Let's Investigate

“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! They carry it around on their  shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble. [Isaiah 46.5-7] 

All of today's One Year Chronological Bible reading from Isaiah is about idols and idolatry. In fact, it is a brutal comparison between God and idols that reveals God's unmatched power and glory as compared to idols' lifeless and powerless existence.

Silver and gold are commonly known as "precious metals." They are the flagship representatives of wealth. The importance of this will be revealed in the following discussion.

In the world of criminal justice, it is not uncommon to hear investigators begin with or revert to the technique, "follow the money." Even when money is not the motivation of a particular crime, more often than not, a careful study of money's utilization reveals the method of that crime. The money trail then, at very least, implicates perpetrators but more often than not, indicts them altogether. Believe it or not, the basis for this foundational investigative principle of following the money is found in the Bible. Money tells the story of our lives.

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. [Matthew 6.21]

So, what does this have to do with idolatry? Let's investigate, shall we? 

Money has everything to do with idolatry! Unsurprisingly, idols and money are never far apart. The reason the Bible so consistently associates gold and silver with idols is because by simply following the gold and silver (wealth) the motivation and/or methods of men and their idols are revealed.

The only power of an idol is the amount of money and human energy poured into it: ...people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! They carry it around on their  shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move!

Idols purely represent the wealth and energy of the humans who made them. As such, idols "tax" humanity's wealth and energy, thus, people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it and They carry it around on their  shoulders.

Debt, insurance, medicine and technology all perfectly fit the descriptions just pointed out: they are costly, they are man-made, they are a burden to man, and yet, the only life they have is the life of human effort that makes them function.

And yet... the last verse of today's OYCB reading provides a stark contrast:

I will rescue you for my sake—yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! [Isaiah 48.11]

So, is it right to claim that God gave us minds to create debt, insurance, medicine and technology? Or is it right that because we pour wealth and energy into debt, insurance, medicine and technology (that must continue by the way, otherwise they are lifeless) that they are classic idols by the Bible's definition?

God's interaction with us is greatly diminished in proportion to our interaction with idols.

Our treasure reveals where our hearts are (both individually and corporately). Our lack of faith - our impatience with God - requires that much of our wealth and energy be expended on idols.

When God's people employ the same methods as the world for wealth, protection, health and knowledge, there is no distinction between God and the world's solutions; God's reputation is tarnished. God will therefore have nothing to do with it. God will not work alongside (share His glory with) an idol regardless how we claim He does. When we employ idols, we are left only with what humans are capable of - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

In the underwhelmingly powerless overall condition of the Church today (that utilizes the same classic idols as the world while claiming "God gave them"), should the Church not do some investigative research "following the money"? And, should the Church not also concur that the evidence does not lie?

Speaking of evidence, and just for comparison, is it a coincidence that underdeveloped countries lacking the infrastructure of debt, insurance, medicine and technology regularly report far more powerful miracles when presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ than do developed societies rife with debt, insurance, medicine and technology? What about this evidence?

If we apply proven investigative principles to the powerless condition of the Church today, the money leads us to classic idols (debt, insurance, medicine and technology). The evidence is the costly, artificial and often superficial success associated with "the best man has to offer" (idols, by virtue of their costliness and human manufacture). This evidence is seen in lieu of the unlimited, unexplainable, and unattainable-by-human-effort power of God (as taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ). 

To call "man's best" the "power of God" is atrocious! God will not share His glory with idols!

So, what is the solution? It is to cease and desist putting unending resources and energy into artificial solutions (man-made idols) that can never "stand on their own." It is to patiently live unmoved by wealth and possessions, unafraid of mishaps and disasters, unwilling to live by any power but the power of God, and uninterested in the ingenuity of man compared to the knowledge of God. It is to trust Christ alone.

Jesus said it best:

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. [Matthew 6.21]

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24, Mark 8.34, Luke 9.23]

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. [Matthew 10:39 (also Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, Luke 17:33 and John 12:25] 

Father, I understand that if Jesus is on the throne of my heart, the conversation of idolatry is not even necessary. May the money trail and evidence in my life reveal me trusting, and subsequently living, Jesus alone. So be it.