In the days of Ezekiel, idolatry was a huge problem with Israel, and the Lord God had some extremely strong words for His people who had “set up their idols in their hearts.” (Please see our text.) Even though these idols were real objects of stone, or wood, or molten images of silver or gold, they were first erected in the hearts of each person. This is where idolatry begins and flourishes - in the heart.
As it relates to our discussion, Webster defines an idol as “any object of ardent or excessive devotion or admiration.” We all have objects in our houses: paintings, photographs, maybe some decorative figures. But we aren’t into giving them any kind of devotion or worship. We may admire them for beauty or appreciate the memories they might bring, but we do not “idolize” them.
However, this is where the true danger lies. We can and often do begin to give excessive admiration to certain persons or entities in our lives. It’s quite easy to do without realizing it. One of the best examples of this is, as we’ll call it, “the ol’ school spirit.” The school wants everyone on board to champion its programs, its academics, its athletics, its everything! This is OK, but people begin to idolize the school. Everything about your school is best. All other schools are inferior. If your team loses, the other team cheated, or the officials made bad calls. It’s excessive admiration.
We do this with political parties: send our money, vote a straight ticket, espouse every program it puts forward without batting an eye. That’s an idol in our heart. We can do this with companies, unions, our country - virtually anything can be idolized.
People, too. Spouses, parents, children, our family, sports heroes, your doctor, some celebrity, et al. Anybody can be raised to a place of excessive devotion in which they take on unrealistic qualities: only good is noted. The faults are overlooked and/or minimized. They can do no wrong. “How great he is!” “She is the absolute best!” They now rival God in their goodness. They compete with God Himself for our devotion, our time, our hearts.
Beware the prophet’s words. Beware of idols in the heart.
><> Jeff
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