from one state - hopelessly hostage to ego and pride - to another. I suspect the answers are legion. In my case, however, it was through what I learned in AA's program of recovery, which is nothing more or less than a program of spiritual growth that teaches people who never learned elsewhere how to live.mw You may have discovered that this reader still needs to discover the ultimate divine Truth. Sadly, he has been wounded so deeply through the church and other horrors in life that he has renounced the existance of God. As I get to know him more and more, I sense that God's hand is working in his life, even though he won't admit it yet. I pray for his salvation. Would you too? PS This response humbles us - to see that sometimes atheists understand more about spiritual need than most professing Christians. Diane