American Idols

American Idols: How the American Church Has Turned To Idol Worship
I will finish up the seven dirty words, but I just wanted to share something I feel has been put on my heart for the church. While working on the word righteousness for the seven dirty words, I kept coming to this idea that the church has forsaken righteousness because they cannot seem to let go of their American Idols. No, not the television show, but the idols America has seemed to fall for. This month is probably the granddaddy of them all, the Super Bowl. Never, in all my wildest dreams, would I have ever thought churches would close or stop services for the Super Bowl. But that is exactly what has happened in many of our churches. Then the churches that do not close seem to hold some sort of Super Bowl special where they show the game on the same screen that usually holds the songs of worship. This friends, is not glorifying God in any way. “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE (2 Corinthians 6:16)”. We should all repent of this and ensure that, in the future, we put God ahead of football. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 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 (Exodus 20:3-5 KJV).” You see, God is a jealous God and will not share your heart with anything. If you feel you cannot miss a football game to worship the one whom you call Lord, then I am afraid you have an idol in your life. We should avoid such things in our lives. “Little children, guard yourselves from idols (John 5:21).”

So what are the American Idols? Besides football and other sports, there is of course television. There are some who cannot miss a single episode of their favorite program. So when the show’s time is changed to a church night, suddenly that person is no longer there. Some find themselves entrapped by celebrity watching. They get so obsessed that they often change their entire lifestyle to mirror that of their favorite celebrity. In fact, they can quote People magazine better than they can quote the Bible. These are all idols that can deeply affect your walk with the Lord. Do you find yourself planning events around God or around the TV Guide? Is deer season more sacred than communion with God? Is the Super Bowl or the Cardinals so important that you are not willing to skip it to be in church? If truth be told, I must say that the American church has forsaken it’s first love for idol worship. Just look at the pews next time there is a big game on. This is One Man’s Opinion, I hope you share it