What does it mean to have an 'idol'?

[TopazRaven]

Yet another one of my strange questions. Anyway, here I'm going to ask you guys. what exactly does it mean to have an idol? We are warned against it plenty of times in the Bible, but the exact meaning kind of escapes me. For I am not the sharpest end of the stick. Do they simply mean we should never worship anyone or anything, but God? Or does this literally warn about being as some would say 'obessed' with something or really liking something (I've heard some people suggest this, that is why I'm asking). Usually I would say, 'hey, I'm obessed with anime!' or 'I'm obessed with the computer!' In a way it is mildly true, some times I do neglect my duties for the Internet, which I'm going to try and stop doing, but it's not like anime or my computer are the most important things in the world. I do have an Internet addication I'll admit, but like I said, working on that. What about when people are like crazy for a celiberty to or something? Like them crazy Justin Beiber fans, or whatever the heck his name is. Is any of that considered idol worship?

Here I'll go with an example, though a rather crude one. I was reading comments on another website where a non-believer said he thought, ahem, intercourse was amazing. A Christian responded that then that meant sex was his idol...So you can't think something is amazing without it being an idol then? 0.o

[Shao Feng-Li]

Basically, it's anything you love more or as much as God. Loving other things or thinking they're amazing doesn't have to mean they're an idol to you.

[TopazRaven]

Ah, I see. What about your family and friends though? I mean, I love them all so much. 0.o

[Furen]

If you love your family and friends more than God, even if it seems bad, it's wrong (Though this doesn't mean don't love your family, do by all means, just make sure that whatever love you have for them, God sits higher on your priority list [Number one is the only acceptable spot for Him]), God should take priority in life, which I really should listen to...
relations with people, technology, games, books all of them can become idols.

I don't really think of these as it's not part of my denomination of Christianity, but anything you can classify in those seven deadly sins can become Idols.

Pardon if that's a bad example, I don't know much about the SDS's as I don't have any relation to them and don't pay attention.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Those are good things, but you just have to keep God first. And I think it helps us love them all the more when we put God first. If we love God, we'll want our friends and families to also know Him and want His salvation and grow spiritually. What could be more loving than that?

But, if we do put our love of our friends and family above our love for God, they do become an idol. Like, if your best friend whom you love dearly said that she hated God and thought you were a fool for believing in him- if you went along with her in that, you're putting her above God. Also, you're not loving your friend as you ought by going along with those soul destroying ideas. You'd be more of a friend if you stood against her ideas.

[Furen]

You'd be more of a friend if you stood against her ideas.

Agreed, even if they don't think so, it would be much better than agreeing, for you and possibly for your friend.

[TopazRaven]

Point well made. My whole family and my friends all know about my beliefs and I'm happy to say most of them don't put them down. My mom even shares some of my beliefs for the most part. I'd never go along with a friend if she/he said they hated God. That would be pretty terrible. I just can't tell if I love God more then my family. That's pretty bad isn't it?

[Midori]

You're indeed supposed to love God more than your family or anything.
[quote="Luke 14:25-27 (NIV 2010)"]Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “]I think he doesn't mean you should actually hate them, he means you should hold God's calling as more important than your family and your life. Tough messge.

However, we also know that God is Love. If you love your family in the way you truly should, then you will be loving God through that. But if your family tells you to turn away from God...you should know your priorities.

On this matter, I ran across a quote from C.S.Lewis a while back:[quote="C. S. Lewis"]“]

[TopazRaven]

Well, I know I'm not a very good Christian now sadly. I don't think I can say I love God more then my family at this point of my life. More along equal. I'm in trouble. 0.o

[Mr. SmartyPants]

To love other people is to love God. And thus, to love God is to also love people. I don't think it is possible to love (read: agape. Pure selflessness) people more than God because to love at such a degree is essentially embodying Christ.

The only time someone or something becomes an "idol" is when its reflective of your own selfishness and what you want out of it, as well as out of a lack of self-respect. Thus it's no longer love.

Well, I know I'm not a very good Christian now sadly. I don't think I can say I love God more then my family at this point of my life. More along equal. I'm in trouble. 0.o

There's no such thing as "degrees" of Christianity. It's not a system and everyone is a a bad Christian. There is only one Christianity and that is embodying Christ's love but the frequency of that doesn't matter.

You don't need to depreciate yourself. And you're allowed to be patient with yourself. God is patient with you so you are allowed to be patient with yourself too. Don't force yourself into an idealized mold or else you just end up being flaky. Of course at the same time don't use this as an excuse to do whatever wrongs you want to do.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Well, I know I'm not a very good Christian now sadly. I don't think I can say I love God more then my family at this point of my life. More along equal. I'm in trouble. 0.o

Hey, you're growing, just like the rest of us. Not making things into idols is a struggle, like, every moment of the day. It's in our nature not to love God in the first place.

[TopazRaven]

Indeed I am growing. Hopefulling my love for God will become stronger then anything soon enough. Thanks to everyone for all the answers.

[Nanao]

To love other people is to love God. And thus, to love God is to also love people. I don't think it is possible to love (read: agape. Pure selflessness) people more than God because to love at such a degree is essentially embodying Christ.

i completely agree with this. another way to look at it is that we are able to love because He first loved us. so while we need to put God above all else in life, in doing so we actually love the people around us better. take family for example, i love my family dearly (all their quirks included). but my love as an imperfect human is well, imperfect. but when i put God first in my life and place my family second, i am able to love my family more perfectly with the love of God than i could ever do on my own.

deciding on whether or not something is an idol is really between you and God imo. He alone knows your heart. i believe God wants us to have joy, to enjoy this world which he did make "very good." so no, i don't think enjoying something or thinking it's awesome qualifies it as an idol. when it becomes all consuming, then you need to be concerned.

[K. Ayato]

Personal growth as a Christian isn't one-size-fits-all. Some grow and mature at different rates than others. I know it stinks to look around and see other Believers who appear to have it better than you, but try not to let it get to you. You'll reach that level soon .

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Mr. Smarty Pants, are you a professionally trained thief?

Because you stole my thunder =).

MSP says it so well. Heed good words, madam.

[TopazRaven]

Mr. Smarty Pants, are you a professionally trained thief?

Because you stole my thunder =).

MSP says it so well. Heed good words, madam.

Indeed I shall!

[MxCake]

Basically, it's anything you love more or as much as God. Loving other things or thinking they're amazing doesn't have to mean they're an idol to you.

yep thats about it lol

[Hiryu]

Here I'll go with an example, though a rather crude one. I was reading comments on another website where a non-believer said he thought, ahem, intercourse was amazing. A Christian responded that then that meant sex was his idol...So you can't think something is amazing without it being an idol then? 0.o

Well, it is usually meant to be pleasurable, but there are people out there who make it into a lifestyle, which presents many dangers to the person. When you make it out like that, it's like nothing else matters.

Anything can be an idol; God does not like to be treated as "second best." It would be insulting to be placed infront of an object, such as a skateboard or a TV, something infinitely insignificant compared to him. It would be like inviting a respectable person over to your house and feeding him scraps of leftovers on paper plates.

To quote Shao Feng-Li:

Basically, it's anything you love more or as much as God. Loving other things or thinking they're amazing doesn't have to mean they're an idol to you.

[SnoringFrog]

I think all of this has likely been said, but I haven't posted on forums in forever and really want to so I'm gonna say it anyways XD

As far as the Biblical definitions of idols go, I'd say it would be anything that you put above God. Though you likely aren't "worshipping" it in the traditional sense, having it placed above God in your life is essentially the same thing. Of course, if you are literally worshipping some other deity's little statue, then you would definitely have an idol in the more archaic sense lol. For the examples you asked about, they all may or may not be idols: it depends on that person's life with God. If whatever it is they're obsessed with or whatever they find amazing has usurped God in their life, then yeah, it's an idol. If their "obsession" with it doesn't put it above God, then it likely isn't an idol.

Part of the issue stems from stronger words getting tossed around and rendered much weaker from overuse. A word like "obsessed" probably should indicate that something is almost certainly an idol, but from overuse "obsessed" now means little more than "like + 2 points". Thus, it's hard to pick out if a certain person has a certain idol based on just a sentence or two about enjoying it to some degree.

[TopazRaven]

Alright, another quick question for you guys and girls then. Not to dig this thread out of it's grave, but I think this is still close enough to my original post so I won't be completely derailing my own thread. When something is starting to seperate you from God, do you know it? I mean, if it's a person I think that would be easy enough to spot out. I remember hearing a story about a boy in India who converted to Christanity, but didn't want to tell his Hindu parnets as it would apparantly dishonor them and they wouldn't be supportive of his new faith and his pastor told him that he must turn his back on his family then and let nothing seperate him from Christ. So I assume a person who wasn't surrprotive of your faith, tried to stop you from believeing in God or who was leading you into a sinful lifestyle would be seperating you from God. What about objects though? Like say...um, lets use movies? When do you know movies are becoming an idol and/or are seperating you from God? Would it mean like all you care about is movies and you don't care about God or what He thinks anymore? And what about your life? I've heard it said if your life is seperating you from God then you must denounce your life as you must your family if they are seperating you from God. Do they mean your lifestyle or something? How do you denounce your life? By the way, sorry for all the confusion and questions everyone. Any other way, isn't this something we all fall a little short of in least once in life? Likewise, how does one put God first then? I'm expecting this is an answer I need to try and figure out on my own? I am reading the bible and I'm going to go back to chruch, is that a start in least?

[TGJesusfreak]

Do they simply mean we should never worship anyone or anything, but God? Or does this literally warn about being as some would say 'obessed' with something or really liking something (I've heard some people suggest this, that is why I'm asking).

Basically this.

Usually I would say, 'hey, I'm obessed with anime!' or 'I'm obessed with the computer!' In a way it is mildly true, some times I do neglect my duties for the Internet

meh, that might not be considered an idol. I dont see your thoughts. It depends upon what your obligations or convictions are I would guess.

A while ago Video games where my idol, I'd choose them over God any day. Now not so much, but I still struggle with putting other things before God. One thing I have learned is that Jesus is NOT the "cherry on top" in your life. He is your everything, youre only hope for salvation. That's how I think of it. ^^; let me know if this helped at all. XD

[TopazRaven]

It does a little TG. I'm just confused because I can't tell if I'm putting stuff before God or not.

[TGJesusfreak]

It does a little TG. I'm just confused because I can't tell if I'm putting stuff before God or not.

hmmm... well my recomandation would be just to talk to God a bit about it.

as far as any advice I can give. if you want to know if you're living your life for Jesus, then if you felt like it was right, maybe you could devote time out of your day to Jesus. Just you and Him, every morning before you do anything else.
Or maybe you could just question yourself as to what your motives are before you go do something? idk
Just throwin out ideas. ^^; The best thing I can do for you though s to pray for you. So that's what I will do.

[TopazRaven]

Thanks TG! Really though, what motive is there behind coming on the Internet, watching music videos, TV, movies, anime, etc? Obviously simply because we enjoy it. Hm, as for time with just me and Jesus, I talk to him several times throughout the day most of the time (I'll admit not always), but I'll admit I get really side-tracked at times. It's hard for me to pay attention to anything for to long. That was my problem in school. Maybe I was thinking I could start trying to walk my dog in the morning or at night (he's overweight and needs the exercise) and I maybe I can just talk to God the whole time I am walking?

I know all my confusion is because I'm new in my faith, I wish I could just grow in my spirtuality more quickly! Like K. Ayato said it takes some people a day and another years. I mean seriously, what if I die tomorrow or something?

[LadyRushia]

If you're worried that something you like/do is being placed before God, then it's likely that you're not placing it before God.

Here's a slightly different understanding of the word "idol." Anything besides God that you depend upon for your well-being. I can give a personal example of a time when I was doing exactly that.

Once upon a time, I was 16 years old and had this story idea that was The Most Awesomest Story Ever. It was the coolest idea I'd ever thought of at the time and I had stuck with it for over a year. Before then, I'd get bored with stories after a few months. I got to the point where I was fantasizing more about this story making me rich and famous than actually writing. I was seriously planning on it getting published and turned into an anime (you can laugh now) and getting all this money and fandom for it so I wouldn't have to have a real job.

Fast forward to the summer I went to China. I was gonna be entering my senior year of high school soon, so I had to start figuring out my life. Luckily, I had a great plan:

-get into Sarah Lawrence College in New York because it's a famous writing school and that's all they focus on. Even though the acceptance rate was less than 50%, I would get in because I was oh so talented.

-graduate and work for Newtype USA until I finished Most Awesomest Story Ever, got it published, and got famous.

And then God was like "Nope!" My soul was broken for a few weeks (literally), but it was all for the better. See, I'd become very prideful of myself, even though I never displayed it externally. I was also relying on that story i.e. my own abilities to provide me with the things I needed. I'd put my writing above God in the sense that I trusted it more to take care of me than God.

That's how I would define an idol.

EDIT:

Really though, what motive is there behind coming on the Internet, watching music videos, TV, movies, anime, etc? Obviously simply because we enjoy it.

I believe there's more to it than that, although my experiences might just be the result of the way God created me.

Many times, when I'm watching anime or whatever and I come across a theme or a character that reminds me of God or Jesus or Biblical values, I think a lot about it and how God manifested Himself through it. As a writer, I'm a very story oriented person, so I'm constantly analyzing things to see how they work on a narrative level as well as a thematic level. God can and does highlight certain values or characters to me that line up with how He teaches us to live. This goes for all stories in all forms, not just anime. Sure, some might be more rich in this type of thing than others, but I think enjoyment is only a part of what we can get out of them.

[mechana2015]

Thanks TG! Really though, what motive is there behind coming on the Internet, watching music videos, TV, movies, anime, etc? Obviously simply because we enjoy it.

Especially with the internet, I almost never come on just for simple enjoyment. Some of what I do follows under that category, but much of my time encompasses more, such things as learning more about various topics, communicating with people across the world, and being in community with Christians that have similar interests to my own.

I think simple enjoyment is discounting the experiences many people have with both the internet, and other media. Now if you're saying 'I don't need God, I have the internet!' then you might have a problem.

[TopazRaven]

Thanks for pointing that out LadyRushia. I never thought of it that way I have a better understanding now. Now that I think about it, both you and mechana are right though. I'm a bit of a history buff so I'm always looking up stuff on the Internet about that and animals and such. It is nice to talk to others as well considering I don't have many friends off of the computer and no Christian friends yet. Whenever I read a book/watch an anime I also like to look for good moral values in the characters/story plots. Meanwhile, the Internet could never beat God. As much as I might dispair a bit about it at first I could live without the Internet and the Internet can't save me. God gave me life and it is only through Jesus I will be saved if I am.

[SAVEDbyGRACE]

To love other people is to love God. And thus, to love God is to also love people. I don't think it is possible to love (read: agape. Pure selflessness) people more than God because to love at such a degree is essentially embodying Christ.

that's so true!!!