Understanding Idolatry and Worship in Simple Words
When you hear the word “idolatry,” you might picture people bowing before statues or strange objects in faraway places. While that’s one kind of idolatry, the Bible warns us that idolatry goes deeper than just worshiping obvious idols.
The second commandment in the Bible says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” This isn’t just about worshiping other gods, but also about how we worship the one true God.
What does this mean? It means God doesn’t want us to use images, statues, or pictures to help us worship Him—even if they remind us of Him. That’s because any image or picture we make will always fall short. It can’t truly show who God is or what He is like.
Why Images Are Dangerous
Images or statues might seem like they help us focus on God, but the Bible teaches they can actually do harm. Here’s why:
· Images obscure God’s glory. No matter how beautiful an image is, it can never show how wonderful and powerful God truly is. Instead, it limits our idea of Him.
· Images can give us false ideas about God. If we use a statue or picture, we might start to think of God as being just like that image, which is not true to who He is.
· Even mental images—just imagining God in our minds as a certain kind of person or thing—can be a form of idolatry. God is greater than anything we can imagine or create.
The Right Way to Know God
So, how should we think about God? The Bible says we should get our ideas about God from what He has told us in His Word, not from our own imagination or from things we see around us. God is beyond anything we could picture, and He wants us to trust what He says about Himself in the Bible.
God showed us who He really is by sending Jesus. If we want to know the truth about God, we should look at Jesus—His life, His words, and His actions. This is how we can know the only true God.
The Big Question
Are you worshiping the God of the Bible—the only true God—or are you trusting in your own ideas or images? The real God is not found in things we make or imagine, but in Jesus Christ and what the Bible says about Him. To know God is to know Jesus, and this is the heart of eternal life.
In simple terms: Don’t settle for manmade images, statues, or even your own ideas of what God is like. Instead, listen to what God has said about Himself in the Bible, and look to Jesus to truly know the only true God.
afrancinegreen.com 