While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. 

                                                                                                                     Jonah 2:7-9 

It may not be necessary for us to find a point of repentance in the belly of the great fish but if we were, this is where we would find it. Jonah makes a clear distinction between those who faithfully serve God and those who do not. He places himself firmly in the position of service as he brings a “sacrifice of thanksgiving” to God. Then, in sharp contrast to this attitude toward faithfulness, he contrasts his position with those who “regard vain idols.” The declaration that he makes regarding these individuals contains a truth that, I believe, is relevant to every believer (and non-believer) today. Jonah makes the statement that those who regard vain idols “forsake their faithfulness.” In other words, when anyone chases after an idol, he/she by extension forsakes his/her faithfulness to God.

Our modern society is far too sophisticated to consider bowing the knee to an object made of wood, stone, or metal. Yet our culture is full of idols to chase. Money, power, success, and pleasure can all entice us, causing us to yield to the point of idolatry. By definition, an idol is anything that is placed above our worship and allegiance to God. Of course non-believers have no relationship with Jesus so contrasting a position of idolatry with loyalty to God would be quite impossible. But the danger of slipping into idolatry is not reserved only for the non-believer rather Christians can find themselves in this mindset as well.

There are many passages in scripture that deal with this idea of following Christ above all else. Consider Jesus’ words about our commitment to following Him:

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” 

                                                                                                               Luke 9:23 

I believe that we need to draw a distinction between salvation and serving God. Salvation is obtained by faith on the basis of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Any deviation from this truth will take us down a road of “earning” our way through works. However, following Jesus will require us to “deny ourselves.” I believe that this admonition is two-fold. First, we deny ourselves by placing the needs of others ahead of our own (Philippians 2:3-4). Christians are to be a serving people and not merely interested in their own affairs (something incompatible with our human nature). Secondly, as believers, we trust God and serve Him, not out of obligation or fear, rather because of what He has done for us on the cross. In other words, a true believer enjoys fellowship with God and service to Him is not a burden rather a privilege.

Perhaps the most common idol for our modern culture is placing an emphasis on material wealth as a means for evaluating success. Jesus reminds us of the impossibility of having two “masters”: 

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.                       

                                                                                                            Matthew 6:24

This is not an indictment on people who have material wealth nor is it speaking against financial security. Jesus is simply telling us that to serve money makes it impossible for us to fully serve Him. Money is not the issue rather it is the love of it (1 Timothy 6:10). Because of our human nature, money has the ability to bring in all other forms of godlessness. For the Christian, material gain must be handled with precision, wisdom, and care. Our lifestyle should always be Christ-centered, not wealth-centered. While many may believe that they are able to handle duel service when it comes to Christ and possessions, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that any attempt at that lifestyle will ultimately end in the choosing of one master over the other.

Finally, Jesus makes a difficult statement regarding placing anything above our worship and allegiance to Him, even things that He has designed and blessed. Consider these words: 

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”  

                                                                                                                        Luke 14:26

This passage is difficult but leaves no room for us to believe that anything should be placed above Christ. “Hating” those in our family is being used as a means of examining our allegiance. Jesus is not teaching us to hate our families. That would be contrary to the rest of scripture and the instructions that we have about loving others. Jesus is making the point that our earthly relationships must not take priority over our relationship with Him. In fact, the reality is that as we draw closer to God and receive His unconditional love for us, by extension, we become better and more equipped at being good fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. Allegiance to God, forgiveness through the cross, and the power of God’s Spirit in our lives is what gives us the ability to love others, even our enemies. But decisions have to be made regarding who gets to have first priority in our lives.

Idolatry is rampant in our culture and Christians are not immune to the powerful effects that placing other things above God can have. But I believe the key to successfully navigating this part of life is found in the actions and words of Jonah. Although others might “forsake their faithfulness,” he was determined to pledge his allegiance to God. This is something that we can and should do everyday as a way of guarding against the distractions that come from the onslaught of idols in our world today!