The Problem with Idols of the Heart

Why talking about idolatry can be complicated

Photo by Bertrand Colombo on Unsplash

I was recently asked to reflect on my own tendency to idolatry, which is a fruitful exercise for anyone, I suppose. But during the process of self-reflection, I left more confused than clarified about my relationship to an idol than when I began. Rather than a false source of righteousness, this idol was largely a source of self-doubt and dread—of condemnation. And yet, I was confident that it really was an idol in my life. Even more strangely, the idol was a genuine gift God had given me, something I ought to exercise and develop for his glory, and the failure to develop that gift really would be worthy of condemnation. I felt quite confused. And this led me to conclude that it might benefit other evangelicals to consider more deeply the complicated nature of idols. That as a general rule, the greatest gifts God gives us are usually the things we are most tempted to turn into idols of self-righteousness. And that those gifts are often the very things we are most afraid of failing to live up to. Our duty is to exercise the gifts God has given us with excellence for his glory without seeing our righteousness, identity, or justification based on that gift, and to rightly regard ourselves not in light of the possible failure to meet our highest standards, but for who we are based on our real actions and in Christ’s righteousness.