Imposter Gods

      In the profound story of the Israelites escaping hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt in the book of Exodus there is a great showdown between the God of the Bible (Yahweh) and the fake gods of Egypt.  God sent mighty plagues of judgment on the wicked Egyptian empire for their many sins, including oppression and genocide.  Each plague was an attack on the power or domain of one of the supposedly mighty Egyptian gods.  For one example, the plague of darkness was a direct attack on the sun god Ra.  He was the central god of the Egyptian pantheon of gods and Yahweh showed that He controlled light not Ra.  What happened on a grand scale in the book of Exodus needs to happen for each of us individually.  Theologian John Calvin once said, “the human heart is a perpetual idol factory.” Most of us have idols in our lives that we need to break free of.  We tend to think of idols as some carved piece of wood that represents a god or something ancient peoples often worshipped, not something that most of us struggle with.  However, an idol is anything that takes the number one spot in our lives.  An idol is anything that takes God’s spot of allegiance in our hearts. 
      In a sense idolatry is “the one great sin that all others come from” (gods at war, Kyle Idleman, 22). In our culture some of the most common counterfeit gods would include:  pleasure, money, success, power, people and self.   Note that these things are also are gifts from God.  It is sad that often God’s greatest competition are the good gifts He gives.  There are so many examples of this.  We have all read the stories of the Christian leader who appears to love the Lord, yet the temptation of sexual immorality causes a fall.  Often this crash is a bowing to the god of pleasure.  That leader who might be quite sincere is caught in a withering marriage and looks for some spark of human love and sexual excitement to fill the gap.  One I have watched many times in thirty years of ministry is the Christian woman who is very dedicated but begins to date a man who is not a Christian.  Often her faith fades as she chooses the desire for a husband and children over her commitment to God.  Notice that companionship, sex, family are all good gifts from God but when they take priority over Him, they become idols or counterfeit gods.    
      Another popular idol of our age is money.  How do we keep money, probably God’s number one competitor in check?  First, live simply.  In an age of consumer excess, choose simplicity.  We do not need the latest version of cell phone; honestly, we don’t need a cell phone at all.  Intentionally resist our culture’s constant push for MORE.  Let ENOUGH be our mantra.  My old car is enough.  The old couch will last another year.
     Second, take the posture of a steward, not an owner.  Christians believe we are merely stewards or managers of our possessions not owners.  God owns it all (Psalms 24:1).  Regularly incorporate into our decision making the question “what does the Lord want me to do with His money or possession?”   
      Third, give generously.  It is shocking how many people can be helped even with a little bit of money.  Could you support a Compassion child?  Could you give to your church who teaches people God’s word and feeds the hungry?
      Jesus is blunt about the need to put money in its place. He says, “No one can serve two masters.  Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).”
      What thing or person matters the most to you?  It’s time to take a look and get honest with ourselves.

Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church