Our Need to Worship

Believe it or not, idolatry comes naturally to all of us. Why? Because we must worship, and we will worship. Even as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the human soul. The human soul always will find an object of worship, either on the shelf or on the altar or in the mirror or in Heaven. But we will find something to worship, because we are idolaters.

Maybe we don’t give these gods the names they were once given, like Dagon or Baal or Zeus or Thor, but they are gods nonetheless. An idol or false god is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. And know this: everyone has a god—even atheists.

When someone comes up with their own version of God, that is worshipping a false god as well. Making statements like, “Well, I don’t believe in a God who would. . . .” is creating your own god, and that is idolatry.

The Bible warns us, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (1 John 5:21). But why would we worship an object or a thing or something else instead of the true God? Because in our minds, it gives us control. In his book, Words from the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the Ten Commandments, R. Albert Mohler wrote, “Idols imply control—human control. . . . We will devise our own worship because we have devised our own god.”

An idol or false god is whatever you get excited about, whatever you are passionate about. People get excited about a lot of things. They may not call these things their gods, but in effect they are. What is the focus of your life? That, for all practical purposes, is your god.