Who is your American Idol?

What do the Pope, Beyoncé, the U.S. flag, Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, Tom Cruise, Barack Obama, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the NFL all have in common?

They are all American Idols!

I have come to the conclusion that idolatry - giving someone or something the attention and reverence that should go to God alone - is one of the most prevalent and overlooked sins of our time.

No genuine Christian that I know is truly intentional in this, boldly telling the world that “yes, I am an idolater.” Yet many believers today are, in fact, blatant idol worshipers. We don’t spend a lot of time contemplating the sin of idolatry, but we do spend a lot of time in its practice.

The identification of idolatry has become more sophisticated and more seductive. In the past you could point out a colorfully dressed native dancing around a pole and say “YES, that is idolatry.” We’ve all seen the images of Moses’ brother Aaron and the golden calf he created for the people of Israel to worship. (Sadly, this was immediately after God had liberated them from 400 years of bowing to Egyptian rule.)

Today, tens of millions faithfully gather around their big-screen televisions on Sundays and watch grown men batter one another for 60 minutes for the right to possess an oblong object called a football. The NFL is an $18 billion business, and I know grown men who schedule their Sundays around the time their favorite team is playing. There are so-called super fans who trek the country in order to cheer on their Cowboys or Patriots or Eagles or Saints.

Hordes of concertgoers plunk down hundreds, even thousands of dollars, to see a woman entertainer sing and writhe and undulate before them for a few hours. Taylor Swift’s ongoing Eras tour is expected to gross well over a billion dollars. Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour raked in $579 million, the highest-grossing tour ever by any Black artist.

And then there’s the millions who sit in front of a large screen to see the fantastical exploits of a movie star who defies death and overcomes great obstacles to save the world from an existential threat. All fiction - pure escapism.

The Rock has 391 million followers on Instagram. If EVERY man, woman, boy, and girl in the United States (332 million) and Italy (58 million) followed him, he’d still have a million more followers unaccounted for. That’s astounding. He’s only fifth on the list worldwide.

So what about Jesus?

Post-COVID, the stadiums, theaters, and clubs have filled up again, but not the churches. People are literally losing their religion - churches are closing across the country, and we have a younger generation who is abandoning Christianity altogether.

How can we be so neglectful of an amazing, incomparable God who loves us so much? How can we continually invoke Him to jealousy? I’m not speaking from a place of superiority - the Holy Spirit challenges me to examine my life and viewing, spending, and social media habits. How am I spending my time? Many times, I am found lacking.

French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “There is nothing so abominable in the eyes of God and of men as idolatry, whereby men render to the creature that honor which is due only to the Creator.”

Idolatry gives us the unlawful license to trade the affections, the attention, the money, and the time that should go the God for the adulation of another. It is its own reward and in the end, it’s empty and sinful. What does idolatry look like today? Here are some examples:

When we find greater delight in our hobbies - sports, entertainment, and more - than in our walk with the Lord Jesus.

When any possession of ours (home, car, finances) dominates our thoughts and affections more than the Jesus, it may be an idol.

When we put any relationship on Earth - yes, even our spouses - in front of our relationship with Jesus, that person can become an idol.

When we exhibit greater confidence in ourselves or others rather than relying on Jesus, we can fall under the self-serving idolatry of pride.

God doesn’t begrudge us good times - enjoying our family and friends, participating in leisure activities, even cheering on our favorite teams. But these are all to be done or lived out in secondary moderation, with a recognition that He alone should sit on the throne of hearts and our lives.

These “idols” have fans that are loyal and legendary. Beyoncé has her Beyhive, and anyone who has dared challenge or speak ill of her have felt their wrath. Taylor Swift has her legion of Swifties and they are quick to defend her. I’m not belittling their talents but there is only One in my mind who merits such favor. He’s not back yet but there will come a time when He again take center stage. And there will come a time when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Him, because Jesus is Lord.

Millions cheer for these American Idols. But who will cheer for Jesus? I will. Just give me Jesus! He is not my idol, but He is my Lord and my Savior. Doesn’t He deserve the best of us and not merely the rest of us?