Our Idol Making Hearts

"It’s easier for Christians to identify worldly idols such as money, power, ambition, greed. It’s the idols inside the church that we have a harder time identifying. For instance, it was easy for Jonah to see the idolatry of the sailors. It was easy for him to see the perverse ways of the Ninevites. What he couldn’t see was his own idolatry, his own perversion. Idolatry is not just a problem for non-Christians; it’s a problem for Christians too. For instance, we know it’s wrong to bow to the god of power—but it’s also wrong to bow to the god of preferences. We know it’s wrong to worship immorality—but it’s also wrong to worship morality. We know it’s wrong to seek freedom by breaking the rules—but it’s also wrong to seek freedom by keeping them. We know God hates unrighteousness—but he also hates self-righteousness. The book of Jonah wrecked all of us by revealing our idol-making hearts. Thankfully, while our idolatry reaches far God’s amazing grace in the story (and ours) reaches farther."

Excerpt from: Better Than Any Fish Story: Tchividjian on the Gospel in Jonah

For more resources on preaching and teaching Jonah, visit The Gospel Coalition’s site Preaching Christ in the Old Testament.