The Idol Within


by Penny Chambers

There are idols without and idols within the heart. The idols without are insentient objects, worshipped by non-Christian religions. They have rules and regulations made by man, with a little folk lore thrown in. The adherence to these rules and customs put people into slavery.

The Lord Jesus, when we believe in him and accept him as Lord, changes us by faith and in the heart. As it says in Ephesians 3:17, "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith". Romans 10:9,10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved".

Jesus says in Matthew 12:34, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks". He was actually referring there to what is evil in peoples' hearts, which is what makes a person unclean. Also Mark 7:23.

The heart, how fickle it is!

The Lord Jesus says further in Matthew 6:21, "for where your treasure is there your heart will be also."

Here we have a statement about what are our hearts really doing. What are our hearts attached to? Living with? Thinking about? Making time and space for? Arranging our day around? Are we giving financially, physically, mentally, emotionally to our "treasure"?

As Christians we are led to pray constantly, read our Bibles and hopefully be like the person in Psalm 1. But, what is in our hearts? Do we try and share our hearts with the Lord and another object of our desire? Do we accommodate an idol or idols?

The first commandment is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind". (Matthew 22:37. The second is "to love your neighbour as yourself". Then in Luke 6:27-36 Jesus talks about the love and attitude we are to have towards our enemies. The passage being part of the Sermon on the Mount.

It was when I confessed to the Lord that I didn't love my enemies, except through salvation, and asked the Lord to show me step by step in understanding that he helped me. I was in tears on my knees praying, and the Lord said, "Idols. Idols in the heart".

I realised, because it was a revelation, that I couldn't even obey the first commandment properly, or the second one very well. The original trouble with not "loving my enemies" I couldn't start on until I realised I have to have the desire to be totally sacrificial in my life to the Lord. To love him so completely, to ask for his desires in everything. Only then, when I had understood being "de-throned", and by faith asking the Lord Jesus to reign supreme in my heart (Psalm 119:11; Ephesians 3:17) that all these commandments are possible with his help. But I am not there yet!

The Lord put strongly into my thinking 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, ... " (it's worth reading the whole passage)

I was given more understanding about this. Today with communication in every sphere of life and a total lack of restraint, we see everywhere self love encouraged, nurtured and the pleasure of if confessed with relish. This is the main idol, the Lord revealed to me. The idol of self love and "being lovers of ourselves".

Self love starts with the end of innocence, (Genesis 2:25 and 3:6-10) It doesn't start before. The return to innocence for us is with Jesus, through the cross.

Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." v24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me".

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