“Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
-John Owen

When you hear the word “idolatry,” what comes to mind? If you are anything like me, images of stone, wood, gold, and bronze appear. I picture something crafted by human hands and set inside a shrine or temple. I remember Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fallen before the Ark of the Covenant, head and hands broken off (1 Sam. 5:1-7). If these are the images that come to my mind, they are probably similar to those that come to yours. But surely this cannot be the extent of idolatry? These thoughts seem too primitive yet are foremost in our minds. It looks like this perception of idolatry is, at best, naive, and at worst negligent. Why do our minds immediately turn to archaic, outward expressions of idolatry in a world in which that form rarely exists? We know that other, less obvious forms of idolatry exist, but why are our inward idols so challenging to identify?

I believe this to be the case, not because idolatry is so foreign to us, but because it is so intimately familiar. In other words, I would argue that idolatry is challenging to identify precisely because it is so much a part of our lives. Today, all we imagine are simplistic, archaic forms of idolatry. What we forget is that all of those idols were merely outward expressions of inward realities. For example, I don’t believe the Philistines would have understood Dagon as silly and impotent. That impotent deity structured their way of life in an all-encompassing manner. Dagon represented something very real to them. But, ultimately, gods of stone represent hearts of stone. Thankfully, we have the remarkable prophecy given to Ezekiel in which the Lord declares, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).

Admittedly, idolatry today rarely manifests itself in wooden statues, bronze altars, or statues of Dagon. Instead, those outward representations of idolatry take inward expressions. We worship mammon, power, politics, and success. Our hearts are set on social influence, appearance, and sexual gratification. And all of these things have their outward manifestation. Instead of bronze statues, we build extravagant homes. We no longer hoard treasure in caves, but we invest in IRAs and retirement accounts. At the expense of family discipleship, we attend those optional work meetings. These become the sacred rites and rituals of an idolatrous heart, a false religion, and of false gods. Before we know it, these false gods become what we think will bring us out of bondage and into the Promised Land. Among so many others, these gods result from sinful human nature, and they distract us from worshiping the one true God. Or, in the words of John Calvin, “Man’s heart, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.”

Actively at War
Since this is the case, like the Israelites in the Old Testament, we must constantly be at war against false gods. Even when life is going well, and the idols of our heart seem to be secondary, or worse, rationalized and excused, we should be determined to cast them down. I am reminded of Israel during the peak of its nationhood. Solomon was king, Israel was wealthy, peace was over the land, and the son of David was building altars in the high places for his 300 wives and 700 concubines. But as long as he was still sacrificing to Yahweh, these other secondary gods couldn’t hurt, right?

You might be reading this and feel like you are being unfairly accused of something. Maybe you do not see idolatry in your life. But I would argue that, even if you cannot identify idolatry in your heart at the moment, it is only a matter of time. Or perhaps, it’s merely a matter of knowing how to identify idolatry. The heart of man is a perpetual factory of idols. They will creep into our hearts as they crept up in Israel. Like weeds, they will go unnoticed among the shrubs, but once discovered, you learn the depth and strength of their roots all too late.

For this reason, Christians must be actively at war with the idols attempting to spring up in our hearts. We must always strive to shut the factory down, disable its machinery, and refuse maintenance. Anything less is to show an openness to idolatry. Ask Solomon how that worked out. Thus, we must not allow idols to remain secondary foci of worship. We must not allow room for habitual sins to which we return on occasion. History shows us that these idols will quickly supplant Yahweh and will always be to our detriment.

The Need for Deconstruction
This understanding of the human heart and its propensity for idolatry means that Christians are to be deconstructionists. This term should not be taken in a postmodern way but rather in a biblical way. We are to destroy idols, tear them down, break them to pieces, deconstruct the Tower of Babels in our hearts, and then place Yahweh as the sole recipient of our worship and devotion.

This type of deconstruction was something that King Josiah was known for doing. By the age of eight, Josiah was the King of Judah and had discovered the Book of the Law in the crumbling temple walls. It is important to note that the temple was crumbling because it was being neglected. During Solomon’s reign, he established places of idol worship in the high places, but mainly as secondary deities. By the time of Josiah, the secondary, “harmless” gods had almost entirely replaced the worship of Yahweh. When Josiah read the Law found in the crumbling walls of the temple, he tore his clothes and wept. He recognized the binding covenant between Israel and Yahweh had been broken repeatedly by Israel. His response was one of repentance, and he ordered the high places to be thrown down and for Yahweh worship alone to be reinstated. This is biblical deconstruction.

How to Deconstruct
The first step to casting down the idols in the high places is to identify them. If we cannot identify our idols, how will we be able to wage war against them? If you cannot recognize your enemy, how will you ever defeat him? There is no peace to be had between Yahweh and our idols. Thus, we must point them out, which requires honesty and the illumination of the Scriptures.

However, it is not enough to merely be at war; we must be striving to win. This is the second way to deconstruct our idols. The Vietnam War showed America that fighting without attempting to win is a foolish endeavor. Thus, it means that we must cast down the altars in the high places for good. This isn’t a temporary break or a unique season of dependence on God alone. We don’t tear down our idols when life’s storms arise, only to intend on building them back up in calmer weather. People who do that are effectively participating in a works-based religion. Actual deconstruction is undertaken with permanent intent. Cast down idols with wrecking balls, not with chisels. Of course, we will fail and sin. But we shouldn’t have ready-made accommodations for sin when it arrives.

Putting It All Together
At this point, you may be wondering what this has to do with parenting. I am glad you asked. The reason for this study on idolatry is that there are two important realities to godly parenting. The first is that you cannot remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye while there is a plank in yours (Matt. 7:5). In other words, you cannot worship your secret idols and simultaneously help your children throw down theirs. Your idols must first be confronted and cast down. Godly parenting comes from godly (though far from perfect) men and women.

The second reality of godly parenting is that you must understand the nature of your children’s hearts, or you will merely be pulling the tops off weeds. Roots of idolatry run deep because sin is deep. And, fundamentally, all sin is misplaced worship. Your children will be motivated by the idols they worship in the same way that you are. Thus, a theology of idolatry is fundamental to godly parenting.