Idols of the Heart - Do You Want to be Made Well?

As we continue to work through the study “How People Change” we come to a chapter examining the idols of our heart.  It is intensely personal and practical.   This past Sunday I shared a quote by Timothy Keller from his book “Counterfeit Gods”.  In it Keller writes that all the misery and evil in the world is rooted in the soil of “the inexorable human drive for “god making”.  Our hearts are “idol factories”.  In our sinful, self-exalting hearts we sadly creative in our ability to exalt people, things and even circumstances to the place of an idol that (we think) provides us “the power, approval, comfort, and security that only God can provide”

So I’ve been thinking about the idols of our hearts, especially the ones that can be hidden or disguised, not readily apparent to us or others.  One that comes to mind is pain and/or suffering.  While on the surface this might seem to be an absurd observation, consider it in light of John 5:1-9.  In this text Jesus asks a question that many would consider uncaring, insulting, even offensive.  He asked a man who has been an invalid for 38 years “do you want to be healed?”

In reality this is a profound and relevant question.  We can love our woundedness and nurture our sickness.  Our suffering can become our source of identity and our means of recognition and affirmation.  This man escaped all responsibility by his sickness.  He did not have to walk, work, or be accountable.  It’s easy to love the self-pity and be anchored in the pity of others.  It’s easy to escape responsibility and accountability in the midst of pain and suffering. 

Puritan Pastor David Clarkson (1622-1686) wrote and preached a sermon entitled Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven.  In it he says,

Pain, suffering and difficult circumstances have become an idol when that is most often the focus of our thinking and the topic of our conversation.  Pain, suffering and difficult circumstances have become an idol of our heart when they have replaced Jesus as our source of identity and approval.  

In this text is an idol of your heart revealed?  If so, cast it down (acknowledge and repent) and take it to the cross.  In Jesus alone is healing.  Only He can say with authority “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” Only Jesus provides the power to activate our crippled hearts and give strength to our broken wills.