This is an excerpt from Cruel Idols - Addiction through a Very Different Lens

A group study by Mick Duffy - Coming in the Spring of 2019

No Masters Among Us

I love to think that I’m in charge – that I am in complete control… the one calling all the shots. Be honest. You do too. But in much the same way as with worship, all of us are created to fill the shoes of the servant. No matter how much responsibility and authority I have been given, there is always someone or something that possesses more authority than me. Someone or something to whom I will give an answer and who will choose for me - the final authority to which I will ultimately yield.

Creator God has designed that place, that throne if you will, for Himself. He intends to be the final authority. He is the Divine master who is not only worthy of our worship, but also our service and humble obedience. Just the thought of submission to someone or something else might make you bristle a bit. Honestly, it does me. Like I said, I love to think I am in charge.

But here’s the thing; even if we refuse to bow the knee to God and submit to Him as our master, we are fools to think that we are in the driver’s seat. Ultimately, we are not designed to be masters at all, but servants and slaves. And if we won’t serve God, then we will serve something else. I understand that we may occupy positions of authority over other people or own some other significant responsibility, but to think of ourselves as the final authority is misguided to say it politely. Even as I exercise my authority or responsibility I do so at the bidding of someone or something else that governs me. Think of it, even the world’s richest executives are subject to the shareholders of their companies, not to mention the consumer who ultimately decides whether or not they will purchase their products. They are slaves. Rich slaves, but slaves nonetheless.

The Closing Act (Joshua 23 and 24)

Let me encourage you to spend some time reading and studying the final chapters of the book of Joshua. It’s a fitting and fantastic end to an epic story. God has given Israel “rest from its enemies.” Battles have been fought and won in miraculous fashion. The power of God and His faithfulness to His chosen people have been on display for generations. The promised land has been divided as God has directed and Joshua takes the stage for one more powerful monologue and a mic drop.

The climax of Joshua’s famous oratory comes in verses 14 and 15 of chapter 24. Joshua says,

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Boom! Somebody put that on a plaque or counted cross-stitch or something! What a piercing charge! Pay close attention to what Joshua is saying, “Worship and serve God alone. But if you can’t bring yourself to do that then choose whom YOU WILL SERVE….” Notice that there were no invitations to any of them to become masters. Nope. Serve the one and only true God; serve the gods on the other side of the river in Egypt; serve the gods of the Amorites… pick one… and start serving. Wow!

My guess is that a lot of the Israelites were like you and me – under the misguided impression that they were in charge. Truth was that there were no masters among them… and there are no masters among us either. Serving is what we are designed to do. For some reason, God has given us the latitude to choose who or what we will serve. That’s right – the choice is ours. And the choices are wide and varied. We will look at that next…

Myriad of Idols

When we consider addiction, stigma often drives our thinking toward substance – alcohol, prescription and other drugs, etc. Millions have wrestled or are wrestling with substance abuse issues. But alcohol and drugs are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Cruel Idols we serve. Food, sex, a variety of process addictions, along with more inanimate things such as power, prestige and social approval are among the masters that govern us in the harshest of ways at times. In the tech saturated culture in which we live the candidate pool of idols to which we can bow has exploded. We make larger investments in electronics that captivate, entertain or distract us with fleeting moments of pixelated euphoria than we are making in our future generations. We live for likes and shares - the more the merrier, and our favorite movies and video games are just a click or two away. I remember as a kid looking forward with great anticipation to the Christmas specials on TV – Frosty, Rudolph, Santa and Burgermeister-Meisterburger in all of their low-definition glory. I used to scour the pages of the TV Guide looking for a single air time and channel, knowing full well that if I missed the airing it would be a whole year before I had opportunity to see it again. Today I simply open the Netflix app on my phone anytime of the year and… voila!

The point is that just about anything can become an idol, even things that are not inherently evil. And I’d take it a step further; even things that we’d label “good” - exercise, diet, reading, higher education, church involvement (Huh? Yep!). I’m not merely proposing moderation. I don’t want you to “exercise like a gentleman” or “enjoy church involvement responsibly.” By all means, exercise and get involved in your local church! Just know that these things - anything really - can replace God on the throne of your heart. All are potential idols. That’s why this discussion is so important for all of us. We’ve all entertained idols. None of us is above yielding to another master.

So, open your heart and mind at this point. Look intently. What is it? Who is it? What are you bowing to? Who’s calling the shots? Is it God? Does he occupy the throne of your heart exclusively? Is he the sole object of your worship? Is He the Master you have chosen?

Or is there another…