Idolatry? Me?
Ever heard of Nehushtan? We’ll get back to that.
The apostle John chose to close out his first brief letter on real faith with some pointed words of warning: “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). In other words, be on guard against anything or anyone that might attempt to occupy the place in your heart that only God should ultimately occupy.
John never qualified that warning. He never gave us a list of idols. Any idol, regardless of its beauty or usefulness, is not allowed to compete with the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Not one.
So, what is an idol? It is giving more love, devotion, or trust to anyone or anything other than to the one and only true God who said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
What seems hard is keeping good and wholesome things off the throne…food, rest, work, exercise, smartphones, sports, children, spouses, hobbies, education, wealth, media, or a prized possession. Frankly, there are too many kinds of idols to name.
The Israelites (Numbers 21) got hot, tired, hungry, and thirsty as they wandered the wilderness and began to gripe. God gave them manna, but they kept whining. So God sent some snakes that bit them and people died, and Moses was begged to ask God to remove the serpents. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and anyone who looked at that serpent would be healed. It was truly a miraculous provision.
Jesus references this bronze serpent as our spiritual healer (John 3:14-15).
Do you know what happened to that metallic snake in Numbers 21? Oh my, the Israelites turned it into an idol they carried, preserved, polished, and burned incense to as an object of worship for 8 centuries, and they named it “Nehushtan” (a piece of bronze).
They took something that had been useful and effective and turned it into an idol. There’s nothing wrong with possessing and enjoying good things, but it becomes sinful when they possess us. We were purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ, and God said He must “have first place in everything” (Col. 1:18).
Need some help with an idol check? Here are a few searching questions to consider:
Who or what do you tend to love the most?
Who or what do you depend upon the most?
Who or what do you fear the most?
Who or what gives you your greatest joy or fulfillment?
Who or what captures your greatest zeal?
What do you long for most passionately?
What angers you the most?
What do you complain about the most?
What do you want the most?
What are you willing to sacrifice for?
What comfort do you treasure the most when things get difficult?
While John warns to “guard yourselves from idols,” Paul goes a step further and says, “flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14).
We all know our worship must be given only to the Lord, but we also know that even a good provision from God (like a bronze serpent or a modern-day convenience) can be turned into a miserable worship disorder and dishonor (“Nehushtan”).
Remember that salvation is described as turning “to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). So keep Jesus' words to the devil in the forefront of your mind: “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only” (Luke 4:8).