Four False Idols – Gramazin Blog

In the past few years I have debated if I erred in the way I opened my first book, Take Every Thought to Prayer, Volume 1 – Prayers to Love God. The first four prayers in the book are clearly unbiblical and many may think that they show great disrespect for our Maker. However, I wanted to establish in the opening pages of the book that just because someone prays to “god” it does not mean they have the right heart for God. The act of prayer does not indicate that the person who prays has a relationship with the one true God. Hence, I provide four different prayers to prove the point.

Idol #1. Atheism (the God that doesn’t exist). The atheist is proud and arrogant. He doesn’t need a god in his life because he is his own god. He can manage his life on his own. As a matter of fact, he wants nothing to do with a God who will hold him accountable for how he lives his life. Despite the fact that there is overwhelming evidence of the existence of an all-powerful Supreme being, the atheist “chooses” to discredit his responsibility before that God by pretending that He doesn’t exist.

“If there is no God, I won’t be judged and sent to hell for my behavior. Therefore, if I can get rid of Him, I’ll have the license to do as I please in life.”

The first “prayer” in the book addresses this heart attitude. They do not fear God and they are not humble before Him.

1. I Don’t Believe You Exist

God, I’m praying to a figment of the imagination of mindless religious freaks who need a crutch. You are a fairy tale as real as the Easter bunny. I cannot fathom how intelligent people can believe in you. Where’s the sign on the highway, “Fifty miles to God’s throne?”. You can’t be found anywhere on the planet. If you existed I would have everything I wanted in life. It would be, well, cough, heaven on earth. So, here’s the challenge, Supreme buddy. Show me you exist. Good luck with that. Oh, I’m supposed to say amen now, right? Ok, Amen.

Idol #2. The Evil and Incompetent God. Another way to “escape” from divine judgment is to accuse the judge of being evil or incompetent.

“Why are You judging me God when You didn’t do what You were supposed to do?”

Such individuals create a trap for God. He is transformed into the god whose purpose is to give us a comfortable life with every pleasure we want. When He doesn’t deliver as we required, we blame Him for being evil or incompetent. Therefore, we don’t have to obey Him. The second “prayer” in the book addresses this idol.

2. You Are So Cruel!

God, I am the center of the universe. I am my own god. I live to satisfy my desires and goals. I make my own decisions, analyze how I want to, think my own thoughts, feel whatever emotions I feel like feeling, take my own actions, and say whatever I feel like saying. What do I ask of you? To make my wishes, dreams, and wants to come true. You must give me everything I want, how I want it, when I want it, and where I want it. You are not following the script. That’s what a loving God does. Have You heard of Santa Claus? You are dropping the ball. You are failing. You are fired. I am going to find some other god to replace You. I hate You. Amen.

Idol #3. The Wimpy Love God. This is the god who is a twin to idol #2. Instead of blaming God for being evil or incompetent, we make Him out to be the God who is exclusively interested in love. He has no desire to judge anyone. He has no issue with sin. He has no expectation for how we should live our lives. In the event that He does have such expectations, He quickly forgives our trespasses because He is too nice of a God to discipline or punish us. He just wants us to be happy. He wants us to be whomever we want to be. The third “prayer” in the book reflects this idol.

3. Give Me A Nice Church to Attend

God, I want a church that will reassure me that I am at the center of the universe. I want a church who will help me feel good about trying to live my daily life as my own god. I want a church where I’m told You just want to make me happy. I want a church who lets me know I can do whatever I want to do, think whatever I want to think, and say whatever I want to say. I want a church who tells me that you just want me to feel loved and comfortable and that you don’t care how I live my life. I can’t stand those other churches, the churches that challenge me that I am accountable to You for my life. Such churches talk about sin, confession, the cross, salvation, forgiveness, repentance, and all that other _________. Such churches are abusive. They ruin our self-esteem. I know You don’t like that either. I know that more than anything else You want us to feel good about ourselves. You expect nothing other than we are to love ourselves. The only people that anger You are the bad people, people like murderers, rapists, terrorists, and those who make others feel uncomfortable about sin. God, give me a church that protects my delicate heart from anything I don’t want to hear. Thank you for expecting nothing of me and letting me be my own god. That shows you are the God I want you to be. Amen.

Idol #4. The Elitist God. This god won’t hold the elite responsible for their sin. They are in His good favor. They are good people who have done well for themselves. They are model citizens and they enjoyed career success. They are not unlike the riff-raff who never made anything of their lives. Therefore, God is pleased with them because they have made something of their lives. Heaven is for the elite on earth who have successfully reigned as the god of their lives. They will not be held accountable to God. Their “prayer” is illustrated by the fourth prayer in the book.

4. My Church is My Social Club

God, I love my church. It’s my private club; the exclusive community I am proud to belong to. We allegedly invite people to come to our church but, in truth, we tell people to stay away. Our photos on our church website suggest that only beautiful and influential people – like me – attend our church. We don’t share on our website any humble and transparent testimonies of Christ healing our brokenness. We seem like perfect people to outsiders. We don’t offer any outreach ministries, welcoming the hurting people in our community to come to us. Therefore, people with messy lives will stay away. We are shocked when an outsider enters through our open door on a Sunday. If they do, we will be cold and distant so they dare not come to visit us again. Life will go on as usual. We will continue to enjoy our worship services and social activities, making sure that we are truly at the center of all things. God, you are merely a purpose for us to gather to celebrate our own greatness. Amen.

The opening four prayers in Take Every Thought to Prayer, Volume 1 – Prayers to Love God make the case that the act of prayer is not necessarily an act of genuine worship. Genuine prayer comes from humility before God:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word. Isaiah 66:2 (NIV).

If you want the Lord to hear your prayers, you must be humble and contrite before Him. You must fear Him for He is the Lord God Almighty. The rest of the prayers in the book reflect that spirit.

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