If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry by Molly StillmanSample

Is the Idol to Blame?

For the first twenty-five years of my life, I didn’t have God. So I did whatever I could to find something to take His place. Tim Keller wrote a whole book on this concept called Counterfeit Gods, and I highly recommend it. The idea is that all of us were created for worship (as mentioned in the introduction above). The trouble starts when our worship is misdirected and lands on one or more counterfeits, or idols.

Thinking of idols might bring to mind the golden calf that the Israelites made and worshiped (Exodus 32:8). But idols aren’t necessarily a statue, a shrine in our living room, or Kelly Clarkson. Counterfeits can take many forms. They’re the things in our hearts that replace God—things like our love lives, careers, food, families, power, money, hotness, homes, the cars we drive, or the clothes we wear.

In many ways, the idols aren’t the problem. They’re simply things we hope will give us that which only God can give . . . but they never deliver.

With the benefit of hindsight, I see so clearly that all I did for those twenty-five years was worship counterfeit gods and seek after earthly idols. For example, I idolized the love my parents had for one another, so I did whatever I could to replicate that. I bounced from relationship to relationship, looking for the things only God could provide: love, identity, and self-worth. I looked for someone to love me unconditionally, despite my shortcomings, someone who would tell me what I wanted to hear.

It will come as no surprise that each relationship eventually failed, and when they did, it was super easy to blame the idol (he was the wrong guy, he didn’t understand me, he put conditions on our love). But I know the guys weren’t to blame; they were only the objects I fixated on in hopes of filling my heart’s deep longings.

What about you? Do you ever find yourself tempted to blame the counterfeit god that has kept you from experiencing the true joy and fullness found in Jesus? If so, you are not alone, and you are not without hope; it’s never too late to lay it down at His feet and receive grace.

Gracious Lord, thank You for loving me perfectly and offering far more than any counterfeit ever could. Amen.