Idols Are Anything We Put Before God
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Acts 19:23-26
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.
26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all…”
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Idolatry is a State of Being
Acts Chapter 19 talks about Paul’s time traveling through what today is Western Turkey, the city of Ephesus. In Paul’s time, Ephesus had been a very important city in Hellenistic culture. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis.
Artemis is an Ancient Greek goddess, the sister of Apollo. Her temple in Ephesus was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, along with the Egyptian pyramids at Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and so on.
In Ancient Greek culture, priests, and others who could afford to, traveled to various sites along the Mediterranean to visit important temples, such as the Oracle at Delphi. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus would have been one such tourist destination.
Visitors to the temple would have come to worship, and may have wanted to pick up a souvenir or two to commemorate their visit. The Temple of Artemis had been funded and built by the city itself – likely in part to attract such visitors.
This is where the silversmiths and their shrines come into the story. Paul is in Ephesus starting an early Church there. In Acts Chapter 19, by the time we come to the passage we’re reading together today, Paul has been preaching in Ephesus for about two years.
After Paul has been in Ephesus for about two years, those making money by selling silver shrines to Artemis – because remember, the Temple of Artemis is a pilgrimage site to Hellenistic pagans – get upset, because Paul is preaching about God and Jesus.
A riot breaks out. The craftsmen who make these silver shrines to Artemis are all gathered together, and they are upset because Paul is preaching that God is God, and God doesn’t live in any shrine, that God is bigger than that. The craftsmen get upset:
Acts 19:27-29: “There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar.” WHY DOES EPHESUS END UP “IN AN UPROAR?” BECAUSE WHAT PAUL PREACHES OFFENDS TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.
FIRST, THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST OFFENDS WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE. BUT SECOND – AND JUST AS IMPORTANT IN THIS STORY FROM ACTS – THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST HITS PEOPLE IN THEIR POCKETBOOKS. IT AFFECTS THEIR MONEY.
The silversmiths, those making and selling shrines to Artemis, are concerned that their goddess is being spoken against, for sure. But notice that what draws them together in the first place is the money they make by selling those shrines.
“We receive a good income from this business,” is the first thing said when they are gathered together. Then a few verses later “there is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited…”
Only then is the goddess herself mentioned “and the goddess herself… will be robbed of her divine majesty.” Note the order in which the rioting mob states their concerns. First, we will lose money. Second, the temple may not attract so many people. Third, the goddess herself.
“There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself… will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
FIRST THE INCOME OF THE CRAFTSMEN (“OUR TRADE”), SECOND THE TOURIST ATTRACTION OF THE TEMPLE (“THE TEMPLE OF THE GREAT GODDESS”), THEN THIRD AND LASTLY, ARTEMIS (“THE GODDESS HERSELF”). THIS IS THE ORDER OF CONCERN.
NOTE THAT ORDER: FIRST WORLDLY CONCERNS, THEN GOD. THE SCRIPTURE WE’RE GOING TO READ THROUGH TOGETHER TODAY WILL REVERSE IT. BECAUSE IDOLATRY ISN’T JUST WORSHIPING FIGURINES. IT’S ANYTHING THAT TAKES THE PLACE OF GOD.
“Preacher Pete,” you might say. “The people in this story from Acts are worshiping silver shrines to a false God. This sort of idolatry is a thing of the past. It doesn’t apply to us now.” Remember the first of the ten commandments: “have no other Gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
“HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.” It’s less about what we WORSHIP, and more about what we MAKE INTO GOD. There are three lessons in this passage from Acts: WHAT WE WORSHIP, HOW WE WORSHIP, AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET CLOSER TO GOD.
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1_Follow the Money (and Earthly Reward)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you remember only one thing from our time together, let it be to read the Sermon on the Mount. It’s in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7. In the Sermon on the Mount, you will find this passage, in Matthew 6:24:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS. YOU CANNOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MONEY.
Elsewhere, in Mark 10:25, Jesus teaches “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Why? What is Jesus teaching us when He teaches us about money?
Note what Jesus teaches. He doesn’t say “you cannot have money.” He doesn’t say “if you have money, you can’t be a good person.” But Jesus DOES say YOU CANNOT SERVE MONEY AS YOUR GOD, AND IF YOU DO YOU CANNOT BE RIGHTEOUS.
To me, what Jesus teaches us about money is more broad than simply the amount of dollars you are paid at your work, or the number of dollars in your bank account. Jesus is talking about THE WORLD, more generally. JESUS IS TEACHING ABOUT EARTHLY REWARDS.
Elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about serving the poor and needy, and about how to pray. This is what Jesus teaches, in Matthew 6:1-6: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU.
JESUS TEACHES US HERE AND ELSEWHERE IN THE GOSPELS THAT THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS IS LIKE MONEY. IT CAN BE EARNED IN THIS WORLD, BUT LIKEWISE IT CAN ONLY BE SPENT IN THIS WORLD.
APPROVAL AND MONEY CAN ONLY PURCHASE EARTHLY REWARDS. WHAT DOES JESUS TEACH ABOUT DOING SOMETHING FOR THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS? “TRULY I TELL YOU, THEY HAVE RECIEVED THEIR REWARD IN FULL.”
DO YOU PREFER THE REWARDS OF THIS EARTH? THE APPROVAL OF OTHER PEOPLE? MONEY? YOU CAN FIND IT. IT’S EASY TO GET. BUT THEN YOU WILL HAVE YOUR REWARD IN FULL, INSTEAD OF BEING REWARDED BY GOD. DO YOU SEE?
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2_Service Is a Form of Worship
Does all this talk about Earthly reward versus rewards from God sound familiar? Remember a few weeks ago when we talked about earthly treasures and heavenly treasures? Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This passage is about where your heart lies. If your heart is bound up in earthly treasures – money, material things, etc – then it is subject to the same decay as those earthly things. If your heart is bound up here in this world, it will rot away, like material things do.
If, on the other hand, your heart is tied to heavenly treasures – such as serving others – then your heart is stored with God, and it is safe. Jesus is teaching the exact same thing when he teaches us about “earthly rewards:” you will receive your reward in full.
Matthew, Chapter 25:42-45:
42 “‘I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“WHATEVER YOU DID NOT DO FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME.” MATTHEW 25:45. SERVING THOSE IN NEED IS SERVING JESUS HIMSELF. NOT SERVING THOSE IN NEED IS REJECTING JESUS HIMSELF.
JESUS TEACHES US TIME AND AGAIN THAT TO SERVE OTHERS HERE IN THIS WORLD IS TO SERVE GOD HIMSELF. THIS IS HOW WE “STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN.” THIS IS HOW WE RELY ON GOD TO REWARD US, NOT OTHER PEOPLE.
THIS WORLD IS A WORLD IN WHICH WE HUMANS CAN FOOL OURSELVES INTO THINKING WE HAVE BLESSED OURSELVES. THAT WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST. WE LOOK AROUND AND SEE THE WORLD AS WE THINK WE HUMANS HAVE MADE IT, NOT AS A GIFT FROM GOD.
We see our cities and our indoor plumbing and all the plunder we take home from the shops after payday and we look around at our stuff and our lives and we fool ourselves into thinking “LOOK AT ALL THESE BLESSINGS THAT I HAVE CREATED! THAT I HAVE GIVEN MYSELF!”
I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN NOW: MY VERSION OF HELL IS A PLACE WHERE I GET WHATEVER I THINK I WANT. IN FACT, THIS IS A WORLD I SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF MY ADULT LIFE LIVING IN DURING MY DPSW, MY DARK PERIOD OF SELF-WILL.
John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist faith, points out the following about this verse in one of his sermons. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… This is a flat, positive command; full and as clear as ‘do not commit adultery.’”
Does Jesus say we should have no material things at all? No. Notice how specific His language is here: DO NOT STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES ON EARTH. Have things. But don’t have more than you need. DO NOT STORE UP. DO NOT HOARD. INSTEAD, GIVE.
WHAT IS STORED UP WITH THE TREASURE MUST ALSO FARE AS THE TREASURE ITSELF. IN OTHER WORDS, THE HEART THAT HAUNTS THE SAME TREASURE-HOUSE AS THE MOTH WILL ALSO BECOME MOTH-EATEN, AND PERISH.
“FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO.” WHAT THIS SAYS IS ALMOST BEYOND WORDS IN ITS IMPORTANCE. IF YOUR HEART IS WITH WORLDLY THINGS AND NOT IN HEAVEN, THEN YOU YOURSELF WILL ROT AWAY WITH THE WORLD.
AND MAKE NO MISTAKE: THIS DOES NOT ONLY APPLY TO WORLDLY POSSESSIONS, LIKE MY MOTH-EATEN CLOTHING. IT APPLIES TO ALL THE TREASURES WE STORE UP OF THIS EARTH. THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS. SOCIAL STANDING. EARTHLY POWER.
IF THESE THINGS HOLD OUR HEART, IF WE CARE ABOUT THEM MORE THAN GOD, THEN OUR SOULS ARE ROTTING HERE AND NOW, IN THIS VERY ROOM. MOTHS ARE EATING AWAY AT OUR HEARTS. OUR VERY SELVES WILL NOT ENDURE. WE WILL PERISH.
George MacDonald, one my all-time favorite preachers, says it this way in one of his sermons: “Nor does the lesson apply to those only who worship [money]… it applies to those equally who in any way worship the transitory.
Those who seek the praise of men more than the praise of God; who would make a show in the world by wealth, by taste, by intellect, by power, by art, by genius of any kind, and so would gather golden opinions to be treasured in a storehouse of earth.”
IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE WORLDLY POSSESSIONS BUT WE ALWAYS PUT THEM BENEATH GOD, IF WE GIVE AWAY WHAT EXTRA WE HAVE TO THOSE IN NEED, IF WE TREAT THOSE WITH LESS AS WE WOULD TREAT JESUS HIMSELF, OUR HEART IS SAFE.
Matthew 25:40, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Those who serve others are the righteous. They will inherit the kingdom. They will find eternal life in salvation.
Those who keep to themselves, on the other hand, are the accursed. They will inherit “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” THE DIFFERENCE IS SERVICE. FEEDING THE HUNGRY. WELCOMING STRANGERS. CARING FOR THE SICK.
SERVICE WILL STORE UP FOR US TREASURES IN HEAVEN. IF INSTEAD OF GIVING, WE HOARD WHAT WE HAVE, IF WE KEEP MORE TO OURSELVES THAN WE NEED, OUR VERY SOULS WILL ROT AWAY, LIKE WORLDLY THINGS LEFT TO THE MOTHS.
If, as we are told in Matthew 25, being of service to those in need is the same as serving Jesus Himself, then we are likewise promised to encounter Jesus in such service. In return for service, we find God’s Grace. SERVICE, IN OTHER WORDS, IS A FORM OF WORSHIP.
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3_Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow
Just as sin can be defined as “anything that turns you from God,” so idolatry can be defined as “putting anything before God.” And you will always know idolatrous behavior by the way it attracts Earthly rewards.
2 Peter 2:1-3: “But there will be false teachers among you… in their greed these teachers will exploit you.” Just like the silversmiths creating shrines to Artemis at the temple in Ephesus, idolatry is always connected to Earthly rewards.
But this is where we have a great opportunity to grow spiritually. Idolatry is about putting earthly things above God: money, material things, the approval of others, and so on. So what happens if we reserve that?
Think of what you do as a circuit with three connection points. Obviously, there is you: you yourself are one of the connection points. Vertically above you is God. And horizontally around you are other people and the world in general.
ALL BEHAVIOR THAT STARTS AND ENDS WITH GOD IS RIGHTEOUS. AND ALL BEHAVIOR THAT STARTS OR ENDS WITH EARTHLY REWARDS IS BAD. IF WE LOVE UP TO GOD TO LOVE OUT TO OTHERS, THAT IS GOOD. LIKEWISE IF WE LOVE OUT TO LOVE UP.
IF WE SOW HATRED OUT TO OTHERS, THAT WOULD BE BAD. BUT IT GETS MORE COMPLICATED THAN JUST DOING SOMETHING THAT’S OBVIOUSLY WRONG. SOMETIMES, EVEN DOING THINGS THAT SEEM GOOD CAN BE BAD, IF DONE FOR EARTHLY REWARD.
WHAT IF WE SHOW OUTWARD SIGNS OF LOVE, BUT ONLY TO IMPRESS OTHERS… IS THAT BAD? IF, FOR EXAMPLE, WE GIVE TO THE POOR IN A VERY LOUD, PUBLIC MANNER? GOOD, OR BAD?
Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount that this is bad. Why? Isn’t giving to the poor a good thing? It most certainly is, but not if we do it for the wrong reasons. “Preacher Pete,” you might say. “You’ve been telling us all along it’s GOOD to serve others. What gives?”
This is not as confusing as it might seem. Can we serve others with the love of God in our hearts? Yes, and that is good. Can we HATE OR JUDGE others with the love of God in our hearts? No, that is literally not possible.
NOW: CAN WE APPEAR TO SERVE OTHERS, BUT DO SO ONLY FOR EARTHLY REWARD? MOST CERTAINLY. AND THIS IS IDOLATRY. THIS IS PUTTING THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS BEFORE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
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Humility Always Wins
These concepts can get a little bit sticky when trying to work through them together. But to me, it can also be very simple. Each of us has the capacity to follow our own Self-Will, and likewise the capacity to seek out and follow God’s Will. This is the human condition in summary.
Our Self-Will – our ego, if you prefer that term – wants to be gratified by Earthly rewards. It is only natural to want to pursue wealth, material comforts, the approval of others, and so on. But remember that EGO also stands for Edging God Out.
When we live in a state of Self-Will, in a state of Edging God Out, we start to mistake ourselves as the source of the blessings of our life. “I’m comfortable because I work hard.” “I’m healthy because I eat well.” “I’m happy because I’m well-liked.”
And indeed, we ALL feel that way from time to time. But we have to remember to complete the circuit of those feelings back to God. “I’m MORE healthy than I would be otherwise because I eat well – PRAISE GOD for my body, and its health, and this abundant creation to nourish it.”
THIS IS THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH FROM TODAY’S READING. REMEMBER: EARTHLY REWARDS ARE NO REAL REWARDS AT ALL. SERVICE IS A FORM OF WORSHIP. AND HUMILITY COMES FROM STARTING AND ENDING WITH GOD.
IT’S ACTUALLY FAIRLY SIMPLE WHEN PUT INTO PRACTICE. YOU DO SOMETHING TO EARN APPROVAL FROM OTHERS? PRAISE GOD. YOU GET A RAISE AT YOUR JOB? PRAISE GOD. WATER COMES OUT OF YOUR SHOWER HEAD IN THE MORNING? PRAISE GOD.
AND THEN, BECAUSE WE’RE PRAISING GOD ALL THE TIME, THAT PRAISE WILL FLOW OUT OF US LIKE THE LOVE OF GOD FLOWING INTO OUR HEARTS. WHEN WE SERVE OTHERS, WE WILL BE DOING IT TO PRAISE GOD, NOT OURSELVES.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Christianity to me is its focus on humility. On right-sizing our human selves in comparison to the majesty that is our God. In realizing that all we have that’s good comes from God, not from human-created rewards.
Humility is often achieved simply by getting ourselves out of the way. Setting our EGOs aside, so that we can see around those EGOs to the truth that is the world: that everything around us, all the time, is a blessing that comes from God.
