“Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things.” – Timothy Keller

“Idolatry is not the use of images, but confusing them with what they represent, and in this respect mental images and lofty abstractions can be more insidious than bronze idols.” – Alan Watts

I have always had an aversion to the word idolatry.  I think it goes back to my early childhood when I attended parochial school – learning about the First Commandment.  To a six-year-old kid, idolatry meant bowing down to graven images or Sphinx-like statues.  It seemed like an outdated Commandment to me – kind of a moot point.  I always thought God must have designed that one for Moses and the Children of Israel. You know…. those Golden Calf worshipping heathens! 

As a little 1^st grader at Immanuel Lutheran School, I remember being a little taken back, a little surprised by how idolatry seemed to bring out an unflattering character flaw in God – getting jealous about worshipping no one else but Him!  I remember thinking God must have been a tad bit egotistical and sensitive the day He wrote, “Thou shalt have no other gods besides me!”  🙂

But now that I’m older (oh so much older!), I can see why a loving God would warn us about unhealthy attachments.  It isn’t so much about being a jealous God than it is about misguided priorities and the devastating, life-altering effects that accompany them.

So many things fall under this umbrella, in fact; there are too many to mention.  So, to personalize this for you, ask yourself today,

“What people, objects, affections, or outcomes are an essential part of my life right now?”

“What would happen to me if someone left, if my dream died, or if what was important to me became impossible, impractical or unreachable any longer?”

For me my friends, it was three things:  A prestigious career, a life-long mate, and an early retirement.  These things became my “golden calf” so to speak.

I was forty years old at the time my unhealthy attachments came to a boiling point. 

I was married for 20+ years to a woman who I adored since she was sixteen years old.  She meant the world to me. I wanted her to have the best of everything.  Anywhere we went, I was so proud to have her by my side – often feeling like I wasn’t worthy to be called her husband.

I had a 25+ year career in the restaurant business – going from dishwasher to Director of Operations.  I took tremendous pride in my position and accomplishments.  Often, I would enter a restaurant, and it was as if the world would stop – simply because I was there.  People catered to me, wanted to meet me, and jumped into action based on my directives.  It felt great being in a position of authority and having such a large scope of responsibilities.

This prestigious position compensated me well.  I spent years working long hours and moving to all kinds of different places throughout the country to work my way up the ladder.  The harder I worked, the more promotions came.  The goal was to save enough to retire by the age of 50 and to put both of my daughters through college without them owing a dime when they graduated.  I don’t think there was anything in my life more important than that at the time.  I wanted the paid off home, the money to do whatever I wanted when I wanted to do it, and to spend all my free time with my wife and daughters.

Well…my wife became tired of me and the work-centered life and decided to leave.  I was so wrapped up in my goals and attachments; I didn’t see it coming.  She meant so much to me, that when she left, it seemed like 90% of me was missing.

The 10% of me remaining couldn’t handle the immense job responsibilities.  The once proud Director of Operations was nothing but a shell of himself anymore.  As a result, the owner of the company saw no value in me any longer and I was asked to leave.

With the divorce and the prestigious position with the high compensation going away at the same time, the dreams of early retirement, paid off homes, and family fun disappeared as well.

The unhealthy attachment I had to all of these things almost destroyed me.  In fact, to this day, I am still in some ways scarred, bruised, and battered by it all.

How about you?  Do you have a golden calf of your own?  More importantly, can you see it now, early enough, in order to avoid the devastation that surrounds the idolatry of attachment?

Are there goals, dreams, priorities, or outcomes that are the essence of who you are and what you have become?  Like me, do they define you in ways they shouldn’t?

Are there people who you cannot possibly live without?  Is the job and compensation feeding your ego or have you become a slave to it and what it can provide?  Is the outcome essential to your happiness?

When you think about these kinds of attachments, none can be controlled, guaranteed, or assured in any way.  In the blink of an eye, they can be gone, change, or become unattainable.  When these attachments become like an idol to us, we are in essence placing our lives in a state of uncertainty.

Now, flashing back to 1^st Grade, I can see why the First Commandment is indeed first! When we make the very foundation of who we are centered within God and our relationship to Him, everything else in life falls into its appropriate place.

When spirituality and godly character are at the center of a marriage, it will never fail.  When a job isn’t about prestige, power, and compensation, and more about how God’s purposes are served through it, it will accomplish all it is supposed to accomplish in your life and more!

When God is your guide, and goals, dreams, and outcomes change, you immediately see the purpose and meaning behind it – trusting all to Him.  When God is first, things that are second, third, and fourth all seem to fall into perfect place 🙂

When they seem to falter, you have a “peace that surpasses all understanding” – knowing bigger things are in the works, greater purposes, and more meaningful outcomes are on the horizon.

Today I hope you spend time thinking about your attachments and if they have an “idol” status connected with them.  What is important to you?  Where is God’s place within it?

May your mind be filled with wisdom and discernment regarding people, priorities, goals and outcomes, and may your heart be at rest as you place God in the center of all that is important to you and your life.