We are worshipers. We can’t help it. We need to put someone or something high on a pedestal for worship. It’s wired deeply into the fabric of our being by the God who made us for Himself. Our sinful nature denies God the worship he is due, but it cannot suppress our worship instinct, it can only re-direct it. It can only mis-direct it. When it does, it generates an endless appetite for idolatry, destroying both us and our idols.

For the second time, I’m in Starbucks working on a sermon while listening to a long playlist of songs by a highly regarded artist. Last time, it was Whitney Houston. This time, it’s Paul Simon. Whitney was one of the greatest vocalists the world has ever known, but listening to her music years after her tragic death was overwhelmingly sad, especially “The Greatest Love of All.” Paul Simon is one of the great songwriters, regarded as perhaps second only to Bob Dylan for his songwriting. I am convinced that we destroyed both of these tremendously gifted people by worshiping them.

We are worshipers. We can’t help it. We need to put someone or something high on a pedestal for worship. It’s wired deeply into the fabric of our being by the God who made us for Himself. Our sinful nature denies God the worship he is due, but it cannot suppress our worship instinct, it can only re-direct it. It can only mis-direct it. When it does, it generates an endless appetite for idolatry, destroying both us and our idols.

Whitney Houston and Paul Simon are just two examples. Whitney’s tragic death makes her destruction more obvious, but I believe Paul Simon’s has been just as real. From what I’ve read, Paul Simon has struggled with depression, anxiety, insecurities, and short-lived marriages, as he has earned a reputation for treating people around him like garbage. Some of his most popular songs are essentially meaningless, according to his own explanations. In 2015, his former best friend and musical partner Art Garfunkel said, “I created a monster.” But I think we all did. We created it by worshiping the gift rather than the Giver.

The long list of destroyed idols in America is as tragic as it is endless: Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Britney Spears, Mike Tyson, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Jackson, Prince, Justin Bieber, Bruce Jenner, the Kardasians, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and many more. We talk about the “tortured artist,” but perhaps we need to speak about the “tortured idols.” It’s not without good cause that the most famous star-making show in American was called “American Idol.”

Hear me clearly: I’m not judging these people. It’s not their fault. It’s ours for worshiping them. Neither can I simply point the finger at the world, for we do the same thing in the church with our celebrity pastors. Remember when John Piper and C.J. Mahaney both had to step down and take leaves of absence for being prideful? Who wouldn’t be prideful if they were elevated and praised as much as those men were? We could add other celebrity pastors to the list: Bill Hybels, Mark Driscoll, Tulllian Tchividjian, etc.

The fallen world has always worshiped idols, and they always will, until Jesus comes again. But the church should know better!

Here’s what we need to do: Stop worshiping people! I know that’s easier said than done. Sometimes we just can’t help it. We admire someone. We’ve been so blessed by their artistry or their ministry. We’ve been so inspired and affected by their gifts in one way or another. But we MUST recognize the rising feeling of awe and wonder in our souls as worship. We must repent of that as idol-worship. and we must redirect that worship to God.

I’m a pastor, and I’ve spoken in front of people hundreds of times in my life. I know how good it can feel to have people looking up to you, hanging on your every word. I know how tempting it is to stop loving people and start needing them instead. I know how easily we can slip from serving others out of love for God to using others to serve our own egos. It’s a dangerous and deadly drug, and it can leave you feeling so cast down after the rush is over that you look for something else to scratch that itch. I think that’s why many pastors struggle with internet porn.

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