Yet we here in America today surround ourselves with more idols and images of idols than any other nation on Earth. We might have different names for them. We might call them "celebrities" or "pieces of art" or even "money," but just look at all of the graphical representations that we surround ourselves with, many of which we seem to give certain powers to.
The Second Commandment tells us not to make any graven image to look like anything found on heaven or earth. Yet one can assume that right now as you are reading this article in your wallet you have several dollar bills which have images of dead presidents on them. These images might not be graven, but does that destroy their power? No. People in the United States of America will do more for these little pieces of paper with their images of idols on them than anything else in the world.
And how can we say that the images on our currency are not images of idols? Although they be secular and not religious in nature our Founding Fathers (notice how we even capitalize their description as founding fathers!) are essentially saints in our land. Historical examples that we all look back to as sort of the leaders of a Golden Age, when America was young and pure. While I am sure that we do not offer up to them any sort of godhood, there is some sort of magical feeling that we get about these, our true American idols (unlike the ridiculous television show which fills up our television screens every year).
But this is only one example. Everywhere we turn we see idols and images and images of idols. It is almost impossible to get away from, unless we shut our eyes completely. Everywhere in this world we are exalting and glorifying things of this world and placing them above God. No, we are not creating golden calves in order to bow down before them and worship them as God, but we do bow down to the Golden Arches and ask them to give us our daily manna from heaven, despite the fact that we know it is killing us.
Our modern society falls far too easily into worship of the World and away from worship of the Lord. Yet we as Christians know that there is no power in these secular images of idols, that there is only power in Jesus who is the Christ. George Washington may have risked his life to help free our country from tyranny, but he did not give up his life in order to free our souls from sin.
It is important for us to remember that although we may be surrounded by the images of idols, these idols are not true idols. They are merely representations of things, but they have no true power in them. Any power that they might happen to have comes ultimately from only one source, the source behind all things: God. God is the Creator of All; nothing comes into existence without his willing it. But we Christians of this modern day face the feat that we might forget who is truly God, and fall into the trap of secularism where we believe that mankind is able to define his own destiny. This is absolutely not true. We need God, we depend on God, for all things. Without the Lord our God truly we are nothing.