Got an idol?  1 Corinthians 10.14-22

Idol: >object of worship

         >anything we put in first place in our lives

Idol worship was big in Corinth.  With several pagan temples in the city, there were statues of wood and stone that people worshipped and also credited for things like children, crops and even good weather.  Converts to Christianity had to be taught that idol worship could have no part in their new faith, nor should it ever taint the Lord’s Supper, as that was a sacred remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Paul writes: “So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.  You are reasonable people.  Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true.  When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ?  And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?  And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.  Think about the people of Israel.  Weren’t they united by eating sacrifices at the altar?

  What am I trying to say?  Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, that idols are real gods?  No, not at all.  I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God.  And I don’t want you to participate with demons.  You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too.  You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.  What?  Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy?  Do you think we are stronger than he is?”  1 Cor. 10.14-22

Good Day!

At first glance, we might think this passage has nothing whatever to do with us; but on closer inspection, I think it does.  We might confine our consideration to pagan worship’s influence in either Christian or Jewish remembrances . . . but I believe there is broader application.  Paul said, “Flee from idolatry.”  Idolatry is anything that we put before God in our lives.  If we are Christ followers, then nothing should have greater priority in our lives than him.  How are you doing?  Check your devotion level:

1)     How do you spend your time and money?

2)    What are your priorities?  

3)  What is in first place in your life?

It is not accidental that the discussion of idols follows Paul’s look at temptation; as long as we live, we will be tempted to make idols of wrong things, things that distract us and pull our attention from God. 

Materialism is the idol of our age . . . have you noticed?  College students pursue degrees that will launch them into professions that will earn the greatest salaries in order to have the commensurate lifestyle of choice, complete with house and automobile, and the right schools for the children.  ‘Creates so much pressure!  Look around; how many people do you know that simply ‘must keep going, must keep going’ in order to maintain their ‘stuff’.  Is it any wonder then that the god of many is their career?  

Or have you made your hobby an idol?  How about food . . . drink . . . drugs?  Now here’s an unexpected one—how about bitterness?  You know, life hasn’t gone like you wanted, you got a raw deal, (and maybe you really did!); whatever, the fact is that you are defined by something in your past—abuse?  Abandonment?  The death of your child?  The loss of your mate?  Has bitterness become your idol?

How about undue preoccupation with your looks?  I’m sure there are more I haven’t mentioned, but most common of the idols we erect is self . . . we choose to go our way, rather than God’s; we disobey, we sin – because we would rather satisfy ourselves  - and so we keep self as number one, rather than God.

In Ezekiel 14.3, God says about elders of Israel, “These men have set up their idols in their hearts.”  God was saying that the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, relationships, etc. . . . and deifies them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them.*

But God said, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20.3  Until I looked it up, I did not remember that ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ was the first of the ten commandments God gave to Moses.  God was and is serious about this.  'You shall have no other gods before me.'  Moses recorded God’s words, ‘for I am a jealous God.’  God doesn’t allow his children to have other gods before him without consequence.  Something to think about . . . something to pray about . . . perhaps, for some of us, some things to change.

Christine