by Stephen Rodgers

So last week we started looking at the subject of idolatry. If you remember, we noted that both the 10 Commandments and the Greatest Commandment deal with the issue of the pre-eminance of God in our hearts. And I promised that we would tie this back to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk’s famous quote “Nebát Se A Nekrást” (“Do Not Fear and Do Not Steal”).

Let’s start with the subject of fear. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus reminds us that God is to be feared about the powers and rulers of this world. Very briefly, let’s think about that for a moment.

Pastor Mark Driscoll once observed that the issue of fear is much more common in our culture than we like to admit. After all, most marketing and advertising campaigns revolve around presenting the concept of a “functional hell.” Whether that hell has to do with the lack of a possession (like a car or an ipod), the lack of a relationship (girlfriend/boyfriend), the lack of a physical characteristic (six-pack abs, being thin, attractive hair), or something else depends on what comes next. Because after the advertisement presents the “functional hell” that the person wants to escape or avoid, it then presents a “functional savior” to rescue them from that hell. In other words, advertising tells us that unless we want to wind up without something or someone that we deeply desire, we must obtain or purchase something to save us from that loss.

But what does 21st century marketing techniques have to do with the glory of God or the words of a dead Czech? Now that brings us to the topic of stealing…

You see, when we replace our fundamental savior (God) with some sort of functional savior (material possessions, relationships, physical fitness, etc.) we are comitting idolatry. And make no mistake that we are very prone to do this…we tend to idolize anything and everything other than God, and we do that quite often. John Calvin in the Institutes commented that the human heart was an idolarum fabricum (“idol factory”)…in other words, we’re just manufacturing these functional saviors left, right, and center.

So what? Is it really a bit deal? Isn’t that essentially a victimless crime? Is God really such a cosmic killjoy that we can’t even have a little fun…buy the latest cell phone…splurge on that shampoo that makes our tresses look amazing?

Fun isn’t the issue. Even what we spend our money on isn’t the issue…at least not the core one. No, the issue is what place these things are afforded in our heart and in our lives. God remarks in Isaiah 48:11 that His glory is of such importance to Him, that He “will not give it to another.” So if the iPad has dethroned God in your heart, let’s be very, very clear about something. God didn’t abdictate that throne.

You stole it from Him.

You see, our very idolatry is based on inappropriate fears. But the act itself is nothing less than thievery writ large. To committ the sin of idolatry makes us all nothing less than pickpockets and cutpurses in the eyes of the Lord. Idolatry is far from victimless. To be an idolater is to be a glory thief. It is to steal from the Lord the honor and preeminance that is rightfully His.

And that is why, despite everything about Masaryk that I don’t agree with, “Nebát Se A Nekrást” is something I can absolutely get behind.

And thank God for that.