Reflection Connection
God’s people have struggled with idolatry for a long time. You may be familiar with the story of Moses and the bronze serpent in the wilderness, but you might not know that we see it make a reappearance in Scripture in 2 Kings 18. It’s seen there because Hoshea, the King of Judah, destroys it due to it becoming an object of worship for God’s people.
Think about how crazy that is—not worshiping the God who healed but instead worshiping the object He used to heal.
The people did this again with the ephod of Gideon, which they worshiped in Judges 8. Consider all of this after God had explicitly told them in Exodus 20 not to have idols or gods before Him.
While we may think this is all crazy, we are not all that different from the Old Testament Israelites. For us, our idols are not often statues but more often strongholds. We worship sports, pleasure, entertainment, success, education, family, and many other things. Idols aren’t always carved images but are the things that have carved their spot in our lives in the place where God should be.
So, how do we resist the urge of idolatry in our lives? We must recognize our connection to our Maker and worship Him, not the things through which He is reflected.
Do you see it? Your reflection? Seriously, when you look in the mirror, you are seeing the image of God. So many of the questions at the heart of humanity's struggles are answered by this understanding.
“Who am I?” “Do I matter?” “Am I enough?” All of these and more are made clear when we understand we are made in the image of the Creator. God made you, and God doesn’t make junk! To fight idolatry, we need an accurate understanding of who we are.
Idolatry in our lives is often the result of insecurity. The story of God’s people in Exodus 32 shows that so powerfully. God’s people had been led out of bondage, across the Red Sea, and been provided for and protected by God at every turn. Now, their leader Moses is up on the mountain with God, and they start to get nervous. Their insecurity leads them to build a calf out of gold and worship it.
For us, this is often true too. We worship at the altar of money because we are insecure that our neighbor’s house is nicer, their car is newer, or their kids are better dressed. We worship at the altar of sports because we believe that success in athletics is what will provide opportunity and success for our kids, when truly it is God. We worship the idol of influence because we are insecure that we cannot control the outcome of our lives and that it’s up to us to find love, acceptance, and importance.
Stop! Look in the mirror (or at least at the front-facing camera)—you are looking at the image of God! Don’t bow to the idols of this world. Daughter, son of God, stand in confidence because you are fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)
We also fight idolatry by not settling. Look at Genesis 1:27-31. Who’s doing the work here? God is! We’re not in control or in charge—God is! Don’t settle for worshiping something less than the real deal—the Creator Himself.
Idols aren’t always bad things; they just aren’t God. This weekend is my wife’s birthday, and it’s also Taylor Swift’s Indianapolis stop on the Eras Tour.
I’ll never forget seeing Taylor in the summer of 2023 and how amazing it was to watch one woman have such impressive control over a crowd of 60k+. While her gifts as an artist, songwriter, and cultural phenomenon are certainly impressive, I was blown away by the worship she received.
Obviously, I don’t have anything against Taylor, but she’s not worthy of our praise—only God is.
This is true in so many areas of our lives. Sports aren’t bad, but they aren’t God. Money isn’t bad, but it’s not God. Politics aren’t necessarily bad, but they aren’t God. Don’t waste your life worshiping the reflection of God in the world around us when you have access to the fullness of His glory and power.
