Five Basic Idols of the Heart

Last week I ended the message by telling you that we were going to look at the five basic idols of the heart mankind worships. Before we do that I want to tell you a little bit of the history behind this study. About 18 months ago, I was reading a book on parenting teenagers called “Age of Opportunity,” by Paul Tripp. I highly, highly recommend it to you. In fact, I’d have to put it in my “Top Ten” list of books that have been the most influential in my life. It was in this book on parenting that I came across this concept of idols of the heart as Dr. Tripp illustrated how these five idols devastate a family and cause so much damage. And in the two or three pages where he deals with this matter I saw something that proved to be an absolutely life-changing discovery for me. Once I realized how the human heart works, so much of the human struggle became clear and that was when I decided we had to study this as a church. So understand that this concept is not original with me.

Now, there is another resource I want to recommend to you, and this is a book by Elyse Fitzpatrick called “Idols of the Heart.” I recommend this book to you because her focus is not on identifying various idols but on how we need to deal with our heart. The subtitle of this book is “Learning to Long for God Alone.” That is the crux of this issue. In our heart, we have competing affections. We love God, but we also love our idols. Paul talks about this struggle in Rom. 7 and I think we can all identify with his anguished cry when he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” As I said last week, our heart is an idol manufacturing plant. So if we are going to deal with idols, we have to start with the heart, and that is what Fitzpatrick’s book focuses on.

So with that introduction, let’s talk about the five basic idols of the heart. There is an acronym we can use to help us remember them, and is the word “cracs.” It is spelled c-r-a-c-s, which isn’t a real word, but is sounds like a real word. It stands for the idols of control, respect, appreciation, comfort, and success. Control, respect, appreciation, comfort, and success. These are the five basic idols we all struggle with. We all like control. We all like respect. We all like
to be appreciated. We all like comfort. And we all like success. And as I shared with you last week, every sin mankind commits falls under one of these five basic idols.

Now, the first thing I want to share with you about these idols is that each of them has a biblical basis. Let’s look at some verses that show us this. We’ll start with the idol of control, and let’s turn to Gen. 1. In verse 27 we read, “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Our God is a God of control, as we see illustrated so magnificently in the natural world. And in addition to this, we are created in His image. Our desire for control is a God-given desire, it is a manifestation of God’s image in us. Let’s turn to Prov. 21:5. “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” How many of you have heart that maxim, “If you don’t control your day, it will control you.”? That is a true statement, and the Bible teaches the importance of diligent planning. In the New Testament we the same concept taught in 1 Cor. 14:40. “Let all things be done properly, and in an orderly manner.” God isn’t pleased with disorder and slovenliness. So do you see that our desire for control has a biblical basis?

What about the idol of respect? Turn with me to Ex. 20:12. “Honor your father and your mother.” We are commanded in the 10 Commandments to respect our parents. Parents rightly can expect their children to respect them. Eph. 6:1-3 teaches the same thing, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Obedience is a tangible expression of respect. Heb. 13:17 says to “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account.” Church leaders can legitimately expect the respect of church members. It isn’t a manifestation of pride for them to do this, it isn’t arrogance for them to expect it, it is a biblical principle. Rom. 12:10 teaches us to “give preference to one another in honor.” Paul is telling us to respect one another.

Appreciation is clearly taught in the Bible as well. The clearest expression of this is 1 Thess. 5:12, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction.” We need to express appreciation for those who work hard in the church. Rom. 13:7 tells us to “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” Expressions of appreciation are required for a follower of Christ. They demonstrate a heart of gratitude for the effort someone has expended.

Comfort is something the Bible teaches as well. Don’t take the time to turn to these verses, let me just read them to you and make some comments. In Eccl. 2:24 we read, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it [eating and drinking after hard work] is from the hand of God.” There are two sources of instant, physical comfort for a human being. One of them is food. And God has designed us in such a way as to derive comfort from working hard, and then sitting down to eat and drink as the reward for your labor. In Eccl. 9:9, Solomon addresses the other source of instant comfort when he says, “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life, and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.” Sex is the other source of instant comfort for a human. Again, this is how God has created us, and there is nothing wrong with sexual gratification within the boundaries of marriage. But comfort for a human isn’t limited to food and sex, as we see in 1 Tim. 6:7. “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” Paul goes on in 1 Tim. 4:4-5 to say that “everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

The final issue we will consider is that of success. When Abraham’s servant went on a journey (Gen. 24:12) to find a wife for Isaac, his prayer was, “O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today.” When God was speaking with Joshua right after he took over leadership of the nation of Israel, He said, “be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. In Neh. 2:20 we read Nehemiah’s assertion that, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build. In Eccl. 10:10, Solomon makes the observation that “If the axe is dull and [you do] not sharpen its edge, then [you] must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.” God does not want His children to be failures, He wants us to succeed. Of course, the critical element here is how we define success, but for our purposes we need to understand that when we set out to do something, we need to do it with all our might and for God’s glory. We want to be successful in our endeavors!

So the five idols all humans struggle with are control, respect, appreciation, comfort, and success. Now the reason I took the time to show you that all of these issues are rooted in biblical teaching is to illustrate the first lesson we learned from the life of Rachel. Does anybody remember what it was? Idols are very insidious. That means they are sneaky. They are sly. Doesn’t God’s Word command us “to be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth?” Sure it does. Is that what Rachel was after? Not really. And we can go through this whole list of idols and recognize that the line between idolatry and the legitimate expression of a God-given desire is a very fine line indeed.

As followers of Christ, we are engaged in battle with a very smart enemy. Satan is not stupid. There is a reason why he is the “prince of the power of the air.” He knows precisely how to destroy us, and he does it very surreptitiously. Generally speaking, he doesn’t present us with blatant, overt solicitations to fall down in front of some physical idol made out of gold or silver and start worshipping it. He specializes in the subtle twisting of God’s good. He perverts the legitimate. In simple terms, this means that we can be worshipping an idol and not even realize it because it seems so legitimate.

Turn with me to Mt. 16. I want us to see another example of how this works, this time using none other than Jesus’ closest ally, Peter. Starting in verse 21 we read, “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 [How do you suppose this information sat with Peter? Not very well! Peter had left everything to follow Jesus. He had put all his eggs in the same basket, and now Jesus was telling him that He was about to be executed. Can’t you imagine what is flashing through Peter’s mind as Jesus says this? This is why Peter reacted the way he did.] And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him [can you imagine the chutzpa? That is a Yiddish word that means “shameless audacity], saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

What is going on here? Satan, our clever enemy, was taking Peter’s legitimate devotion to Jesus and twisting it just enough to make it seem noble - when in fact it was diabolical! Can you imagine the tragedy that would have occurred had Peter succeeded in keeping Jesus from the cross? Which was precisely what Satan wanted. Which is why Jesus called his right-hand man “Satan.” And then Jesus labels Peter’s idol – “you are setting you interests on man, not God.” What was Peter the most concerned about? His personal agenda! Beneath the veneer of nobly protecting his Lord we see the real Peter. He had an agenda, and what Jesus was predicting threatened Peter’s plan. Remember our definition of an idol – it is anything we want more than God’s will. And it doesn’t matter how noble what you want is, if it isn’t what God wants, it’s an idol! It was God’s will for Jesus to die. That had been decided before the foundation of the world. There was no other way for mankind to be reconciled to God because there was no other sacrifice capable of meeting God’s standard for justice.

But do you see how clever Satan is? This is the nature of idols of the heart. Let’s do another case study. The Bible teaches quite clearly that children are supposed to respect their parents. Let’s say a father is poking around in the living room looking for the remote. He can’t find it anywhere and is getting very vocal in his frustration. So finally he yells out to his 12 year old daughter in the other room, “Where did you say it was?”. She yells back, “If you’d look with your eyes and not your mouth you’d find it!” Scripture has been violated (Ex. 20:12 and Eph. 6:1-3) and the daughter has committed a pretty serious act of disrespect! What is the dad to do?

Here are two different responses. One response shows the father worshipping an idol, and the other response shows the father worshipping God.

Response #1 - “Suzy, how dare you talk to me like that! If I had spoken to my dad like that he’d have beat me black and blue. Don’t you know that the Bible says you are to honor your father? Nobody speaks to me like that! I work hard six days a week to provide for you and I am constantly giving, giving, giving. The least you could do is show me a little respect as your dad and answer a simple question without running your mouth and being sarcastic.”

Response #2 – “Suzy, could you come see me in the living room for a minute? You know, honey, one of the principles God has built into His universe is the principle of honoring and respecting the people God has put in authority over you. For the rest of your life you are going to be called on to graciously submit to and deal with unreasonable and even ungodly superiors. Your sarcastic response a moment ago shows a tremendous lack of respect for your father, and your behavior not only was offensive to God, but also to me.”

Which of these two responses was idolatrous, and which was godly? The first one was the idolatrous one. What idol was being worshipped? Respect. Maybe appreciation. As humans, we all want to be respected and appreciated. But why am I saying that first response was an idolatrous one? Because of the sinful response. What sinful responses did you see? The anger was pretty obvious, but in addition to that, the response was full of first person pronouns. “How dare you talk to me . . . ,” “nobody speaks to me like that . . . ,” “I work hard . . . ,” “I am constantly giving . . . ,” “show me a little respect . . .” To quote Jesus, this father “was setting his interests on man, not God.”

Contrast this with the second response, which was all about God. Did you notice how the father drew his daughter’s attention away from the personal offense (which is legitimate) and to the God offense? The second response was all about God, not man. In addition to this, the second response draws the daughter’s attention to large principles and away from temporal circumstances. Respect for authority is what is at stake here, not the father’s personal hurt. There is something much bigger at stake than the father’s feelings – which was exactly what Jesus did with Peter. God’s plan for the redemption of mankind was so much larger than Peter’s plan to protect his Rabbi.

Now, this leads us to a critical point. We know idols are insidious. We know our adversary is a master at twisting the legitimate into idolatry. But how does one know if his actions are legitimate or idolatry? How do we know if we are fulfilling the biblical principle of control, or if we are worshipping the idol of control? How do we know if we are appropriately expecting appreciation for something accomplished, or worshipping the idol of appreciation? There are two ways to figure it out. If I am sinning to get what I want, or if I sin when I don’t get what I want, then I am involved in idolatry. Does that make sense? If I sin to get my control, or appreciation, or comfort, or success, or respect – then I am worshipping the idol. Or if I sin when I don’t get control or appreciation or success, then again, I am worshipping the idol.

Peter sinfully exalted his agenda over God’s agenda. Rachel responded sinfully to her barrenness by blaming her husband and stealing the household idols. The father in our illustration responded to his daughter’s disrespect with sinful, self-focused anger.

Now that we know what the idols are and how we can identify them, let’s continue to ask God to do a powerful work in our lives this week as we deal with idols of the heart.