Tearing Down Idols

Lately when reading about the Old Testament kings I find myself holding my breath a little. Each time there’s a new king introduced I have fingers crossed and…wait for it…he did…drum roll…”evil in the sight of the Lord”. Ah man! It was getting downright discouraging to keep reading about king after king that just completely forgot about God and did evil. Until, there was King Josiah.

In 2 Kings 22 it says he came to rule in Judah when he was only 8 years old. Verse 2 is like a breath of fresh air. “He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.” That is such a powerful statement. Chapter 23 explains how Josiah removed all the places of idol worship in the Lord’s temple including the Asherah pole, and the places used to house the people defiling the temple. He then went to different towns tearing down shrines and executing priests practicing idolatry. He got rid of the mediums and psychics. He tore down shrines that were being used to sacrifice children to the god Molech. He was determined to rid Judah of idolatry and bring the people back to following God’s law.

I began to chew on this portion of scripture and really meditate on it. I began to think, “What are the idols in my life? What idols am I hanging on to that are hindering me from pleasing God? What things in my life cause conflict when I try to do the right thing?” For me I immediately thought of something I had recently dealt with. It was a tv show.

I had a tv show that I absolutely loved. The term die hard fan probably wasn’t a good enough description. The time that show came on was blocked out. I’m not taking any phone calls and we must be home way before it came on. I even had special snacks just for those nights. To take my fandom a step further, I would sometimes stay up late to watch the youtube recap show or I’d watch it first thing the next day. I was on sites looking for spoilers and Facebook fan pages scrolling through comments. Even writing this I realize to the extent I became a type of show “stalker”. This show became my Asherah pole. I was bowing down to this program and making it a type of god in my life. I wasn't seeking God with the same fervor and tenacity as I did this show. I watched that program for years, but it wasn’t until I sought to get closer to God, that I realized it wasn’t good to watch. The closer I got to the light (God), the more I was aware of the darkness (sin) I was watching. 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” To God, darkness and light can not coexist.

I took a cue from Josiah. The bible says when he tore those shrines and idols down, he burned them. He burned all those ungodly things so they couldn’t reappear. There are things in my life that needed to be burned, not just taken down. I may not be able to physically burn those things out of my life, but I can have purposeful actions that represent the same thing. For me, that was removing myself from fan pages and purposely staying away from that channel before the program came on so I wasn’t tempted. For a while I thought that was enough, but I would still read the recaps of episodes online. It was the same as watching. The bible is clear on this. You may not have committed adultery, but if you looked lustfully on a person it’s the same as committing the act. (Matt 5:28) To this day I still don’t know how the season finale ended because I finally stopped searching anything related to the show.

So, where do you begin? How can you tear down idols? I believe the first thing is to not ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Those feelings of “Nope, don't watch that. Don’t go to that place.” aren’t just random thoughts. That is the work of the Spirit trying to lead us away from darkness and into the light. The more we listen the more natural it becomes.

Next, it’s good to ask God to show you anything in your life that’s an idol or doesn’t belong. Don’t worry. God will not show you so many things you start to feel condemned, overwhelmed, and give up. Remember He is a good Father and a good Father only gives what His children are ready to handle. I have dealt with that one tv show, but be assured that’s only one thing on a list of many to go. God is long-suffering!

Last, but equally important, is spending time in the bible. How can I know what's wrong and right? It's in the book! Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."

Ultimately, I hope to be more like King Josiah and seek to do what is right and never turn from that. I want to always be willing for God to point out the idols in my life and start to tear them down.