Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Matthew 4:8-11
There is an ancient Indian tale of four brothers who decided to devote their lives to learning great skills. When they met after years of study the first announced that he had discovered how to take an animal bone and put flesh on it. The second declared that he could add skin and hair once the flesh was in place. The third asserted that once those two steps were taken he would be able to create the limbs and give it a finished form. The last one announced that once all that was done he would be able to bring the creature to life. They set out into the jungle to test their skills. They found a bone and each brother completed his step in the process. Unfortunately for them, the bone they chose was a lion, and soon as it came to life, it ate all four of them.
The idols that we make to worship are a deadly threat. We may not carve statues or worship trees or rocks as some have done in the past, but anything that we allow to come before God in our hearts is an idol. Only God is worthy of our worship, and worshipping anything else is an insult to His grace and goodness to us. Our word “worship” comes to us from the Old English and a word that described something as being worthy. It could literally be rendered “worth-ship.” Nothing in this world has the worthiness to be worshipped in the place of God. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).Â
