Sunday
01/28/24 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “What Are The Idols In Our Life?”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 111
New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Gospel Lesson: Mark
1:21-28
Sometimes
in person, on television, on the radio, in magazines, in newspapers, on signs,
on billboards, etc., we here about what we need, how we need to change, what is
good for us, what is bad for us, etc. I have heard the term in recent years “living
your best life”. Has anyone here ever heard the term, “living your best life?”
It is basically the idea that you are at maximum potential, and that you are
living in the best possible way you can. Or at least that is what it seems to
mean, that you are the very best version of yourself.
If someone is in fact, “living their
best life” though, then what does that look like? We could likely assume that this
person is free from things that could destroy them, free from things that harm
them, and on a track of positive and happy wellbeing. If this is truly what “living
our best life” means, then I would think that we would have to be intentional
about how we live, the choices we make, and how we pursue “living our best life”.
I thought that this would be a much
better and more understandable way to introduce the topic of idols and idolatry.
What is an idol? On the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, I found five definitions
of what an idol is. Here they are in order:
1.
an object of extreme devotion.
2.
a representation or symbol of an object of worship.
3.
a likeness of something.
4 a false conception.
5 a form or appearance visible but without substance (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idol).
I have heard some sermons on idols or idolatry
in my life, where I left the church feeling like I was a terrible and an awful
person that was far from God. The reality though, is that we all can grow closer
and closer to God. Are any of here us fully made into the image of Christ? Are
any of us here fully sinless and perfect all the time? Hopefully more so than
we used to be, as we are striving for perfection. In fact, the founder of the
Methodist Movement, John Wesley said “let us go on unto perfection”. Or to say it in a
more modern way “live our best and our holiest life”. Yet, if we are truly as Christians
trying to be fully made into the image of Jesus Christ, this means we must
remove from our lives those things that separate us from Christ.
I think explaining it this way makes much more sense than
just saying we are all awful and need to repent. We all do need to repent and
turn to Christ, but we are all in the same boat in this venture. We are called
to turn from sin and darkness, and to love like Christ. Many of us have things
in our lives that we should change and or remove from our lives. Some Christian
traditions have been so strict historically in fact, that just having a picture
of Jesus hanging up, or having a cross on the wall, were all seen as idolatry.
For what if the picture of Jesus and the cross on the wall becomes the object
of our love and our worship?
We increasingly live in a society and a world that is constantly
trying to tell us what we need to happy, to be complete, and to “live our best
life”. Some of these things are in commercials or infomercials, and all around
we are being sold happiness. This does not mean that every product and service
is bad, but does hope, peace, and love come from other places to? Can
possessions in and of themselves make us happy? Can money, in and of itself
make us happy? What truly makes us happy, and truly allows us to “live our best
life”? Well in this culture, the answer to this question depends on who you
ask.
To ask it another way my friends, what or who do we
worship? What or who is the strongest focus of our time, our talent, and our
resources? We can all answer this question, and we all can probably realize
that there might be places in our lives where we need to change some things.
I remember a story that a good friend of mine told me a few
years ago. This friend was a long-time drug addict, was incarcerated for drugs,
and even sold drugs. I was curious to learn about his experiences, and he was
very open in discussing these experiences. So, I asked this good and trusted
friend this question, “What is like to be in deep drug addiction?” Now remember
this is what my friend said, and not me. He said, “Pastor Paul do you remember
that story in the Bible where Moses comes down from the mountain with the
ten-commandments, and some people at the bottom of the mountain are worshiping
a golden calf?” I then said to my friend, “Yeah of course I know that story of
Moses”. My friend then said, “Well the drug I made, sold, and was addicted to
was my god. My drug was the golden calf”. I then said, “Can you explain this a
little more?” He said sure, and then he said, “the drug had complete control
over my life, over my heart, over my soul, and everything I did centered around
that drug. It was the object of my worship and my whole life”.
When my friend told me this, it really showed me what an
idol in our lives can look like. The question that I have for us all and myself
to think about this morning then is, “What Are The Idols In Our Life”? What are
the things in our life that have our attention, our love, and maybe even be the
object of our worship. When we look at our reading from Psalm 111 for this
morning, it says in 111:1, once again:
1 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of
the upright, in the congregation (Psalm 111:1, NRSV).
What
is preventing us from praising the Lord and giving thanks to the Lord with our
whole heart here in church this morning, and in general? Now the things that
separate of us God are not always idols, but what are the things in our lives
that separate us? For some of us it can little things, like we are staying up
too late watching television, working, and using the internet. Anyone here ever
been guilty of that?
Maybe
some of us over eat or over indulge in sweets sometimes, and worse we know that
we should not do so. Maybe we are worried about money, about our family, about
the future, etc. These are not uncommon worries, but what if they have become
the very object of our worship and praise? For some people they might have a nicotine
or tobacco addiction. Some people might have other things in their lives that
we know are not good for us. I know that I do, but if the goal of the Christian
faith is to become fully made in the image of Jesus Christ, then we need to keep
trying to change and remove the things in our lives that separate us from God. We
need ask God to help us with this. As I am talking then, think about what is separating
us from God? Anyone here struggle with working to much? Anyone here to desirous
of certain possessions and or other things?
I
remember when I was little boy getting a new toy for Christmas. For about a
week or two sometimes that new toy was almost like an idol. I loved that toy
and it seemed like the most important thing in the world to me. Yet within a
week or two that toy was in the toy box with all the other toys. What will make
us whole? What will make us like Jesus? As Christians how do we “live our best
and holiest life?” “What Are The Idols In Our Life”. Further, the change that I
am talking about is often hard, and not easy. In fact, after Jesus fasted in the
wilderness for 40-days and nights, the devil tempted Jesus. The devil wanted to
see if he could make Jesus trust in things other than God, namely the devil.
The devil asked Jesus to turn stones to bread. The devil offered Jesus the kingdoms,
power, and wealth of the world. The devil also tempted Jesus to jump off the great
temple in Jerusalem, telling him that angels of Lord would save him.
I truly think that of all the times in
our history as humans, that we are living in one of greatest times of temptation,
idolatry, and distraction. I mean we have more than we ever have had before, technology
and medical technology is better than it ever has been. Even so, the United
States is not ranked the happiest country on earth, instead according an
article that I read we are ranked the 15th happiest country on earth
in 2023 (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-happiest-countries-2023-wellness/index.html).
There is great emphasis on balance and well-being, but what we worship matters
to.
This leads to our scripture reading
for this morning from 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, once again. In this scripture the
Apostle Paul, once again, is specifically talking about eating food sacrificed
to idols. Some people say a prayer or say grace before eating, and the Apostle
Paul is concerned about people who do this to a different God. The Apostle Paul
is saying that if we bless and pray over our food to the God of our faith, this
is good, but not to do this to other gods. Many gods in the ancient world were
carved into stone, made with wood, or precious metals. The allegation from the Apostle
Paul then, is people were worship objects, and not the true God. The God of our
faith cannot be contained in objects of stone, wood, or metal. Instead, the God
of our faith is much bigger than any mere object. God is a spiritual being
capable of being all around us, in us, and present where God wants to be
present. As a result, we should bless are food and everything to the God of
all. The Apostle Paul even says that the food itself won’t bring us closer to
God, and to avoid things that cause us to stumble. Stay focused on God, and not
idols (1 Cor. 8:1-13, NRSV).
In
looking at our gospel of Mark 1:21-28 reading for this morning, Jesus is
astounding people with his teaching in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. In the
same scene there was man possessed by an unclean spirit. Let’s look once again
at our reading from Mark 1:21-28, which says starting in Mark 1:21, once again,
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Mk. 1:21-22, NRSV).
So,
Jesus is teaching in the Synagogue on the Sabbath once again, and people are
astounded by his teaching and his authority. Right after this, we
have man in the synagogue possessed with an unclean spirit who cries out.
Picking up starting in Mark 1:23, it says once again:
23 Just then there was in their synagogue a
man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, ‘What
have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know
who you are, the Holy One of God.’ 25 But Jesus rebuked
him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ 26 And the
unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice,
came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on
asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands
even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28 At once
his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee (Mark 1:23-28, NRSV).
When evil is
confronted by Christ, it scatters and is afraid. Jesus Christ is the truth, is
our Lord, and deserves our worship and our praise. In a culture that is constantly
vying for our love, our time, our resources, and everything we have, where does
true hope, peace, and love come from? Only through God in Jesus Christ, and the
power of the Holy Spirit can we be made more into the image of Christ. The big
take away is this, if we wanted to be more perfected in the love of Jesus
Christ, then Jesus Christ is the best answer to achieve this. Everything else,
while not all bad, will not lead us to perfect love and to be perfected in
Christ. As my sermon title says then, “What Are The Idols In Our Life?” Come to
Christ and live, love, hope, and “live your best and holiest life”. Amen.
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