Cultural Idolatry

Earlier this week, my theology professor said this phrase, cultural idolatry.  Immediately after he said it I scrambled to type it in my notes and write it by hand on my notebook.  Cultural idolatry.  Let it sink in.  Take a second and read it again: cultural idolatry.

Not only was the exact phrase I was looking for to describe the churched world I encounter.  It was also profoundly convicting.  Immediately I realized, if only the iceberg's tip, that I so easily fall prey to idolatry in this subtle though subversive form.  By the time I got home, I was reeling.  I couldn't sleep.  Until slumber took over, life began to unravel as the recognition of cultural idolatry showed itself all over.

Think of all the prejudices and preferences that have such weight in our lives, often rendering us impotent to the Gospel and to loving people as Christ has loved us.  I can think of the tension of tradition.  This is not to discredit the value of traditions.  But if those traditions prevent the church from worshiping in the Spirit or committing to the Word, then they are idolatrous and need to be removed.

As a worship leader, I often run into the tension between genre preferences in worship music, as if God actually cared whether we played the organ or guitar!?!  This is idolatry, plain and simple.  Anytime we let our preferences dictate or hinder our freedom to worship God in all Spirit and truth or limit our energy and excitement for worshiping God Almighty, we are committing idolatry. There is no other way to put it.

As Christians, we need to be vigilant to expunge even any semblance of idolatry.  God's first commandment is a direction against idolatry.  We should, thus, take it seriously and acknowledge how easily idolatry, even cultural idolatry, can infiltrate the church.  Let us then always be on guard against cultural idolatry in its many pervasive and dangerous forms.

Does What We Advertise Match What We Sell?

For over a year, the business trip had been on Denise's calendar.  Yet, two days before she was set to take off, she realized that her dress clothes were in serious need of dry cleaning.  Denise knew of a same-day dry cleaning place on the other side town, os she packed up her clothes and headed over.  Outside of the cleaners was a huge, neon sign, "One-Hour Dry Cleaning."

After filling out the tag and handing the clerk her dress frocks and asked for confirmation, "So, I'll be back in an hour for these."  The tiny lady behind the counter looked up through her thick, wire-rimmed glasses, "No, I can't get to these until next Thursday."

Denise replied, "But I thought you guys did one-hour dry cleaning?"  The clerk looked at Denise with a sly grin that spoke of her frustration at yet another customer missing the point, "No.  That's just the name of the store.  We don't actually do that!"

To many, Christianity is the just a title that many people claim but few actually live.  However, when someone looks into our hearts to see the goods, will they see real Christianity, or will they realize that our Christianity is just a nice mask to get us in with the right crowds.

But Christianity is much more than listening to Christian music, reading the latest Christian authors, voting the right way, or even speaking the right lingo.  Instead, being a Christian is about obeying the Commandments of Christ, keeping them with discipline and loving God and our neighbors.  Thus, if we commit to this, then when people look into our hearts, the identities and testimonies we put out for the public will be confirmed as true.