Let’s make it clear from the start. God is not threatened in the least by our human attempts at idolatry and profanity. Why, even the devil himself is no match for God, for God has no equal. When Satan rebels against God or we as mere mortals take God’s name in vain or build temples in our own likenesses, the Kingdom of God is not shaken one iota. Contrary to what we might hope or fear, nothing created can disturb God’s rule.
Then why all the fuss about idols and profanity in the Ten Commandments? Because they shake our own confidence and trust in God. They disturb our faith and thus ruin our own identity and security in God. God is not thrown by human or angelic rebellion. But we are. God, while desiring a healthy relationship with each one of us, also knows that we need that relationship with Him far more desperately. We, who were created for holy and holistic purpose, are destroyed when that divine-human relationship is thrown out of alignment.
Years ago a friend borrowed my car for a quick errand. On sheer ice, he hit a curb, causing no visible damage. His apologies were honest as they were profuse. A thousand miles and a few days later on a cross-country trip, I blew both front tires after they quickly deteriorated from being out of line. My friend, a couple more thousand miles and some tires later, wholeheartedly covered the cost of repairs and tire replacements. It was a great lesson in how a little misalignment can make such a big mess. God knows we are made with a God-oriented center and when that center is missing or off-balance, we are in very bad shape.
Okay, if exalting God is so healthy for us, why are we all that easily inclined to do just the opposite, to worship other than the One True God, to make gods in our own likeness, to misuse God’s name? Inasmuch as we are made in God’s image, we have the ability to think, to reason, to focus our energies and thoughts freely and fully on whatever we choose. The heart of the universe is love, which means other-focused. God is love, for He is totally other focused.
What makes that love possible is that God as One is a Trinity, a Three-in-One Being. In Scripture, God the Father is described as devoting Himself entirely toward the Son, who in turn devotes Himself entirely toward the Father, and the Spirit is utterly focused on the Father and Son. We, as beings created in God’s likeness, find our true identity in being outwardly devoted or focused, first to God and then to those outside of ourselves.
At a basic level, idolatry and profanity alter that divine-human alignment. That focus, what we call worship, is taken off of God and placed on ourselves or some facsimile thereof. We choose not to worship God or deceive ourselves by thinking we are worshipping God when we are not.
Now we may think that in “worshipping” or focusing our energies on something or someone other than God, we are not being self-focused. But there is a fundamental problem with this attempt. For any attempt at love that bypasses the source of love becomes self-love. Can a person who does not know God truly express love? Yes, to the extent that he or she still retains that likeness of God, albeit a fallen or imperfect likeness. But the more that we are devoted to God, the more we can truly devote ourselves to others.
When we hoard who we are or what we possess it turns rancid. In a classic line from the movie, “Little Women”, the mother says of the aunt, “her blessings became a burden because she couldn’t share them.” This is the essence of black holes in science. Unlike a sun or star which gives off energy, thus radiating light and fostering life, a black hole sucks everything in, creating darkness and death. In the sphere of relationships, people absorbed in self-worship are the spiritual and relational equivalents of black holes.
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