Recently I’ve felt compelled to write about the Ten Commandments. I’m not sure exactly why. I have been focused on the second and fifth especially recently, but I think part of the reason is simply to put forth my current view and interpretation before I begin my MA in Biblical Studies program in early 2027.
Let’s dive into the second commandment.
You Shall Not Make For Yourself an Idol or Worship or Serve One
When I think of idols, images of golden statues, reminiscent of the golden calf in Exodus, totem poles, and Buddha statues fill my mind. All of these are objects used in some way in worship. It’s pretty obvious this commandment applies to these kinds of things. Aaron learned that the hard way.
The Second Commandment speaks directly about making and worshiping idols. But the rest of Scripture makes clear that idolatry reaches far beyond carved images.
Over the years I’ve come to appreciate just how broad idolatry can become. An idol can be anything that begins to receive the devotion, trust, dependence, identity, or priority that rightly belongs to God.
That means almost anything can become an idol: sports teams, exercise, work, hobbies, money, even alcohol.
I’ve written before about why I stopped drinking alcohol over three years ago. One of the things I eventually realized was that drinking was taking me away from a relationship with God. I could rationalize drinking because alcohol itself is not an idol to everyone. I didn’t realize, though, that it had become one for me. I turned to alcohol to decompress under stress when I should have turned to God.
That’s an idol.
I was an active private pilot for a season in my life. I owned a Cessna 172 that was almost as old as I was for close to a decade. Often I would opt to fly Sunday mornings because of favorable weather. It was difficult to fly during the week because of work, and if Saturday weather was not favorable, then Sunday remained the only day to fly. Since mornings were usually the best time of day to fly, especially in the summer before convective heating created mild bumps and sometimes thunderstorms, I often chose flying over church.
That’s an idol.
Some weekends, Saturday night services conflicted with a desired college football game, and Sunday services could interfere with getting settled in for football. Often it became easier to sleep in, read the Sunday paper (remember those?), and ease into a day of Sunday football rather than rush to get showered and dressed in the morning, drive 45 minutes to our church, then get home barely in time for kickoff.
That’s an idol.
Even things that appear healthy can become idols. Working out is good. Taking care of the body God has given us is good. But even there, motivation matters. Are we caring for our bodies responsibly, or has appearance, performance, or vanity become central to our identity?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with drinking alcohol, pursuing hobbies, following sports, or exercising. You can’t automatically identify an object or activity as an idol. The question is what place it occupies in your life. If it begins to receive the devotion, dependence, or priority that belongs to God, it has become something more.
Idols in Scripture could represent false gods, or even become an improper attempt to represent and approach the true God. The golden calf itself is a fascinating example. After the calf was made, Aaron proclaimed, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” At the very least, Aaron’s declaration suggests they were not simply forgetting Yahweh altogether. They were attempting to incorporate the calf into worship that Aaron associated with the LORD, something God had expressly forbidden.
That makes the Second Commandment more challenging than simply saying, “Don’t worship statues.”
I think it’s easy for us as Christians to read the Second Commandment and stop at its most obvious meaning: don’t bow before a carved image.
But idolatry can be much more subtle and much more personal.
That leads to a remarkable truth, and part of what I mean when I sometimes say I’m “not really religious.” Christianity is not ultimately about performing religious rituals or checking boxes. At its center is reconciliation and relationship with God.
We enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God in Eden and lost it in the Fall. From Genesis 3 onward, Scripture tells the story of God’s work to redeem and restore what sin shattered, ultimately through Christ.
The Second Commandment protects that relationship by warning us not to replace God, distort Him, or give to something created the devotion that belongs to the Creator.
God calls us to Himself. He does not desire divided allegiance. He calls us to turn toward Him, trust Him, and receive what He offers. I believe we are genuinely able to respond to that call, and genuinely able to reject it.
And that means the question of idolatry is not ancient history. It is personal.
What gets my time, attention, devotion, and loyalty?
What, if anything, am I allowing to stand between God and me?
Once we begin to see the Bible not simply as a collection of ancient books and stories, but as the story of creation, rebellion, redemption, and restoration, something changes.
This isn’t merely the story of Israel, or of people who lived thousands of years ago.
It is us.
Image by Grok