The Biggest Idol

Not long before you step foot inside any major bookstore will you find yourself immersed in the culture of the self-help world. At the Barnes in Noble by the SMU campus the self-help section is juxtaposed to the New Age Books, I doubt this is a coincidence. Of course, this is what one would expect in a country like ours: home of the self-made man. Whether watching televisions shows, cheering on one’s favorite sports teams, or simply reading out of any magazine on the shelves today, one thing is made clear: do it yourself. Americans today are familiar and engrained with the phrases “pick yourself up by your bootstraps”, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, and my personal favorite “just do it.” While many of this may seem harmless, and really quite motivating, there is a major flaw to this philosophy: scripture negates those claims.
The Word is clear that “the horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests in the Lord (Proverbs 21:31). And, that all good things (weight loss, emotional stability, that new car, a promotion, etc) come from the Lord. Thus, what is one to do when there is illusory triumph over one’s circumstance apart from the Lord? My suggestion, study the change more carefully and you may just find no victory was actually claimed. I’ll use a certain case study in sin to make my point…The Biggest Loser.
At this point I think I should note that I love The Biggest Loser, in fact, I’m rather involved in that show. But, I think it’s fair to call things the way I see them, and that show is sinful, take that for what you will.
Anyways, The Biggest Loser is a show that entirely built around changing people’s lives by helping them lose weight. I would submit to you that those people are idolaters of food when they go on the show. You can hear it in their confessional tapes as they lament, “I use food to numb the pain”, “I use food to have something to control”, “I use food to calm me after a stressful day”, etc. For the sake of this blog I will define idolatry as placing anything in your life as ultimate, or using things to satisfy you instead of the Lord. Therefore, I am usually amazed when I see these outstanding weight losses on the show, since there is no spiritual reference made claiming their victory over this idol. Obviously, this would be an astonishing feat to see that people who do not profess the Lord can overcome sin in their lives when Romans 6 so clearly states that they are slaves to sin. What then is the real cause behind their pseudo-success?
I submit to you that these people are not overcoming their sin of idolatry of food, but rather are exchanging it for idolatry of self. I would encourage you to listen to the people talk about their success stories. They are full of self-exultation with phrases like “I need to put myself first”, and “I want to inspire the nation telling them it’s okay to make yourself #1.” Even someone with limited theological experience can tell that putting oneself first usually ends in doom (something about pride coming before a fall rings a bell).
Now don’t get me wrong, I think these people are wonderful and wish them all the best success in their weight loss, but the reality for them still exists that they are full of idolatry and for this the Lord is not pleased.
My point: idolatry is rampant. And, apart from the Lord there is no true victory. So, the next time you are tempted to go reaching for anything that comforts you—cell phone, food, best friend, boy friend, tv, facebook, or even the illusion of your self-sufficiency—remember that the only true satisfaction in this world is the Lord. His nearness is our Good. Ps 73:28