“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God”. Exodus 20:3-4
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon….you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Daniel 3:1,5-6
Idolatry is a huge sin that goes against the 1st and 2nd Commandments. But, today idolatry runs rampant through our nation and world. The Kardashians, the NFL, BMW, pay raise and title at work – so many more things that the world makes an idol.
We are told all these things matter and if we have them, we will be happy. Worse yet, if we don’t have them, we can never be happy. So we chase these idols.
I learned a great lesson on this a few years ago. The Steelers has just won the Super Bowl and were celebrating with a huge parade through downtown Pittsburgh. The season had its ups and downs and, many late nights were spent cheering my team. Sleepless nights after a tough loss and hours of talk shows preparing for the next game. I worked downtown, the route went right past my building. So, I decided to take a half day and join the celebration.
It was at the end of the parade and the next days that I realized how much I had made football an idol, even over God. God helped me to see how fleeting worldly things were. After all the months to get to this Super Bowl win, it was over and gone – nearly forgotten within days. All you could do was look forward to starting over next season.
God spoke to my heart, “You can have worldly treasures that vanish and have to be continually chased of receive the trophy I offer that never fails.”
So, when Nebuchadnezzar built this idol, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew it for what it was. They knew this to be a mockery of their God and a deadly idol. They were so convicted to remain true to the Lord that they were willing to face the blazing furnace.
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18
Are you willing to stand against the idols of this world, facing condemnation and even anger of the world when you stand for God?
I gave up watching the NFL to give the hours each Sunday and game day back to the Lord. Instead of chasing this worldly goal and losing hours watching games, I convicted myself with a Lenten fast of sorts. I gave up this idol up and replaced the time with reading Scripture, reading holy books, and praying.
Now that I am chasing God with more of my heart, I am so much happier and at peace. I know the trophy I will win at the end of this race will glisten brilliantly forever. For someday, I look forward living Revelation 4:10, “the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne”.