Idol Talk

Money has been on everyone’s minds a lot lately. Or maybe I should say, money has been on people’s minds more than usual lately. Ever since the world economy took a nosedive last fall, we’ve all be worried about finances. It’s very understandable, of course. If you haven’t lost your job, you’re worried you might. And if you’re lucky enough to keep your job, you may have a salary cut. If you’re living on investment income, you’ve suddenly discovered that the money you were counting on has disappeared. Money woes are rippling through the entire country, as everyone from local charities to Fortune 500 companies are struggling to get by. It’s even affected our church, when we lost more than a quarter of the money we saved for the building project and the session is working hard to keep our books in the black.

Our faith has a very simple word for this concern we have about money: idolatry. You’ll find it right there in the Second Commandment, when God forbid his people from having idols. We may be tempted to think that this commandment doesn’t really apply to us these days. “After all,” we think, “aren’t idols those funny statues that pagans bow down in front of?” Yes, those are idols. But idols come in all sorts and sizes. And the worship of idols takes many different forms. An idol is anything that competes with God for the place that he deserves in your life. Here’s a checklist to see if you may be in danger of having an idol in your life. Ask yourself the following questions.
1. Do I count on it to take care of me if I get in trouble?
2. Do I want as much of it, or to be around it, as much as I can?
3. Do I think it will make me happy or fulfilled?
4. Do I have it in mind when I make major decisions?
5. Do I devote significant time and resources to it?

If you’re like most people in our society and our world, you could probably ask yourself these questions with money in mind and discover that you’re in danger of having money as your idol. You may be allowing money to have the place in your life that belongs only to God. Look again at the questions, and see if you might answer them something like this:
1. I earn and save money for a rainy day.
2. I play the lottery or work extra hours to try to get as much money as I can.
3. With a little more money, I can get things that will make life nicer.
4. I plan my time and my energy around what costs the least or earns me the most.
5. I put a lot of time and effort into earning or managing my money.

There’s a funny thing about idols: they never really deliver on their promises. God warns us away from idols not only because He deserves top space in our lives, but also because He knows that idols will hurt and disappoint us in the long run. And that’s certainly true when it comes to money. We think it will make us happy, but all it does is stress us out. And getting more doesn’t make us happier after all. Studies have shown that big lottery winners are more unhappy a year after they hit the jackpot than they were before. We think money will give us security and will protect us, but events in the last year have shown us once again that it just ain’t so.

Money is a necessary part of life in this society of ours. But it doesn’t have to be the most important part. That place belongs to God alone, who truly can give us lives of joy and significance, and who will never let us down.