Are we still making golden idols?

Whenever I read the account of the golden calf, so shortly after the Israelites left Egypt, it always deeply saddens me. 'Don't they know what they have seen?' the wondrous, powerful, and let's face it, kinda scary acts of God that got them out of Egypt (the 10 plagues), freed them from Egypt (the parting of the seas and wiping out of the army) and helped them travel through the land (pillars of smoke and fire). Wow, just wow!

But when Moses had a bit of time with God on the mountain they reverted to something more familiar and managable-they created the golden calf, they worshipped the calf, they let go of the true God.

While it might seem like the issue raised in the title has no relevance left, I believe that we can still make our own idols of God in our hearts. Let's explore further.

What they believed about this idol was not completely different from the God they knew, they described it as the God who brought them out of Egypt, they understood something about God which they were happy with, they knew God had brought them out of Egypt, but something for them was missing, once Moses was away from them for a while, their minds wandered. Basically....

...they made God into something that he wasn't to fit their understanding of reality.

They changed him to something that they could understand, they could control, they set the boundaries, they made the claims. Things didn't go as they expected, Moses was longer, what were they waiting for? "We don't know what has happened to Moses or his God, so we will make our own version of the God who brought us out of Egypt".

'These are your god's, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' (Exodus 32:8c, NIV 1984)

We can be like this. When God doesn't do or say what we want, doesn't meet our expectations, challenges our views and/or our cultural settings, we don't always think to simply reject God, so we create an idol.

We turn God into something more manageable. We make an idol of God in our hearts based on some truths but add what makes him seem more tangible to us. I can't worship a God who judges sin, so the God that sent Jesus is only loving and nice -perhaps that is your idol. Perhaps your idol of God makes you feel like you can condemn everyone, pointing the finger while you remain righteous? Perhaps your God idol simply ignores parts of scripture which challenge your own ideals, so you simply carve your own image of God and chop off the bits that you disagree with so make him, exactly what you want him to be. Maybe you are waiting for God for something, or can't see him in something, so you start to fill in the gaps yourself.

This can happen very broadly, where our understanding of God generally can change to fit our views or we limit God (only a God of love not wrath, a God of grace and ignoring the fear of the Lord, God the Father, not God the perfect judge). But this can also happen with more of the details, specific areas of theology, morals and ethics.

We create idols of God when we make God into a shape that we prefer, that is easier or more comfortable, more popular....or even unpopular.

If you want to be empowered you need to look at God as he really is, that includes the difficult, the challenging, even controversial aspects of who he is. It might very well take a long time to get your head around it, and maybe there are things you will never fully understand, but then, he is God, why should we expect to fully understand him? He reveals himself, we can embrace it, or reject it or make up our own version. But making up our own version is just a different form of rejection.

If you have ever had a 'friend' who only accepted you when you wore the clothes or makeup they wanted, or when you listened to the music they preferred etc. then you know what I am talking about.

God won't change to fit what we want, He is who He is. If He changed, He would become less than perfect. Remember, he is the potter; we are the clay. When we make God into something that fits our views and fits what we can comprehend, then we are making ourselves the potters, and treating God like he is the clay-and remaking the golden calf.