Idols .... have mouths, but they do not speak

... Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them (Psalm 135:15-18). We tend to laugh at the ancients,  who made idols of silver and gold, but in the end our modern idols are just as foolish. So what is an idol? Well for a start we are told in Colossians 3:5 that covetousness is idolatry.  So what exactly is idolatry,  according to Wikipedia,  idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than God,  as if it were God. As in this morning's reading, it's about putting our trust in anything other than God.  The Scripture admonishes us  for example to “put not your trust in princes,” and “it is better to trust in the LORD, than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 146:3; 118:8).

Of course the Scripture is not telling us that we should not trust people. I think if this in terms of comparison. For example compared to my love of God, my love of Father and mother is to be like hate (Luke 14:26). This is hyperbole, extreme exaggeration,  used for emphasis or effect. Similarly, my trust of others in comparison to my trust of God needs to be like distrust.  So in who or what do we put our trust? “Some trust in chariots and some in horses” (Psalm 29:7), so then in military might, in finances,  in Science, in isms,  denominationalism, socialism, in the self made man, in no one but myself etc., etc. I was caused to recall this morning of a time when what other people thought of me was, in practice, more important than what God thinks of me. And He thinks I am awesome (you too). I would not have described this as an idol, but what what else was it?  The verse above from the last Psalm ends with “but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

A couple more thoughts from the title Psalm. Firstly concerning, neither ears, eyes, mouth nor breath. The Hebrew word translated breath here often refers to the Holy Spirit.  And the thought I have is that if we put our trust in anything other than God, we will neither  hear,  nor see what God is wanting us to hear or see, and our speech, our breath, our influence,  will not be Kingdom oriented.  The second  thought concerns the statement that those who trust in them are like them. If we put our trust in money,  we are likely to be cold,  unfeeling and calculating.  If we put our trust in logic and science alone, we will be rational, but unemotional, missing out on the emotional side of life. Of course you can be logical and still wrong, as when your presupposition do not reflect the Biblical reality of truth. Not my opinion, God's!

Father, please reveal in me any area of thought or ism,  where I have misplace trust or value. You have promised Lord that if I acknowledged You in all my ways, You will direct my steps and make them straight. There is no God but God, and I thank You this morning that You have revealed Yourself, and keep revealing Yourself,  to me. In Jesus Name Amen.