God Or The World: Which Will You Choose?

At the end of the book of Joshua, the Israelites have moved into the Promised Land after great conquest. Joshua is very old and close to death, and he poses to the people this question, “Whom will you serve? The Lord God or the false gods of the surrounding nations?” It is given with a staunch warning, that if they turn from God to the things of the world, He would use the things they turned to to destroy them. Does this question and warning apply to us since we rarely encounter other “gods”?

Joshua 24:14-15, 19-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…You will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”

The answer is, yes it does, for though we rarely come across organized religions that worship a diety of some kind, in our society we are bombarded with idolatry of many kinds. Just as the laws and principles of the Old Testament which applied to physical actions correspond to spiritual things in the New Testament (i.e. adultery vs lust), so the physical, blatant idols of the Old Testament correspond to spiritual idols now.

What is an idol if not the statue of a god a person worships (like Buddha)? There are a few different categories. First an idol is something with we bow down to, something which is master over us. Now, one might say, “I never worship anything but God,” but that is not necessarily true. Worship is more than singing praise songs in church; it is adoration, praise in any form. This includes any time we give way to something or someone other than God. Addiction is a more obvious answer, because by the very nature of addiction, it is master of the person who uses it, they can’t give it up or be without it. It controls them, and that is an idol.

1 Corinthians 6:12b New American Standard Bible (NASB) (emphasis added)

All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

Another example of this is a child. If a parent gives way to the child so that it is spoiled and gets what it wants, that child is an idol because the parent bows down to what the child wants instead of maintaining a God-directed relationship. This can also apply to any relationship where the roles are reversed so that the person who is supposed to be “over” the other gives way so that the other person controls: husband-wife, boss-employee. etc.

John 12:25 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

Another way something can be an idol is if we are devastated at the thought of losing or giving it up. This applies more directly to things, materialism. There is a grey line here too, because there is a difference between being sad about losing something and the devastation indicating idolatry. Think of people who become irate at the idea of losing money, even though they have more than they could enjoy, or a person having a thing destroyed which they had never used.

Personal rights can be another example of this. (I am not saying we shouldn’t care about our constitutional rights or stand up for them.) I’ve known people who, when it was implied something they did might not be right or godly, would irately say, “Well it’s my right to do it, you can’t take that from me.” They are defending their right to do something which may be harmful or ungodly (like addiction). That thing has become an idol because they can’t bear even the idea of giving it up.

Deuteronomy 5:6-7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.’

Deuteronomy 6:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

A third way someone could enter idolatry is by placing something or someone before God, serving them first. An example of this is doing something at the command or desire of another, knowing that it is wrong. That is choosing/obeying that person before God, placing their authority over God’s.

Another is loving someone or something more than God, adoring them more than God. This could be said of many sports fans who read the sports stats more than the Bible, who skip church to watch a game. That kind of fanaticism is what we should have for God, and He will tolerate no rival. Whatever most occupies our thoughts, affections and time is what we love, and nothing should be higher than God. Self, work and technology are other great examples.

Matthew 6:24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

We have a choice, to love and serve God, or to love and serve the world. That is really what this boils down to. We can choose the true, everlasting God, or the gods made up and encouraged by the world. God should be first in our priorities, thoughts, and affections. Allowing something to take that place, even if it is a good thing, is still idolatry. God doesn’t want to share half-hearted service and love. We cannot have both God and the world. Which will you love?