Idols

               But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:3-5)

                For those of us who are older, or have been attending church longer, we tend to read the first sentence and agree. Yes, those are standard “big sins” that should be avoided. We may not have as much against them personally as we might, but they’re the traditional things to avoid. But then the passage says “Nor should there be…” and things get a little more difficult. No obscenity? No foolish talk? No coarse jesting? No spicy novels or movies? No using language that everyone else uses? Again, some of this is traditional in the Church, but… no Shakespeare? And what do we do about the Song of Solomon? It might be appropriate for a husband and wife, but not for us as voyeurs.

                What you think about these is between you and God. The point that this passage makes is that neither set of activities is acceptable to God. Immorality, impurity, and greed are all idolatry. All of them worship and/or obey someone or something other than God. Some may think it’s making mountains out of molehills, but that only makes the question, “Who’s in charge?” If it’s not God, then someone or something else is god.

                Another point is that most of them are addictive. We always need more. Most of them can be forms of entertainment, which can be their own god. Do we really want to destroy ourselves for fun? Do we want to teach ourselves to devalue others for fun?