Introduction – An Unforgettable Ride
It’s just as well that I have forgotten most of my hitchhiking stories.
But one memory has stayed with me, as clear as if it happened yesterday.
Back in April of 1975, I was hitchhiking in the early spring.
It seemed like winter, even though the calendar said spring.
I had been stuck at the Toledo exit on the Ohio Turnpike for fourteen long hours.
Those of you who use words like grungy or grubby don’t know what that word really means.
I was the walking definition of grungy—cold, hungry, discouraged.
Finally, when hope was wearing thin, a man in a brand-new Cadillac convertible pulled over.
I opened the door and climbed into that beautiful chariot.
It had every gadget imaginable—buttons, levers, glowing dials.
Just as I adjusted myself into the plush leather seat, both knees in my old blue jeans ripped out.
That gives you an idea of the contrast between my appearance and the car I had just entered.
We headed down the road and, in the first few miles, he tinkered with nearly every button that car had.
We went through every radio station half a dozen times.
Then we reached a toll booth.
He handed the attendant a crisp twenty-dollar bill and turned to me with a line I will never forget:
> “It takes money to get by in this world, son.”
He said it with pride, as though the Cadillac, the cash, the gadgets, all proved something essential about his worth.
It was almost cartoonish—he didn’t know how funny he really was.
I would have laughed, except I needed the ride.
I never learned his name, but I learned a lesson.
Here was a man desperate to impress somebody—maybe even himself.
I don’t know which idols he had carved in his heart, but I had some pretty good guesses.
He worshiped something he owned, something that was the product of his own effort and intelligence.
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God’s Command
Listen to God’s Word, Exodus 20:4–6:
> “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
This is the second commandment, and it goes straight to the heart of human temptation.
It isn’t just about wood or stone statues.
It’s about anything we make—anything we trust—that takes the place of God.
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Ancient Idolatry Was Obvious
When Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet God, the people of Israel waited down below.
They grew restless.
They wanted something they could see and touch.
So they pooled their gold and made a golden calf.
That story is repeated again and again in the Old Testament.
Even after miracles in Egypt, even after manna in the wilderness, Israel slipped back into idolatry.
Sometimes they copied the gods of their neighbors; sometimes they invented new ones.
The prophets had to cry out constantly: Turn back. Smash your idols. Worship the living God.
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Modern Idolatry Is Subtle
We read those stories and shake our heads.
A golden calf? Really?
But let’s be careful.
Most of us would never bow to a carved statue, but idolatry has simply changed costumes.
Pleasure can become a god—food, sex, entertainment, substances.
Money and possessions can become gods—bigger homes, shinier cars, thicker portfolios.
Success and reputation can become gods—careers, titles, academic letters.
Relationships can become gods—romance, family, or even our children’s achievements.
Religion itself can become a god—when rituals replace a living relationship with Christ.
Anything that takes the central place that belongs only to the Lord has become an idol.
And idols still do what they always did: they promise control and security, but they enslave and disappoint.
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The Deeper Issue: Control
Why are we drawn to idols?
Because idols feel manageable.
A god you can see is a god you can control.
If you perform the right rituals, give the right gifts, say the right prayers, you can, in theory, guarantee the result.
We don’t melt gold into calves, but we do something similar:
We pray in formulas hoping to force God’s hand.
We cling to careers or bank accounts to guarantee safety.
We manipulate people or situations to keep life predictable.
It’s still about control—about having a god who will obey us.
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Painful Realities We Can’t Control
Think about healing.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every illness vanished as soon as we prayed?
If every hospital bed emptied at a believer’s word?
But we all know that’s not how life works.
Faith is not magic.
God is not a genie.
Or consider suffering.
If divine power were in our hands, wouldn’t we avoid as much pain as possible?
But Scripture reminds us that God uses suffering to shape character and draw us to Himself.
If we could cancel every trial, we might never develop the depth of trust that can stand the storms.
Servanthood is another example.
Jesus calls us to be servants, but servanthood is the opposite of control.
It means letting someone else’s needs—God’s will, others’ welfare—set our agenda.
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National and Cultural Idols
Idolatry is not just personal; it can be national.
Every country is tempted to worship its own power.
History offers sobering illustrations.
During World War II, nations on every side claimed divine sanction for their strategies.
Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed even when surrender was near.
The issue was not merely military strategy but national pride—national power turned into a god.
Today the symbols are different—nuclear arsenals, economic dominance, technological supremacy—but the temptation is the same:
to trust national strength more than the Sovereign Lord.
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Modern Scenes of Idolatry
Sometimes the examples are painfully close to home.
A Denver newspaper once carried a horrifying photo:
a father leaning out of a high-rise window, dangling his three-year-old son by the heels, threatening to drop him unless the authorities brought him more alcohol.
Alcohol had become his master.
He served it at the cost of his child’s life.
Could alcohol ever enslave a Christian?
Yes.
Could greed, lust, or ambition?
Yes.
Idols may look harmless, but they make slaves of those who bow to them.
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God’s Jealous Love
That brings us back to the words of Exodus:
“I the LORD your God am a jealous God.”
Jealousy is usually a negative word.
But God’s jealousy is holy and life-giving.
It is not the insecurity of a weak lover.
It is the passionate commitment of the Creator who knows that life apart from Him is destruction.
If God did not care, He would let us drift into idolatry and ruin without a word.
Instead, He warns, disciplines, and—most of all—offers mercy:
“showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
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Jesus: The Idol-Breaker
The Ten Commandments were given to form a covenant people, but ultimately they point to Jesus.
He is the one who perfectly loved the Father, resisted every idol, and laid down His life to rescue idol-makers like us.
On the cross He absorbed the full consequence of our misplaced worship.
Through His resurrection He offers us the only security that lasts—life in covenant fellowship with the living God.
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So what does it look like to live free of idols and under the care of this jealous, loving God?
It begins with trust.
Instead of demanding explanations for every delay, every sickness, every disappointment, we rest in the character of the One who gave His Son for us.
When the Israelites were commanded not to make images, it was because no image could capture the living God—and because any image would tempt them to think they could manage Him.
But the God of Scripture is alive.
He moves when and how He chooses.
And that is good news, because His wisdom and goodness far surpass ours.
It also means daily surrender.
Idols are not toppled by a single dramatic gesture; they are starved by a thousand small obediences—habits of prayer, generosity, confession, Sabbath rest, service to the poor.
These are not bargains we strike with God; they are practices that keep our hearts turned toward Him.
And it means servanthood.
The One who said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” calls us to let go of the endless grasp for power and position.
The world prizes control; Jesus prizes humility.
The world celebrates self-assertion; Jesus blesses those who take the towel and basin.
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Contemporary Portraits
Let’s bring this even closer to home.
Digital Idols. How easy it is to wake with the phone and sleep with the phone, to measure worth in likes and views.
Work and Achievement. Promotions and paychecks can become the altar where marriages, friendships, and health are sacrificed.
Family and Relationships. Even good gifts—our children, spouses, or ministries—can subtly displace the Giver when we look to them for ultimate meaning.
Religion and Tradition. Yes, even church can become an idol if the forms of worship replace the living God who is meant to be worshiped.
None of these things is evil in itself.
But whenever a good thing becomes an ultimate thing, it becomes an idol.
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The Generational Ripple
Exodus warns that the iniquity of idolatry reaches “to the third and fourth generation.”
God is not saying He will punish innocent grandchildren for grandpa’s sin.
He is describing how idolatry reproduces itself—how patterns of addiction, materialism, or bitterness pass down like family heirlooms unless the cycle is broken.
But the promise is even larger: “showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me.”
God’s mercy far outweighs His judgment.
Where sin multiplies, grace overflows.
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An Invitation to Freedom
So where do we begin if we sense an idol tightening its grip?
1. Name it.
Say out loud, “Lord, I have trusted this more than You.”
Idols hide in secrecy; confession drags them into the light.
2. Release it.
Sometimes that means concrete action—closing a destructive account, giving away a possession, ending a toxic habit.
3. Replace it.
The human heart cannot remain empty; it must be filled.
Replace the idol with worship—Scripture, prayer, Christian community, acts of love.
4. Rest in grace.
Remember, this is not about self-improvement.
Jesus has already shattered the idols’ ultimate power.
We simply walk in the freedom He purchased.
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The Motivation
Why pursue this freedom?
Not to earn God’s favor—you already have His love in Christ.
Not to prove spiritual strength—you can’t.
We pursue it because Jesus is better.
He is a better source of security than money.
A better pleasure than entertainment.
A better future than any career.
A better companion than even the best human love.
Every idol over-promises and under-delivers.
Only Jesus satisfies.
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Bringing It All Together
Let’s circle back to that Cadillac on the Ohio Turnpike.
The driver thought wealth could buy freedom, but his restless fiddling with every button betrayed a deeper bondage.
He was trying to fill a void only God can fill.
How different the peace of someone who trusts the living God.
Not a God we can control, but a God we can know—through the face of Jesus Christ.
This is the heart of the second commandment.
God is jealous not because He needs our praise to survive, but because we need His presence to live.
He longs to rescue us from lesser loves that will ultimately destroy us.
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Closing Appeal
So I ask you today:
Where have you been tempted to trade the living God for a manageable substitute?
What gift have you begun to treat as a god?
What control are you afraid to release?
The jealous love of God is not against you; it is for you.
He is determined to keep you for Himself because only in Him is life.
Jesus still calls:
> “From each idol that would keep you saying, Christian, love me more.”
Will you answer that call?
Will you let Him rescue you from the deadly art of idolmaking?
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Closing Prayer
Let’s bow together.
> Lord Jesus,
we confess that our hearts are restless and quick to carve idols—visible and invisible.
Forgive us.
Break every chain.
Fill the space in our hearts that only You can fill.
Teach us to live as servants of Your kingdom and children of Your covenant love.
In Your strong and saving name we pray, amen.
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Benediction
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,
be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
Go in His peace, free from idols, alive to the only true and living God.
