"Fear ye not, neither be afraid; have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no other God; I know not any. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity...they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know, that they may be ashamed." Isaiah 44:8, 9
Ultimately, an idol is a reflection of yourself, or your own soul. The material and graven thing that you put as the highest reflects back to you yourself. Whatever your idol represents reflects what your soul is bent towards. When you speak of your idol, you speak of yourself; when you worship your idol, you worship yourself. Idol-worship is self-worship, an abysmal form of pride.
With God, the order is reversed (or rather, set correctly). When God is your highest, He is not a reflection of you; you become a reflection of Him. Idols are made and chosen by the idol-maker; God makes and chooses His children. With idols, we are the initiators; with God, we are the responders. The difference is the element of surrender. With idols, there is no surrender; there is only luxuria and self-indulgence. With God, there is absolute surrender, a complete giving yourself over to another; and in that giving, everything that God is we become.
"May the Beam of Your Brightness
Reflect off of me
And onto others
And unto You..."
-Jon Vowell
Ultimately, an idol is a reflection of yourself, or your own soul. The material and graven thing that you put as the highest reflects back to you yourself. Whatever your idol represents reflects what your soul is bent towards. When you speak of your idol, you speak of yourself; when you worship your idol, you worship yourself. Idol-worship is self-worship, an abysmal form of pride.
With God, the order is reversed (or rather, set correctly). When God is your highest, He is not a reflection of you; you become a reflection of Him. Idols are made and chosen by the idol-maker; God makes and chooses His children. With idols, we are the initiators; with God, we are the responders. The difference is the element of surrender. With idols, there is no surrender; there is only luxuria and self-indulgence. With God, there is absolute surrender, a complete giving yourself over to another; and in that giving, everything that God is we become.
"May the Beam of Your Brightness
Reflect off of me
And onto others
And unto You..."
-Jon Vowell
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