Don't Minimize Idolatry

Biblical counselors talk a lot about idols. We understand that heart idolatry is at the root of every sin struggle: anger, anxiety, relational conflicts, sexual immorality, habitual lying, etc. We are right to say that idolatry is the root sin (Romans 1:18-32).¹ And we are right, therefore, to make heart idolatry a constant theme of our counseling. If our counselees will grow and change, they will need to see what is really at the heart of their sin struggles.

There are many good resources available that explain heart idolatry and its relation to the various issues people present in counseling. In this blog post, I want to offer a gentle warning about how we use this concept in biblical counseling and, therefore, hopefully make it more impactful when we do.

I noticed a problem in my own counseling ministry with how I was speaking about idolatry and how my counselees seemed to be thinking about it. I recognized that as I explained from Scripture how idolatry was at the root of various sin problems, and then helped people discover what their particular heart idols were, my counselees and I didn’t seem to talk in a way that matched Scripture’s “tone” on the issue. In the Bible, idolatry isn’t just a pervasive problem that stands in the way of people truly changing. Scripture consistently speaks of idolatry as an appalling evil that provokes God’s jealous burning anger (Jeremiah 2:12-13; Deuteronomy 4:23-24; 6:13-15). As Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry… Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?” (1 Corinthians 10:14, 22)

I had fallen into a pattern of talking about idolatry like it was merely an indispensable concept for experiencing lasting change. But in explaining how failing to trust and treasure God was at the root of every sin, I often ended up soft-pedaling its heinousness. Diagnosing idolatry became just a useful counseling insight for its pragmatic benefits: helping counselees dig down to the “root” of their problems so that they could be addressed effectively. But if we aren’t helping people see the shocking evil of the root of their sin—helping people feel about their idols like God does—then how effectively can their problems truly be addressed? 

Maybe the main problem for some of our counselees is not so much a failure to recognize their heart idols as it is a failure to recognize how grievous their idolatry is in the eyes of God. Indeed, Scripture uses language that’s a lot stronger than the word “grievous” to describe the evil of idolatry! 

I wonder if you have fallen into the same error I did. When you first read the title of this blog post, did you assume the minimization I would warn against was overlooking the prevalence of idolatry? Did you assume I would just encourage you to make sure you aim at the heart in all your counseling? Or were you also aware of this danger concerning how we help people view their heart idols? Perhaps those counselors who do a really good job aiming at the heart in counseling need this latter warning especially. We can be tempted to minimize the moral seriousness of idolatry precisely because of how prevalent it is.

Of course, I realize this warning about how to counsel idolatry might make you uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable. After all, this truth will make people feel worse about the personal struggles that they already feel bad about! We must remember: deep sorrow over hidden heart idols—rising from a knowledge of how these sins offend God—is the “right kind” of sorrow, the Godward and godly kind that leads to true repentance, lasting change, and regret-free joy in God and His salvation (2 Corinthians 7:9-11; Psalm 51:10-17; Matthew 5:3-6; James 4:4-10).

You don’t have to be afraid to help your counselees understand more of the horror of idolatry, so long as you also help them understand more of the greatness of God’s grace in Christ. His grace is greater (superabundant, per Romans 5:20) than this appalling evil that God sees in all our hearts. If you don’t minimize the saving work of Jesus, then you don’t need to minimize the evil of our idolatry. If you lift high the cross, then you can pull back the curtain on idolatry and trust that these sobering truths will bless your counselee. Actually, those “lifting high” and “curtain pulling” moves should work together. The true gospel magnifies the heinousness of our sin, and the heinousness of our sin magnifies the greatness of God’s love and grace, which shines in the gospel.

Ironically, then, a clearer view of idolatry should lead to a clearer view of God’s glory, which is exactly what our counselees need. Nothing can more powerfully uproot idolatry from our hearts.

¹ We sometimes say pride is the sin that’s at the root of all others. But what is pride? Putting self in the place of God somehow: idolatry of self. See my previous post, “Pride and Humility.”