"My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.”
—Proverbs 23:26 (ESV)
I don’t know about you, but the inspired directives found in Proverbs 23:26—“give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways”—immediately take my mind to the subject of idolatry. In the Old Testament, idols were man-made statues, representing false deities. These idols were often made of wood or stone, overlaid with precious metals, and came with their own temples, altars, and rituals in-tow. But, from a Christian (or New Testament) perspective, idolatry is anything that distracts you from loving “the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” (cf. Matthew 22:37; ESV). “A man’s god is that for which he lives, for which he is prepared to give his time, his energy, his money,” declares the late, great preacher, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981). You don’t have to travel to foreign lands, nor back in time, to find false gods. Our world is full of them, today. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
“If God so abhors idolatry, why does He not destroy the idols that men worship?” asked a youth of his rabbi, who was explaining to his pupils how strongly God condemns idol-worship. The rabbi replied, “Because some of them, the sun and the moon for example, are an essential part of the fabric of God’s creation.” After a moment’s pause, the student said, “Then why does He not at least destroy those that are non-essential?” To which the rabbi answered, “Because it would then appear He was condoning the worship of the idols He did not destroy.”
One of the blessed aspects of divine grace is that God does not force any of us to love and serve ONLY Him. He leaves that decision to our free-will. But may we all be duly reminded that decisions have consequences. The decision of faith promises a life more abundant and everlasting in Christ. The decision to forsake the Father and “[His] ways,” devoting oneself to idol-worship, brings to pass eternal condemnation and self-destruction—a.k.a. the Second Death (cf. Revelation 20:11–15; 22:12–15). “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (Corinthians 10:14 ESV). Give your heart wholly unto God, and let your eyes observe His merciful and enduring ways.
—Ron Metheny
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