Daily Reflections on Ex. 32:1-20 (American Idols)

It happens all the time. We create our own idols to worship or celebrate. More often than not, the idols we create have something to do with meeting a pleasure need. Granted, life is tough and we need some relief from all the stressors and pressures and demands and deadlines.

What concerns me is that there is a tendency to create those idols even in the church. A few years ago a church I was serving moved from its meeting place of forty years to a new location just a half mile down the street. On our final Sunday in the old place we held a special service commemorating the good times and all the things God had done in and through our body at that location. We put some special momentoes in an ark, so to speak, that one of our men had specially crafted for the occasion. Our elders led the march down the street (with a police escort) to our new facility.

But some of our people couldn't let go of the old church home. In fact, 100 people were so tied to the old building that they wouldn't make the move to our new home. The irony was that most of them, instead of staying with their church family, went to other churches and a few decided not to go anywhere.

It's not the first time I've seen it. I've witnessed various forms of idol worship in churches I've served or attended. From stained glass windows, to pews, to positions of stage furniture (especially pianos, pulpits, and communion tables), to decorations, to the building itself. Sometimes the idols are persons or traditions or styles of worship (traditional, contemporary, alternative or hip hop) or the version of the Bible. The sad thing is that most people who create and worship the idol that they've created, don't even recognize it as an idol.

The Israelites created their own idol when Moses was alone on the mountain with God. The idol creators of today are really no different. The reason idols become idols or are created, appear to be because there is no real or intimate relationship with God, Himself. We create idols to satisfy our own need. We want something or someone that's tangible, someone or something we can see or touch. I'm not saying these people don't love God. I'm saying that the lack of depth in their relationship with Him demonstrates that He isn't really alive in their daily life. There's something missing.

I'm not anti tradition or ritual or church buildings. I'm anti putting any thing or person above God, Himself as the central figure of worship. The interesting thing for me in this passage of scripture is that when the Israelites created and worshiped their own idol, both God and Moses referred to them to the other as, "the people YOU brought out of Egypt." Neither wanted to claim them. Both of them burned with anger toward them. It's also interesting to me that the first command God gave Moses to write down after this incident was, "You shall have no other gods before me," and the second was don't make any graven image (idol).

God, thanks for not making me drink my melted down, burned up, ground up to a powder idol. I want you to be my central and only figure of worship. I bow down to you and no one or nothing else. I long for the same encounter and intimacy Moses had with you, to experience your presence and hear your voice, to converse freely with you.