I was listening to this tonight while folding clothes and was challenged by Mark Driscoll’s explanation of idolatry: (my paraphrase): First, you define for yourself a hell. You come up with your own concept of hell—an undesirable state you find yourself in. A hell you can not live in, that you have to get out of. Then, you create for yourself a “savior” to deliver you from this hell. A functional, false god. The false promise is that your savior will get you out of your hell, put you into your heaven, and then you will be happy. Then you give your life worshiping your “savior”—you give money to it, you give time to it, you devote time to it. This is your idol.
You choose for yourself a hell, you choose for yourself a false, functional savior-god to get you out, and you give your life to worshiping that person or thing.
Here’s the sickness in it: John Calvin said “The human heart is an idol factory.” We can take any of the good gifts God gives and turn them into idols. And we get so frustrated because these idols don’t satisfy us, they don’t save us. The good news: Jesus Christ died to save us. He saves us, not ourselves. Part of what Jesus saves us from is this idolatrous works-based performance treadmill that leads to either arrogance or depression.”