Smashing Idols
By Luke McConnell
The heart is an idol factory.
John Calvin’s words ring true for all of us, but I’ve found over the past year or two, this rings especially true in my own life. Over that time period, God has graciously made me aware of many idols my heart has produced. Then of course, as he often does, he subsequently smashes those idols into smithereens.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The revelation of these idols is a good thing. It’s shown me they exist, and the sin of putting my hope in them. It’s shown me areas of my life where I’m more prone to idols in general. It’s helped me become more like Christ.
But when we lose idols in our lives, it’s painful. Even though it was wrong to put hope in that idol, it’s still something we put our hope in. And losing a bit of our hope is a hard thing to stomach in the moment of loss. The idol was either a part of our reality, or it was dictating our view of reality. So when God shows us the idols in our lives and helps us remove them, we’re undergoing a change of reality. That’s a difficult thing to do!
Some people’s idols were revealed this past fall when Oklahoma football went 6-7. The fact that OU simply was not good, and was even blown out on multiple occasions was a really hard thing for some fans to take. The emotional letdown, while silly in the grand scheme of things, is real and reveals how people put hope in the fact OU would be in contention for a national championship or, at the very least, a 10-win season each year.
A lot of my idols have been revealed around life at home. Clearly, I’ve put my hope in a home life where there is joyful compliance and minimal correction and discipline needed for our children. I’ve made idols out of how I expect my children to behave, and their response to Mary and me when they don’t. Obviously, I didn’t talk to other adoptive families in our church about this expectation before we adopted because they would’ve laughed in my face and told me to drop that one REAL quick.
Disclaimer: I don’t want to give the impression that our children are raging maniacs, and we have zero control in our home. So please don’t hear me say that!
How did I know this expectation had become an idol? How do any of us know we have idols in our lives? First and foremost, we can’t understand that unless God reveals these things to us in his grace. Practically, for me the biggest indicator of those idols is myself. I get frustrated, I get angry and my emotions become codependent on my children. When they have a good day, I have a good day. When they don’t, I don’t either.
I also notice it in how I speak about my children’s actions. Am I being hypercritical and only focusing on the negative behaviors, and how those are making my life so difficult? Am I completely ignoring the good things they’re doing, and the ways they’re growing in wisdom and stature?
Jesus tells us many times in Scripture that our actions and words flow out of the status of our heart. If our hearts are putting hope in idols and not in Jesus, do you think our words and actions are going to reflect him? Of course not! They’re going to reflect the disappointment of unmet expectations, and the failure of an idol to deliver the happiness for which we were looking.
Our bodies are always right. We might not always be able to put our finger on it in the moment, but our actions and emotions will always show us our true feelings, even if we can’t put words to them without reflection. Just like a child who suddenly starts acting up close to lunchtime. You might think they’re just being disrespectful, when the reality is they’re hungry, and they don’t know how to express that fact.
I’m grateful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit, which allows me to repent and work at putting my hope in Christ alone. It’s hard. It’s painful. And the toughest part is that it’s ongoing.
Remember, our hearts are idol factories. Factories don’t shut down; they’re producing all the time. While you may think you’ve rooted out all the idols in your heart now, what about later in life? I’m certain God will reveal idols I’ve erected in my life for when my kids are grown, or when I retire. Every stage of life brings about more opportunities to be convicted and called to repentance.
The good news for us is there is grace for this issue. Grace for the problem, and grace in the midst of recalibrating our hearts to worship God alone and put our hope in him alone. And as we delight ourselves in Christ more and more each day, we can slow that factory’s production until it is shut down for good in eternity.
Author Bio
Luke serves as the CUBE Director at Council Road. He previously worked at Channel 9 as a sportswriter and an account executive. He also serves as the play-by-play voice for Southern Nazarene University athletics. Luke graduated from OU in 2011. He and his wife, Mary, have been members at Council Road since 2012. They have four boys: Andrew, Logan, Jackson and Cameron. Mary teaches second grade at Wiley Post Elementary.