14
The War Cry | OCTOBER 2013
How to Recognize an Idol
1. Is this belief or behavior consistent with knowing and
acknowledging God to be the only true God, and my God?
2. Is it consistent with worshiping and glorifying God by thinking,
meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honoring,
adoring, choosing, loving, desire, and fearing him?
3. Does it show that I believe, trust, hope, delight, and rejoice in
God...or something else?
by
BOB HOSTETLER
ecogni
ze
an
Idol
So what are our household
idols? A few that seem to be
most common
in our homes
and families are:
Convenience
The pace of modern life makes it more chal-
lenging than ever to raise a family without
giving in to our culture's pet idolatries, one
of which is convenience. As Christians, we
are commanded to do far more than care for
our children; we are called to train them,
carefully and strategically, in the way they
should go (Proverbs 22:6). But it's just so
easy to stick our kids in front of the televi-
sion for hours on end while we "get things
done." It's so easy to use video games as
baby-sitters instead of engaging them in
constructive activities. It's so easy to keep
them occupied in the minivan by play-
ing a DVD instead of playing road games
together. It's so easy to grab dinner at the
drive-thru instead of cooking at home. Sure,
being a parent is time-consuming and ex-
hausting, and there aren't enough hours in
the day to get done all we need to do. But
we can get so busy that we don't even real-
ize our modern conveniences are leading to
poor modeling... and even idolatry.
Consumerism
Our submission to the idol of convenience
will also fuel the idol of consumerism in our
children. Before entering first grade, most
children will have absorbed thirty thousand
advertisements, primarily from television
commercials. Little wonder, then, that
parents face an unremitting challenge in
countering that influence. Our kids crave
the coolest toys, the trendiest clothes, the
hippest music and the latest technology.
But we parents can make matters worse by
trying to keep up with our children's play-
mates' or classmates' families. Rather than
teaching our children to budget and spend
wisely, we bow at the altar of consumerism.
Many fine Christian families
today are in a situ-
ation like Jacob's when he left Paddan-aram. God told Jacob to
leave the land of his father-in-law Laban and return to his ances-
tral home, adding, "I will be with you" (Genesis 31:3). So Jacob
made his escape. But his caravan included cargo Jacob didn't
intend or know about: Laban's household gods, secretly stolen by
Jacob's wife, Rachel (31:19). God had blessed Jacob. God was still
watching over him. God was preparing him for yet greater things.
But pagan idols had nonetheless slipped into Jacob's household,
without his knowledge.
So it is in many of our homes today. We haven't turned our
backs on God; we haven't stopped worshiping Him, or enjoying
His favor. Not at all. But idols have nonetheless stolen into our
households. Sometimes we have lugged them in ourselves, adopt-
ing--or adapting--some of the pagan idols that surround us.
Stolen Idols?
The idols in our households are not like the little clay statues
Rachel hid in her saddlebags. We do not bow to golden calves in
our living rooms or chant prayers to an image, but that doesn't
necessarily mean that our lives are free of idols. It may just mean
that our idols are more sub-
tle, or that we "worship in
ignorance," like the ancient
Athenians (Acts 17:23).
WC_Oct 14-15.indd 14
9/13/13 3:46 PM