I’ve always loved arts and crafts, though I wouldn’t call myself naturally gifted. A few years ago, while traveling in the USA, I joined one of those paint classes where an instructor guided our group through the basics of oil painting. We learned how to mix colors, how to hold the brush, and even the importance of brush direction to create the right effect on the canvas. My finished piece wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t great either. It reminded me of my childhood art projects—the ones my teacher would gently evaluate with, “Well, it’s not terrible.”
When I finished, my painting looked a little off compared to the others in the group. The teacher glanced at it and said, “Well, it’s not terrible.” The dialogue in my mind rewound to my childhood art classes. I sighed and agreed, “No, it’s not terrible.”
A reminder
I read something today that stuck with me. It reminded me of my painting trip a few years ago.
“Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, to what their own fingers have made.”
Isaiah 2:8 NKJV
In ancient history, people would sometimes create idols from wood or stone. They would then set it up and worship it. Fast forward to our present day, and it sounds ridiculous that someone would bow and worship something they carved themselves. I have a picture in my mind of a bunch of workers in an idol factory under the tutelage of someone more experienced. They’re sitting at a table making idols, and as the teacher walks by and looks at their work, he says, “Well, it’s not terrible.” I wonder if they had a discard pile in those places? What became of their castaway idols? Did they make up new gods to worship?
It’s not terrible, it’s absurd
As absurd as it sounds, people did bow down to such things. Idol worship was the “thing” at that time. Everyone worshipped some idol. Fear was instilled in those who didn’t conform to the norms of the time. Penalties ranging from being ostracized to death were possible for those who resisted.
In Malawi, there’s a similar practice to what happened in ancient times. Some people dress in masks, have white chalk designs on their bodies, bells on their legs and feet, and long pieces of dried grass tied to them who wander in the villages and run in the graveyards. They chase the people, and out of fear, the people (who are already poor) throw money at them. Fear is a terrible master.
In the Book of Daniel, there’s an account of a similar event taking place under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel 3). If you went to Sunday School as a child, you know the outcome of the story. Daniel and his friends didn’t bow to the king’s image and were thrown into a furnace. God, of course, saved them, and the King himself had a change of heart when he said:
“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.’”
Daniel 3:28,29 NKJV
Well, it’s not terrible because…
There are things, other than idols carved from wood or stone, that we have made with our own hands. Things that we reason aren’t that bad, and we tell ourselves, “Well, it’s not terrible.” It’s not terrible to overwork because we need to provide for our families. Neither is it terrible to try to have a good reputation or to try to please our friends, coworkers, and family.
No, none of these are terrible. Until they cross into the territory of worship. There are plenty of nuances to the meaning of worship, but one of the simplest definitions I found is “homage or grateful submission to God.” In the literal sense, it means to “bend over” or “bow down.” It’s when we pay greater homage or give greater honor to things in our lives than we do to God that we have a problem.
Defending our homage
Where we spend our time and money is where our hearts are (see Matt. 6:21). Because much of what we do in life is necessary, it’s easy to poo-poo away any thought of idolatry. We will go so far as to defend our homage to those things by listing the importance of earning a living, maintaining a good reputation, and spending time with friends and family. All these things are good; they aren’t terrible. However, when our lives become unbalanced, they can become idols.
What do you bow to?
