Modern-Day Idols
by Heather McAnear
I can’t remember the first time I heard the Ten Commandments. Raised in church, I was probably taught in Sunday School of Moses’ delivery of those holy words straight from the Lord, carved on stone by His own hand, and taken to the Israelites (who were breaking every command, but that’s another story).
As an adult, I have read and studied Exodus 20:1-17 many times, yet just recently learned that Rabbis call the “Ten Commandments” the “Ten Words,” since the Hebrew text says, “…and God spoke all these words…” (Exodus 20:1).
That small change in semantics settled into my heart in a new way. Instead of viewing these verses as “commands,” which can create visions of a strict militant commander, using “words,” for me, reflects a loving Father, leaning in to tell His children how to avoid pitfalls and experience an abundant life.
This summer, our women are reading Ten Words to Live By authored by Jen Wilken, and as I study the Ten Words through this lens, the warnings mark my heart in new ways. Each “word” holds its own application, yet the one that surprised me most was the second: Don’t make any graven images.
Growing up in a Western culture, carving idols has never been part of my daily life. I’d never seen anyone bowing down to an idol until 2009 on a mission trip to Cambodia. It struck me to see a grown adult literally face-to-the-ground before a clay idol that could fit in the palm of his hand. He was putting all his trust in something that a toddler could smash to pieces in an instant.
Fourteen years later, studying the passage, I am convicted by my own idolatry. Although I don’t carve wooden idols, at times I trust in things just as flimsy. Modern-day idols might be relationships, health, comfort, financial security, jobs or marital status. As foolish as it is to trust a clay idol to save us or provide for us, it is equally futile to expect the people (made by God) to fulfill us, or to trust in things (made by humans) to provide what only He can.
When we make too much of the people and the things God has allowed us, we make too little of Him. When we expect Him to perform for us, through the things He has allowed us, we reduce His power to human understanding and ascribe limits to our limitless God. Our love and gratitude for what God allows us should cause us to turn our worship toward Him, the Giver, rather than to them, the gifts.
As I remind myself of the words originally given to the Israelites, I’m reminded of how they also apply to my modern-day idolatrous heart. As the great hymn says, I am “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, O, take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above” (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, R. Robinson, 1758).
Author Bio
Heather McAnear is a wife, mom, author and speaker with a passion for sharing God's truth to help people use it for God's glory. She also hosts the Uniquely Beautiful Stories podcast on iTunes. She loves teaching young married couples with her husband, homeschooling their three children, traveling the world, enjoying good chocolate and long conversations in coffee shops. CRBC has been her church home for two decades.