Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

AMERICAN IDOLATRY

This entry was posted on 08-22-2008 and is filed under uncategorized.

"Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth...covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5 NKJV).

Several sins are cited in our text (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, etc.) but the last one - covetousness ("the lust for other people's goods") - is called "idolatry." Idolatry is not something that existed only in Bible times or is only found in far away nations today. It is "alive and well" in America. We even have a popular TV show called "American Idol." It might as well be called "American Idolatry" because that is what we practice.

Barclay informs us that covetousness comes from two Greek words: pleon which means "more" and echein which means "to have." So pleonexia is the desire to have more. We want other things - and more of them - instead of God. That's what makes it idolatry. We want more of everything and we want it now! This is the curse of young married couples today who want to start off with what their parents worked hard for all their lives. Advertisers know this and put before us a constant barrage of ads that promote shameless self-indulgence. In part this is what has caused the housing collapse - a grasping greed to have more now. It will also cause your spiritual house to collapse. This is American Idolatry but the good Christian should put to death these urges that come purely from the flesh, the world, and the devil.

Chorus: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace" (Helen H. Lemmel).