This week at Faith on Hill we are going to be talking about Idols and Idolatry. Idolatry is giving worship to anything besides the one true and living God.
Humanity is afflicted with a sickness called sin, which is 100% fatal if not cured. The Christian faith believes that there is a God, and he has provided the cure for sin thru Jesus Christ.
When we talk about illness we often speak about symptoms and root causes. When we take some cold medicine, it only deals with symptoms (runny nose, cough etc) but it doesn’t tackle the root virus that is the real issue. Often, well meaning christians have focused on the symptoms of sin instead of dealing with the root causes that lead to the pain and suffering we see in our world around us and in our daily lives.
Idols, whether they be statues, images, people or philosophies are both root cause and symptom. A person might exhibit the signs of chronic anger or an inability to control their temper, but the root cause is actually an idolatry to bitterness or unforgiveness. Another person might literally worship at idol in the form of a statue or monument but the idol is only a symptom of the root problem: a refusal to accept a God greater than ourselves.
So this Sunday, June 30th, we will be in Genesis 29 looking at idolatry and specifically how idols affect and destroy human flourishing and relationships.