More “Good Idols” Christians Love To Defend

I recently wrote about some of the idols that Christians embrace in their lives because they don’t seem bad. On the contrary, these are “good idols,” such as family and ministry. Christians appear to ignore when their love and worship turn from Jesus to these “good idols,” and they will defend them harder than the gospel itself, sometimes. I expected a backlash from readers, but you guys were surprisingly on board with what I said. In fact, some of you suggested I discuss others. So, let’s examine six more “good idols” Christians love to defend.

A Quick Reminder On Idols

I defined what an idol is in my first post about “good idols,” and I shared verses on the subject. You can go back and read more about that, but for our purposes allow me to quickly remind you that God forbids idolatry. It’s mentioned throughout the Bible, but most notably, the second commandment directly addresses idolatry.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Exodus 20:4-6

Additionally, I shared a definition for idolatry from the Got Questions website that I believe sums up idolatry in simple and clear terms. Before we continue, let’s read that definition so that we are all on the same page.

“When we emotionally rely on anything other than our relationship with Him to validate us, we are breaking the second commandment.” 

Six More “Good Idols” Christians Love To Defend

As a reminder, the my last post discussed these six “good idols” in Christians’ lives: spouses, family, health, work/career, professional experts, and church activity/ministry. Today, I want to look at six more “good idols” that might hit a little harder for Christians who consider themselves beyond idols. In my experience, at least, the following idols are often regarded as signs of a strong faith rather than red flags. You decide.

“Good Idol” #1: Education

Education is a personal subject for me because I put most of my personal worth into my grades and academic achievements before I knew the Lord. I have a master’s degree in social work and had intended to move on to a Ph.D. later in my career. Academics, as I understood them, were what distinguished people of great value and influence from everyone else. Yeah, I was a snob…

Pastors

However, you don’t have to be an unbeliever to put too much emphasis on education. Prepare yourself because I’m about to say something terribly controversial. Christians place too much value on the degree a pastor holds. Furthermore, a seminary degree is a poor measure of a man’s ability to pastor a church. *Whew! I said it.*

I’m not saying seminary is bad or that pastors shouldn’t have a college education. Rather, I’m suggesting that many churches looking for men to fill their pulpits are more concerned with the letters after his name than the man’s godly character, love for the Church, maturity, ability to clearly teach the Bible, personal evangelism habits, etc. Moreover, the pastors seem to overvalue education, too!

Are these men with an M.Div. relying on Jesus and turning to Him for strength and answers? Do they look to their day of salvation for renewed hope and a reminder of who they are in the Lord? Or do these men believe their education is truly the foundation of their faith? What convicts and guides them…the Holy Spirit or their educational institution?

Children

I’m a homeschool mom, so my children’s education is a constant concern in my life. I am the one teaching them, after all. Concern for a child’s education is not limited to us homeschool moms, though. One of the reasons so many parents send their children to public school is because they believe it provides a strong education to help their children succeed in the future. I’ll agree to disagree on that one, but I understand where they’re coming from. They want to provide a good education for their children. Isn’t that what we all want for our kids?

On the other hand, how I educate my children and what I focus my attention on while raising them indicates where I put my faith. Too many of us let character issues slide and ignore our children’s spiritual struggles because we zero in on grades, how they measure up to their peers, and whether or not they meet state standards.

My kids can have the best education in the world with every career opportunity opened to them, but it means nothing if I haven’t also taught them about Jesus and discipled them in His ways. Being really smart with a good GPA might help someone be successful here on Earth, but it doesn’t do a thing for anyone spiritually.

I’d rather my children struggle with academics while having a strong faith in Christ and displaying godly character and love for the lost any day. My preference is academic excellence bundled with a healthy spiritual life, but there is eternal value in only one of those things. Let’s not count on education to do more than educate, shall we?

“Good Idol” #2: Pastor/Bible Teacher

Don’t come at me, but I immediately thought of John MacArthur when considering this “good idol.” If you ever go on social media, then you probably witness pastor fandom occasionally. I follow people on Twitter, for example, who mention John MacArthur every single day. I have wondered if they are on his marketing team or something. (For the record, I like him. We call him Johnny Mac in our home and enjoy when he says something true that burns people’s biscuits.)

Unfortunately, pastors and Bible teachers, especially those with a large public platform, find themselves put on a spiritual pedestal by people who listen to them. I’m not blaming the pastors and teachers. In fact, I’m not really blaming anyone. It’s human nature to worship and elevate people we admire or see as an authority on something. We shouldn’t, but I can understand why people do it.

It’s sin as soon as that pastor or teacher becomes an idol, but it becomes an even bigger issue for the Church if that individual begins teaching bad doctrine and leading people astray. If that happens, then people should dismiss the false teaching for what it is and it should be brought to the teacher’s attention. I mean, mistakes happen. Misunderstandings happen. Humans are fallible, and a good pastor or teacher will be open to hear and consider what others believe they taught incorrectly.

When a pastor or teacher won’t hear it and continues to teach wrongly, Christians should move on. But guess what. Too often they don’t. No, they believe that person over what is clearly written in the Word. They have turned that teacher into a god in their lives.

Should you have a favorite Bible teacher or pastor? I don’t see why not, but we can’t forget they are just people and, thus, imperfect. So, be a Berean Christian. Hear what they have to say, and then see if the Bible supports or contradicts them.

“Good Idol” #3: Your Church

I love my church. I don’t ever want to leave it, but if it moved away from the authority of the Bible and started introducing Critical Race Theory (CRT), feminism, or LGBTQ+ agenda, I’d be out of there in no time.

There is nothing my church could do to entice me to stay if the teaching contradicted Scripture. I don’t mean if one time someone said something false. I am referring to a shift in the church’s beliefs, mission, and purpose.

It seems unlikely that anyone would stay in that circumstance, right? Here’s the thing. Christians are joining churches based on what it offers them. Good teaching? No, that’s not what they are prioritizing. Talk to Christians in the midst of “church shopping,” and you’ll hear.

“We’re looking for a church with lots of young couples like us.”

“My wife and I want a church with music we know from the radio, not those old timey hymns.”

“We need something for my kids. They didn’t like the youth group at our last church.”

“Do you offer a Saturday night service or something later on a Sunday morning? I don’t like to get up early.”

“I need a church with a ladies group that gets together for dinner and drinks at least once a month.”

And churches are glad to offer all the extras and create a community based on activities they have instead of on Jesus.

There was a church in a nearby community when I lived in Illinois that mastered the church idol model. They had a little catch phrase they put on bumper stickers, in hashtags, on tee shirts, etc. Let’s call this place Idol Church for the sake of anonymity. So, everything they utilized to market the church said, “This is Idol.” No mention of God anywhere to be seen. Simply, #thisisidol.

Members I knew loved this church and wore all the swag and shared posts on social media. When I asked them what they liked about it, all I heard about were small groups, the music, the kids programming, and all the things that they did at church and with the church people.

Meanwhile, they never spoke of the preaching, and the lives they were living weren’t preaching a whole lot either…if you know what I mean. The members loved their church, not the Church. Any spiritual conversation led to stories about the building and activities. They were there being served rather than serving others, and it broke my heart.

When your “good idol” is your church, you love it more than Jesus. It’s about the place, not the Lord.

“Good Idol” #4: Our Nation

I live in an amazing country. It’s not perfect, and the United States of America, like all other nations, has a history littered with good and bad. Overall, though, it’s a great place to live. But it’s just a country. This isn’t Heaven, and the U.S.A. isn’t our Savior.

Our nation is uniquely built on biblical principles, and we should vote and, when necessary, fight to maintain the freedoms and rights we have here. At the same time, the gospel message is not an American message. A person can be saved without ever having stepped foot on American soil. Jesus can redeem the lost even if those lost don’t adhere to a particular political stance. The United States could be obliterated or taken over tomorrow, but God would still be God. He would be in control just as He always is and always has been.

I understand the concern many of us have about the direction our nation is headed, and the impulse many of us have is to get super invested in politics and make changes on that level. Great. I can get behind that, but the change we should long for most is sinners being saved. Our faith must be in Christ rather than government and our country.

Our hope is in Christ alone. If our hope is in the nation, then we’ve turned our homeland into yet another “good idol.”

“Good Idol” #5: Abortion

Let me begin with this statement: I am unequivocally against abortion. I believe abortion is sin (specifically, murder) in all cases. I’ve written about it before, so read that if you disagree with me and want to fight about it. With that said, abortion can become a “good idol” in a Christian’s life.

As with any idol, fighting against abortion can turn into the defining characteristic of a Christian’s life. You might even know someone like this. They might steer every conversation to abortion, task every Christian they meet with waging war against abortion clinics, and not be able to share the gospel without mentioning abortion. Abortion is horrendous and heart wrenching, but it isn’t an essential element of the gospel.

One more thing. If we stopped all future abortions from ever happening (what an answer to prayer that would be!), would that save souls? Lives would be saved, but it wouldn’t necessarily point to Christ. Fighting abortion is a noble cause, and every Christian should help whether it be through volunteerism, giving, or prayer.

On the other hand, the only way to truly fight sin is to share the gospel. Christian, why did you turn from your sin? Were you convinced by protests and impassioned speeches, or were you convicted of your need of a Savior when you realized the seriousness of your sin and found out Jesus had already paid the price for you? I am willing to wager it was the latter.

“Good Idol” #6: Looking Like A Christian

What does a Christian look like? I think there are two extremes of this idol: “perfect” and “authentic.”

The Perfect Christian

This Christian is always doing “fine.” She’s never sad, worried, stressed, or angry. This woman is poised and never misses a deadline or forgets to bring a snack to the youth program.

She thinks she is exemplifying a good Christian, but it’s all outward-focused, and her “perfection” makes everyone think Christians only feel happy and don’t experience struggles.

The Authentic Christian

This Christian keeps it real. She struggles to keep up with the expectations of others, so she doesn’t even bother to try. If you don’t like her, then too bad. She doesn’t care what you think because she’s being true to herself.

This woman is rough around the edges and usually blends in with the world a bit more than other types of Christians. She thinks she is living out a testimony of what Christians should live like, but she’s really just living how she wants to with little regard to sin.

The Idol

Both kinds of women described above have an ideal version of what a Christian woman really looks like. That is the focus for people who have created a “good idol” out of representing Christians in their own lives. Sadly, believers on either side of this spectrum see themselves as being more Christian or a better Christian than others. It’s based on their works and a false sense of what makes someone a Christian. They have elevated how one presents oneself to the level of the gospel.

Salvation through Jesus saves us and makes us Christians, but this idol suggests all we must do is perform and act out what a Christian looks like. These believers may think their relationship with Jesus matters, but they live like it matters less than the show they put on every day.

Final Thought

Over two posts I have offered twelve relatively common “good idols” in Christians’ lives. Some folks will have more than one of these while others will have none. So, why even bring it up? Am I looking to pick on people? No, but it is a warning to stay vigilant.

I called these idols “good” because they seem good at first and slide into our lives unnoticed. These idols, though, can wreak havoc on our spiritual lives. Moreover, they can also destroy our relationships with our family and friends.

Nothing I have discussed in either “good idols” post is inherently bad. Rather, it is our sinful nature that takes good things and finds a way to sin with them. I suggest occasionally taking a look at your life and assessing if there is anything you care about too much. Ask yourself if you are living with Jesus as your true hope and trusting in God’s grace and mercy to save you and guide you. If anything has taken His place, repent and put the Lord where He belongs…the center of your life.

Have any of these idols affected your walk with the Lord?

Image courtesy of Jon Tyson via Unsplash.