Are you bowing down to any modern day idols?
We’re going to take a look at some of the modern day idols that we sometimes bow down to without even realizing it, especially when it happens in church.
This may not be your favorite topic, but once in a while we need to talk an honest look at ourselves and get rid of the things that keep us from a complete relationship with God.
This week, my guest is Jake Dobernez, host of the Smashing Idols Podcast.
I asked Jake: What is God doing in your life right now?
He’s building out his business Theophony Media and his biggest blessing is the way God had been connecting with people who are helping to build the Kingdom all over the world.
Smashing Idols Podcast
I asked: What got you interested in smashing idols on your podcast?
Jake wants to make worshiping God practical. He had an experience in Guatemala where he saw a Mayan god right next to a statue of Jesus. It gave him a lot to think about and he realized he had a lot of idols in his mind, which he defines as things that pile up in front of Jesus and hide him from us.
I asked if we have ever made an idol out of Jesus?
Jake responded that we have often made an idol out of our concept of Jesus. We try to turn Jesus into what we want him to be, to fit in our own personal perspective. We need to get to know who Jesus really is instead of just our personal opinions about him
How do we quit doing that to Jesus?
Jake thinks it really important to read the Bible in community and to experience Jesus not just by ourselves, but in community, how other cultures see Jesus.
It’s also important to see how people down through history have seen and experienced Jesus.
One thing that’s helped me get a better understanding of who Jesus is comes from putting his teachings into practice.
Facing opposition
I asked: How do you deal with people who don’t like the fact you’re smashing some of the idols you’re believing in?
Jake said one of the biggest idols he smashes is the political party mindset that thinks they are 100% right and the other party is completely wrong. People don’t like that and push back against it.
Society wants you to choose a side. But Jake is trying not to take sides and just be objective. He has learned to ask questions and listen to someone who disagrees with him or gets upset because he points out they’ve made an idol out of their beliefs.
Why do people make modern day idols?
I asked: What is it in the human nature that wants to have an idol?
Jake says at the bottom of it all is that we want to be in control of things. So we make an idol out of something that makes us feel like we’re in control.
He referred to the golden calf the Israelites made after they came out of Egypt when Moses was on the top of the mountain for so long. They wanted something tangible they could look at and refer to that gave them a sense of security.
We talked about Nebuchadnezzar wanting to control the people by creating a golden stature he forced them to bow down to.
Some of our modern day idols
What are some of the modern day idols we bow down to?
Jake is convinced that “efficiency” has become an idol in the modern world. It’s all about saving the most time and money. And this has been adopted in our churches. But it sometimes turns into taking a shortcut and people and relationships get run over in the process.
The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar is a good example of this. Sarah tells Abraham to take a short cut, to be efficient, in getting an heir to Abraham’s blessing. It did not turn out pretty. Sarah didn’t trust God’s process and wanted to be in control.
Another arena for idols in today’s world is “politics.” We have made an idol out of politics because we think the government will take care of everything and we forget about, or are distracted from, taking care of things in our neighborhood.
We think politics is going to save us, but then we quit trusting God, or don’t do our part to love and take care of those in need, who we can take care of. When you make an idol of politics, it often defers your own Christian opportunity to help your fellow man.
Idol worship in the ancient world was a transactional relationship.
People didn’t love their idols. God wants a relationship with us, but not a transactional relationship.
Some people have made an idol out of their theology.
How do we stop?
I asked: How do we become aware that we’ve made modern day idols of something and how do we stop doing it?
If you notice that there’s something you really don’t want to stop, like binge watching a show on TV, or doom scrolling on social media.
What is shaping you? What are so wrapped up in that you don’t want to stop? When you’re wrapped up in idols, it changes your heart.
You can only serve one master.
If the fruit in your life has stopped being love , joy, peace, patience etc. then you probably have an idol in your life.
It’s harder to actually smash the idols we find in our lives. It takes a lot of spiritual renovation. Get back to the basics of what Jesus said to do. You have to replace things with Christ and our relationship with God.
Nine times out of ten, you need to do this with help, a coach, a mentor, a community. When you’ve made an idol out of something and it’s got a grip on you, you need help to break free.
Back to the issue of idols controlling us, Jake says that we may think we’re pulling the puppet strings but it’s actually us who are on the puppet strings
Whenever you feel controlled by something, you may have made an idol out of it.
Modern day idols in church
What are some of the idols we bow down to in church?
Jake says that sometimes churches make an idol out of wanting to be the best and biggest church. There’s nothing wrong with being a large church. But it’s about using the world’s ways and means, which can become an idol.
Sometimes God may want your church to do something huge, but sometimes it’s about the little things done with love in your heart for God that are more important.
Don’t get off track by trying to be the biggest and the best church, by the world’s standards. Keep your focus on what God wants you to do and following Jesus in ministering to those in need.
I asked: What were some of the idols that Jesus tried to smash
Jake referred to a book he enjoyed by Dr. Malcolm Foley, The Anti-Greed Gospel* which says we can’t escape what Jesus says about money and greed, and how the wealthy handle things in life.
Jesus tells the story of Lazarus a poor man who is at the gate of the rich man, but the rich man didn’t even notice or do anything to help him.
The idol of money was one that Jesus smashed over and over.
Smashing idols in the Bible
I asked: Are there any other stories in the Bible that help you and the people you work with detect and smash idols?
Jake mentioned the time the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joshua. Joshua wanted to know if the angel was on his side of the opposing army’s side. The angel said he was on God’s side. Jake makes the point that sometimes we make an idol out of our opinions, our side of the issue. Instead, we need to choose God’s side.
What does it mean to be on God’s side in our lives?
I asked Jake if his podcast, Smashing Idols, has helped and impacted people.
The feedback he gets is that people have realized they don’t have to go along with all the man-made doctrines they were taught in their churches and that all they need to focus on following Jesus.
It has helped a lot of people realize they’re not alone in just wanting to get back to following Jesus and not getting caught up in what other people say.
Jake concluded by saying that there are times when we have to make choices in life. We can’t follow the world and Christ. We can’t serve a materialistic way of life and God. We need to serve God and follow Christ.
Three final questions:
- If you could talk to any Bible character other than Jesus, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Jake said he’d like to talk to Solomon and ask How are you so wise and made such bad choices, like how many wives he had.
- Is there any Bible character you especially identify with?
Jake identifies with Gideon because of his doubts and having to learn to trust God instead of his own abilities.
- This podcast is about getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus. How would you describe Jesus’s original message of how he wanted us to live our lives?
Jesus was calling us into a unique community which was a sneak peek into what the kingdom of heaven on earth can be like. It’s in this community he wants us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves, and through that action, rather than through other actions, we are to reform and change the world.
Photo Credit: Alexander Grey
* Amazon affiliate link
Jake Doberenz is a writer, speaker, and podcast producer who just wants people to focus on Jesus—not all the other stuff. He hosts The Smashing Idols Podcast. Jake is the founder of Theophany Media, where he produces podcasts for faith-based businesses and nonprofits.
He writes both Christian non-fiction—as well as a middle grade fiction series. Jake holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies with a minor in Communication Studies and a Master of Theological Studies from Oklahoma Christian University. Sometimes he’s partnering with other ministries or crafting his own meaningful content. Jake is all about helping people live a deeper, more Jesus-centered faith.
Jake Doberenz info:
Website: jakedoberenz.com/
Podcast and newsletter: jakedoberenz.substack.com/
Theophany Media, podcast production company: theophanymedia.com
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Exodus 20:4, 5 NIV
4 You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
Judges 6:25-28 NIV
25 That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
Exodus 32:3, 4 NIV
3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[fn] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Daniel 3:1 NIV
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Matthew 6:24 NIV
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.
Galatians 5:22 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
