Brian Underwood
What do Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, and Scotty McCreery all have in common? Music fans know that each has immense musical talent, which was discovered on the original reality TV program American Idol.
It was heartwarming to see Carrie win all those years ago. Her transcendent voice runs in the family. Just not in my family. The phenomenon that became American Idol, which returns next month for its 22nd season, has spawned several other talent shows for singers, each predicated on giving aspiring talent a chance for their big break on the national stage.
And the American public has delighted in rooting for its favorite singers, which has generated spirited debate over the years over who the latest idol should be.
Devotion to this groundbreaking show and the attendant fandom it inspires is perfectly healthy and delightful, but the subtext of following idols, in a general sense, is something we can easily fall prey to, and it is something against which God’s word cautions.
Prominently delivered and reinforced in the words of the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s first two commandments speak directly to keeping him and his kingdom first, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Exodus 20:3-4)
It may be a matter of semantics when attempting to differentiate between those things that personify our passions and those things that veer toward being idols. A tell might be our inability to regulate and recognize those activities and behaviors that make him greater and ourselves smaller in our lives.
Every year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics produces its annual American Time Use Survey sharing a look at how Americans, age 15 and older, spend their days. The 2023 survey revealed that the daily average during the work week showed Americans spent 9.5 hours on personal care activities (the largest being sleep time), 4.6 hours in leisure/sports time, 4.5 hours working, 1.7 on household activities, and 1.2 hours eating.
The BLS doesn’t study the time Americans spend in prayer, attending church, or other church-related activities, but the Pew Research Center shared a study that 55 percent of Americans report they pray on a daily basis, and 36 percent report going to church weekly.
A more concerning trend reported ChristianityToday.com revealed a 2022 study that “roughly 26 million people had mostly or completely stopped reading the Bible in the last year.” The report went on to provide startling contrast that while in 2021, “about 50 percent of Americans said they read the Bible on their own at least three or four times per year.
“That percentage had stayed more or less steady since 2011. But in 2022, it dropped 11 points. Now only 39 percent say they read the Bible multiple times per year or more. It is the steepest, sharpest decline on record.”
Myriad postulates and variables are available to study the reasons behind these statistics, but what seems clear is that other priorities have taken root. Other things have become idols for our time.
Living our lives in a God-focused manner means living life with a daily focus on loving and giving thanks for Jesus Christ, evidenced in the measure we pour out that love on our fellow man, even and especially those we might find unlovable. Often, this means evaluating our priorities and reconstituting and recommitting our lives to him.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
To live life in this accord is not to insinuate or believe the Lord’s will for us is one of blank austerity, devoid of richness and vibrance. By no means. As Jesus prepared his disciples for his death and resurrection he told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you whatever you ask of me in the father’s name, he will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24)
Knowing God’s love for us and his desire to be in relationship with us creates an opportunity to reflect on the priorities and those things that devalue that relationship. Those we love most on this side of heaven generally receive our greatest attention. Does not the one who created us, provides for us, and loves us deserve at least that much?
In a little less than a month, we begin the season of Lent and the walk to the cross of Jesus’ death and resurrection. For many, Lent represents an opportunity to forgo something to share in the experience of Christ’s sacrifice.
Perhaps this year offers a new opportunity, the chance to pray over our priorities and the moment to put Christ first. If “idle time is the devil’s playground,” then idol time is his theme park. So, the next time you’re preparing to jump on that ride, first ask God along for the ride. He would love nothing more.
Brian Underwood is retired executive director at Sierra Lutheran High School, adjunct faculty member SLHS and WNC.