Can God Really Help You?

      “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” Deuteronomy 5:8-9

The Ten Commandments were God’s standard for right living. Considering all the legislation we have today, ten laws were not very many. This tells us that they were important and God meant them. The second commandment referred to idolatry.

When we hear the word idolatry we tend to think of golden calves or calved statues. Unfortunately it is not quite this simple; there are a wide variety of idols, some of them very subtle. An idol doesn’t even have to be something that you can touch; it can exist in your mind. Idolatry occurs when we hold any person, item, value, idea or activity higher than God. An idol, amongst other things, is something that:
• We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about.
• Determines how we feel about ourselves.
• Gives us purpose.
• We desire
• Governs how we act.
• Determines our mood.

An idol is not necessarily a bad thing; it just occupies a higher place in our lives than it should do. We can make idols of people, such as film or sports stars. We can also make idols out of money, fame, careers, power or possessions. However, there are a lot of more subtle idols that invade our lives, such as keeping a clean house or always wearing make-up. Idols take on an importance that they are not meant to have.

The idols I want to consider here are the idols of weight, appearance and clothes size. Have ‘how do I look’ or ‘what do I weigh’ become questions that consume you. If the answer to these questions determines how you feel about yourself, then it is idolatry. You have made an idol of yourself.

God gave us our body.  Idolatry takes this body and distorts it by making it everything to us. We are all made in God’s image and to say that anyone is a better person because of their physical shape is wrong. We are all equally important to God and if this is the case, who are we to say differently.

It is important to look after our bodies; we are to be good stewards of all that God gives us. However, we need to keep this in context. Our bodies are not to be worshiped.

The problem with idols is that they can’t give us what we really need. True happiness, peace and joy come from a right relationship with God and other people. Too often we try to feed our inner desires through idols, sometimes without even realising it. Idols give a moment of false satisfaction, the feeling fades and we are back to seeking another ‘fix’ to feed our inner desire. No matter how good we look in a mirror, ultimately it cannot give us true inner satisfaction. We see this played out so often on the public stage. We watch beautiful people; singers, models, or film stars, fail to find happiness. They and the world become fixated on their looks, yet most of them fail to achieve what millions of ordinary people manage: a happy home life.

Idolatry will destroy you. God loves you and wants the best for you. That is why he commands us not to have idols. It is not because he is an egomaniac, but because he knows it will hurt us. God has only ever wanted the best for us.

It is time to turn away from idolatry and give your body to God.

Take a long hard look at yourself. If you have made idols out or your body, weight or appearance: pray with me.

Lord:

I acknowledge that I have made idols out of my weight, appearance and body. I repent of this and ask your forgiveness. I renounce it and lay it at the foot of the cross. I know you want me to be a good steward of my body and I want that too. I have failed in my own strength and I know now that I need your help. You look on the heart and not the outward appearance; help me to do this too. Help me to understand that what matters is what is going on in my heart. Help me to turn to you every day and lean, trust and rely on you. Help me to care for my body as something wonderfully and fearfully made by you and not as an idol. Lord, I give it all to you. Amen