Universal Truth
Every man has a god.  Many might try to argue the point and assert that they don’t believe in the notion of a higher power.  They may assert that God is a man-made myth and an indication of weak character, low intelligence, or sick emotions. 

Many of them believe in evolution, claiming that man ascended from lower life forms¹ and advanced to become Homo Sapiens.  They refute the idea of an intelligent creator who intricately designed man with all his mental and emotional complexities, along with the marvels of his human body.²  Not to mention our elaborate environment the earth, and it’ support system, the universe.  They assert the theories of randomness, “The Big Bang Theory,” “survival of the fittest,” and evolution in its many deviant variations.

Many of these conjectures are considered archaic by a majority of today’s leading scientists, yet are still taught in our universities.  One example of an antiquated theory no longer held by any of todays leading scientists is “The Big Bang Theory.”  Another is Randomness, which can be disproved by statistical probability.

There has been suppression of information by today’s leading universities and evolutionists regarding the new study of the “Anthropic Principle.”  This focuses on the earth’s fragile existence and proves evidence of intelligent design and omnipotent supervision.

Therefore, rather one is a hardened evolutionist or a zealous Christian; it is evident that we all share one common thread.  We all have our own belief system.  We believe in many things.  It is by those beliefs that we define everything, and by them that we make our decisions and choices – hence, only referred to as a “Worldview.”   

Belief System
There are those who would argue the point, insisting that they have no beliefs, especially concerning the existence of God.  Some call themselves atheists, emphatically stating that God doesn’t exist.³

The word atheist is Greek and is made up from the word “Theo,” which means god, and “a,” which means non or against.  The word meaning is, “one who does not believe God exists.”  Ironically, we might pose the question; why would someone fight against something they do not believe exist?  We only fight against what we perceive is real, I’ve never met a Dragon fighter, though I’ve heard there are a few individuals that believe they still exist; but the necessity of being a Dragon fighter is believing that dragons do exist in the first place.

Atheist
I understand that the atheist would state that this is a misnomer.  That they are not fighting something they believe exist but they’re fighting a lie that is caustic or dangerous.  Yet, when one honestly examines history concerning those which are true Christians⁴, those that follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as his follower; there has been nothing but positive additions to humanity.  Name me one atheist hospital, none; they were all originally started by Christians.  Of the original universities, all of them were schools of divinity teaching Christianity.  Concerning Charity, over 95% of all charitable activity in the world is done by Christians.  And concerning the allegations of the wrongs done by religion, such as the murder of Jewish babies during the Crusades, or of Hitler’s pronouncement that he was a believer.

Remember my previous qualification; a Christian is one who follows the behaviors of Jesus and his teachings.  The Inquisition, mass murder of the Catholic Church, genocide in Eastern Europe; along with Hitler, the curse age and many other extremist in humanities perpetrated against man; none of them followed the behavior or teachings of Jesus.  They were fraudulent.  And we never used the fraudulent to hold the genuine accountable.  It is simply the only evidence that the atheist, and those opposed to Christianity can attempt to use to validate their presupposition that Christianity is evil.

The atheist might respond that he is only fighting the manmade idea of God.  However, if he is truly obsessed by this mania, close examination may indicate an excessively emotional irrationality, bordering on absurdity.  This same condition is also seen in some cults and even mainline religions.

Agnostic
There are those that call themselves agnostic, which is also a Greek word.  It is taken from the word “nous,” which means understanding or knowledge and “a” which again means non or against.  The word meaning is, “one who does not know of God.”  The agnostic doesn’t say that there is no God, he simply says, if God exists He is not knowable.

The agnostic also asserts that no other person can know God; subsequently all organized religions are erroneous.  The one thing that atheists, agnostics, occultists, spiritualists, religionists, and Christians all share is a belief system.  Their belief system may be, to not believe what others believe, or to not believe anything at all.  They still hold ideals that govern their lives and therefore their actions.  Everyone believes something, even if what they believe is to believe in nothing; or that no one else can believe in what is truly the truth. 

American Idols
In America today we have a tendency to think of a god as a being, something alive, rational, and omnipotent.  The English word “god” means: “Any of various beings conceived of as supernatural and immortal; esp., a man deity,” “An idol,” “A person or thing deified – in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe; Supreme Being.”⁵

An idol is a god because it is worshipped.  It is believed either to be deity itself or to represent deity.

Other cultures openly worship idols, and have a diverse understanding of what the word “god” means.  We Americans have a tendency to believe because of the greatness of our nation, that we are superior to the rest of the world.  No doubt, we are advanced in technology, and are the richest and perhaps freest nation on earth.  Our form of government may be superior, and our military force better-supplied and stronger than most.

However, because of our humanity, freedom, and affluence, we have become materialistic, self-indulgent, and spoiled.  We have chosen to believe Madison Avenue advertising and rationalized our own narcissism.  In doing so, we have accepted many lies that have corrupted our thinking and tainted our objectivity.  We have believed that bigger is better than smaller and newer is superior to older.  That immediate gratification is healthy, and therefore good things are not worth waiting for.  Patience is not ta virtue; it is better to get, than to give.  Life is not all that valuable, if it gets old, get rid of it, and money and things bring heappiness.⁴

Consequently, we have become shallow and blinded to real dangers, unconcerned about issues we deem as unimportant.  We look down upon deep-rooted standards, and cultures that are older and have time-honored values.  As a result, we devalue other civilizations, their ways, and their views as archaic, illiterate, and superstitious.

World Views are Based upon Value – Value Placed in Something
Much of the worlds ethnic groups believe in idols.  An “idol” is defined as: “an image of a god, used as an object of worship,” “Any object of ardent or excessive devotion.”⁵

According to this description an idol can and is anything which we love or place excessive devotion in.

In order to understand this more clearly let’s examine the word “worship” which means: “a service or rite showing reverence for a deity,” “Intense love or admiration.”⁵   the word worship is a cognitive two words: “worth,” with the suffix “ship.”  We know that worth is defined as the value of something.  The suffix ship is defined as: “A word ending that indicates quality, state, status, skill, or collective body. Created by people to expand meaning of words;” therefore the word “worship” means the quality state of something which is expressed.  We give homage by our worship.

Idols, which are objects of our worship, can be: forces, powers, animals, people, animate and inanimate objects, life, and even death.

The point is that anything can be an idol, something we put excessive worth in.  If we agree with the dictionary, and a majority of the world’s population, then we in 21^st century America are unquestionably guilty of idolatry, because of the inordinate value we place in things or people (an unhealthy fixation).

Biblical View
The Bible says,

“For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”⁷

The Bible also says,

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”⁸

The Scriptures equates idolatry with covetousness, but why is this?  The reason is simple, if we covet which Biblically speaking means; “to strongly desire,”then we have a passion, love, or admiration for something.  Furthermore, if we have a strong desire for something, and refuse to let go of this desire, we become discontent, and distrustful of God, who did not give us what we needed.

Ultimately, our strong desire becomes overwhelming, and competes with our love for God.  It shows our dissatisfaction with God’s choices for our life.  We start to look at this thing, or rather the obtaining of it, for our pleasure in life, instead of looking to God for our meaning.  We become preoccupied with a thing, and lose focus of what is most important in life; which is God.⁹   God will not allow anything to take His place in our hearts.

Unseen Spiritual Insight
The act of inordinately desiring something is spiritually dangerous, because until it is obtained, we do not and cannot see its superficiality.  It cannot meet our spiritual needs; only God can.

When we finally acquire what we have been coveting, we are unfulfilled and start the hunt all over again looking for something else to occupy our time, attention, and love.  As a result, we go from one desire to the next, showing the excessive value we place in things or people.  This indicates a longing far beyond what is healthy and appropriate.  It is worship; indicating the extreme worth or value we place in something or someone.

God’s Definition of Idolatry
Perhaps the best definition of the display of worship concerning something that is not God and therefore would be termed as an idol is found in Psalms 135:15-18, which states:

“The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.”

However enlightening is the conclusionary statement: “… So is everyone that trust us and them.”

Faith
You see everything gets back to faith; rather it’s faith in God unto salvation, or faith in a worldview that believes there is no God, wherein the person makes themselves out to be God to judge all things by their own purview, it all comes back to faith.  The deceived have faith in their false prophets, the atheists have faith in their own determinations, the fallen Angels have faith in Lucifer; and the true follower of Jesus Christ as faith in the atoning work of Christ death upon the cross as a substitute for their own sin – this unto eternal salvation.

We also find within this passage that God points out that the idols have human traits which are fraudulent, yet ratifying that they are objects of worship that have no life in them – “… Neither is there any breath in their mouths.” However, it is this next statement that I find so amazing: “…they that make them are like unto them…”

We Become like Our Idols
What an insight, we become like our idols.  If a man’s idol is money, he becomes cold, self-centered, superficial,; never satisfied.  If a man’s idol is sex, he becomes self-centered in seeking his own pleasure, he becomes superficial concerning anything else, when he achieves his own stimulation, there is nothing left; only the next conquest.  Yet, there is a good side to this issue.  If a man worships Jesus Christ, he will come more like that which she worships; he will become more Christlike in acquiring the mind of Christ.  Displaying more of those biblical traits of the Fruits of the Spirit, which are simply the fruits of Christ.  The follower of Christ should look more like Christ with each passing year, if – he is one of His.

Conclusion
The identity of your God or gods is easy to perceive, whether you admit it, refute it, or decline to see it.  Those around you, family, friends, or mere acquaintances can, with little effort, see what or whom you ultimately value and love.¹⁰

The answer to the question of where the object of your worship lives is the same for every one, whether you’re a believer, atheist, agnostic, or hold another religious view.

Your God or gods live in your heart.¹¹

Don’t be fooled, no choice is still a choice.  Therefore the only important issue left for you to understand and consider is, that you will “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.”¹² 

 Endnote
  1. Romans 1:21-22.
  2. Psalms 139:14.
  3. Psalms 14:1; 53:1.
  4. The Christian church even has such people.  They do not resemble Christ.  They
don’t act in a way that would indicate the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  They do not
bear fruit, proving their God’s children.  They are tares, growing along side wheat,
false believers ruled by their corrupt minds & evil (often, overly emotional) hearts.
  5. WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS, 1996.
  6. “For a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.”  Luke 12:15; Matthew 6:19-21,24,25,31-33; 13:22; 16:26; 19:23-24;22:1-14; etc.
  7. Ephesians 5:5.
8. Colossians 3:6.
  9. Mark 12:30.
10. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34).
11. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart⁹ be also.” (Matthew 6:21).
12. Joshua 24:15.

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