To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!’ But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah. [Jeremiah 2.27-28]
The defining characteristic of idols found consistently in the Bible is that they are products of man's making (if not man himself). The Church has done itself a deceptive disservice to think that idols are simply wood or stone trinkets. The point is, God is intolerant of His people trusting (turning to for help) anything other than Him.
There exists glaringly obvious idolatry in the world today that is all but undetected in the Church even though it fits the Bible's primary description of idolatry perfectly: idols are the products of man's making. While this idolatry manifests in various forms, those forms are all products of man's making nonetheless. They are mere fabrications that people rely on and turn to daily; not just people of the world, but sadly, people of the Church as well.
The idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology, all highly developed, refined and maintained by man, 'plug in' seamlessly to Jeremiah's warning above. They are as much household names as 'father' or 'mother' but when these man-made idols come up short, people cry out to God. God simply replies, "You made these things to give you wealth, protection, health, and knowledge... so, why not just keep calling out to them?" God did not say "if" trouble comes, but "when" trouble comes, "let them save you if they can!"
The point is, God has no intention of being our 'second call' when He has claimed the position of 'first and only call.' Any attempt to call on God as a secondary or alternative backup is a gross misunderstanding and misuse of His holy name.
“You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.3-7]
How much longer will the Church stick its head in the sand denying its gross idolatry with the man-made idols the rest of the world depends on? Is it not obvious that God has 'backed off' and in effect said, "let them save you if they can!"?
It is God's Bible-documented intention to provide wealth, protection, health, and knowledge for His people. However, God's people today would rather not get rid of their idols until they see if God will do what He said... But God is not sharing His glory with anything. He will not co-exist with our idols. He has instead backed away, leaving us to our idols and what they provide, and waits for us to repent of our idolatry, forsake our idols, and turn only to Him. We can say, "it isn't so!" all day long, but it is.
Father, I am just one man, but I see clearly that the man-made idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology are just as firmly set in the Church as they are in the world. The gaping hole it would leave to rid ourselves of these idols is one that nothing could mitigate ...except You! May the scales be removed from our eyes that we might see this truth. May we be found willing to trust You first and only! May we be found genuinely repentant evidenced by our turning away from and forsaking our idols altogether. So be it!
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