Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 1 Corinthians 12:2
The farmer and his young son were labouring in the field, plowing up piece of ground to plant grain, when the wooden plowshare became stuck on something firm in the ground, bringing the ox to a lurching halt. As they had many times before, the farmer and the lad dug around the rock that lay just below the surface, and brought the heavy object into view. Together, they carried the rock to the edge of the field, and left it there as they returned to their plowing. Later, as they were finished for the day, the boy went to look again at the rock they had dug up, and noticed that it had been carved; a crude face appeared on one side of the rock. He and his father carried the rock home, and cleaned it off carefully. Then they set it up in the main room of their little house, and began to pray to the rock. Never did they hear any words come from the rock, or receive any other form of response to their prayers. What was the point? We wonder at such foolishness, but those poor people were no more foolish than we were before we were brought to the truth of the knowledge of God.
The home I grew up in was a Christian home, where the Bible was read and the Gospel was taught carefully to us. We had no idols in our home. Around us were families that were not Christian (they were church-goers but knew nothing of the gospel of the grace of God) and they did not have any idols in their houses either. At least not the kind of idols that people worshipped in olden days. But unless people know and serve the true God, and accept His Son as Lord and Saviour, they are serving some form of idols, and are being carried away by them. Even the Christians need to be on guard against following some of the idols that are making fools of the unsaved.
Children learn at a very early age to ask for things, and to keep asking for more toys, better toys, bigger toys than their peers. The idol of materialism shows up early, and makes its presence felt throughout adolescence and into adulthood, as people try to earn the biggest salaries, drive the fastest cars, own the most lavish homes, and enroll their children in the most programs. Electronic toys, recreational toys, educational toys multiply and occupy vast quantities of time and money Oh, what a god materialism is! And too many of us give that god more time and attention than we do the real God, even though the god of materialism will shortly be burned to ashes.
But there are other gods around us, and the world is carried away with them. Such gods as religion, education, sports and entertainment, philosophies, global warming and the environment, and many others become a passion to many of the unbelievers who swallow the fluff and foolishness and reject the truth of the Word of God.
Amid so many other false gods, we face a struggle to present the true Gospel of the true God to people. It would help if we were to see those false gods for what they are. -Jim MacIntosh