August 20, 2026
Thursday, August 20
Idolatry is looking to anything other than God to do for us what only God can do. Each of us needs to examine our hearts daily, to be aware of the idols that are creeping up on us, stealthily plotting to replace the Lord as our true master. Yesterday, we saw that idolatry causes us to forget our purpose as God’s holy people. But that’s not all. It also changes our character.
Psalm 115 is about the stupidity of idol worship. The Psalmist points out that idols can’t see, hear, smell, or talk. Then in verse 8 it says, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Bible scholar GK Beale wrote a book based on that verse called We Become What We Worship. Consider the people of God in Exodus 32. In verse 9, God calls them “a stiff-necked people.”
Stiff-necked means “hard to lead.” That reminds me of a story.
Several years ago, I was helping my dad with his cattle. He was trying to separate the calves from the cows, so he could take them to market. One big bull calf wasn’t having it. He was about five hundred pounds and stubborn as, well, a bull. Nothing Dad tried could convince him to go through the gate. So I said, “Let me try.” I chased that bull back and forth, whacking him with my stick, trying to turn him toward that gate. Suddenly, he ducked his head and ran right over me. I was banged up, but not seriously injured, so we kept at it. Eventually, we got him into the pen, but then we couldn’t get him into the trailer. At one point, he turned and rammed his head into the side of my leg, pinning me to the side of the fence. (For the next month, I was a walking bruise). My brother got home from work at that point, and came over to help us. With his help, we loaded that infernal creature and took him to the market. My Dad felt sorry for me, so he offered to buy me anything I wanted for supper. We went to Whataburger. I got a double. It was the best burger I’ve ever had.
The theme of Beale’s book is this sentence: “What people revere, they resemble, whether for ruin or restoration.” If we worship God and Him alone, we will begin to take on His character. We will love others like He does. We will develop courage, humility, mercy, and wisdom. But worshipping anything else will change us for the worse. The people of God had just started worshipping this calf, and they had already become like him, so stiff-necked they were more likely to despise God than follow Him.
How have your idols changed you? If you worship money, you’ll live in constant anxiety over the fluctuations of the stock market. If you worship success, you won’t have any true friendships; just people you use to get further ahead. If you worship comfort, it makes you lazy and fearful. If you worship approval, you’ll compromise any moral standard to impress others. Here’s one sure way to know when something has become an idol: Imagine what it would be like if that thing were suddenly removed from your life. If you think life wouldn’t be worth living in that case, you’ve identified an idol.
“Lord, I want to be like you. Yet, the more I idolize other things, the more I will resemble them instead. Please purge the unfaithfulness from my heart, that I might serve you…and take on your character. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
