We will not make an idol for ourselves. The commandment "do not create for yourself an idol"

One of the main precepts of Orthodoxy says: "We will not make an idol for ourselves", ie. An idol, who is worshiped like the Lord. This applies not only to ancient pagan religions, but also to the worldview of modern man. How often do we hear people say that they are crazy about some songwriter or style of clothing. And in this commandment, the Most High just warns everyone against the loss of reason, which is the result of adoring the earthly and the material.

What is an idol

In ancient times, the heavenly bodies, animals and plants were considered idols. All that surrounded the heathen. Endowing nature with supernormal abilities, people prayed to the gods of the sun, wind, thunder, etc. They also created wooden idols, which they sacrificed. Now popular singers and performers of dances, talented actors and beautiful models became idols for millions of people. The distorted consciousness of people more and more turns its gaze to the temporal and earthly, forgetting about the eternal and heavenly. Many find it difficult to resist the temptation, which the Bible warns about: "Do not make yourself an idol."

But not only celebrities can become such for people. Instead of gross idolatry, he was replaced by a more subtle form of "adoration" - the service of human passions. These include gluttony - delicacy, eating without measure, desire for delicacy. This sin is the first among all passions. How often people allow themselves a lot of excess, choosing the food that is more tasty, and not what is useful to the body. And how many diseases are now appearing due to eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, pancreatitis and others. All this is directly connected with the constant desire to satisfy your insatiable stomach, forgetting about the Eternal and the Spiritual. Therefore the commandment "Ne Create for yourself an idol " Also applies to this sin of gluttony.

If for the money is ready for anything ...

Covetousness is a desire to have innumerable riches and a willingness to use any purpose for its reception. Another apostle Paul said that this sin is idolatry. Man serves his wealth as an idol, which he is very afraid of losing. Covetousness is a graver sin, rather than gluttony, because for the sake of profit a person can commit other, more terrible and indecent deeds: theft, murder, violence. That is why the desire for money love should be eradicated in its soul, because money as such should not be an end in itself. Finance is a means of obtaining the necessary food, clothing and other reasonable needs and needs.

Vanity Fair

A person suffering from pride and great conceit violates the commandment "Do not create for yourself an idol," because he places his dignity - mind and beauty - above all, including the will of the Lord. Such people laugh at someone else's opinion and appearance, consider others unworthy. Getting rid of this sin is very difficult, because people who suffer from it do not even notice his presence. Such a passion is treated only through obedience and work. And if the person himself does not want to recover from this misfortune, the Lord, loving each of us, despite all our vices, sends him misfortunes, depriving money, beauty and fame. These tests, like a shot or a bitter pill, are designed to restore the soul and chastity of the proud. After all, having no means of subsistence, one has to turn to people for help, and seriously ill, a person seeks consolation from others, humbling his pride.

Why do people worship idols

It is believed that the appearance of an idol in a person's life is due to the fact that he does not know the true Almighty. To know it is possible through the Holy Scripture, staying at the liturgies, confession, home prayer. Only thus can a person's soul be filled with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. If you stop referring to God, the emptiness that is formed will quickly fill up with something else: work, dating, dacha, hobby, which can also become an idol.

"Let us not make ourselves an idol," the Lord calls. But in ancient times, many, wishing to live by their own rules, rejected the will of the Most High and invented for themselves other patrons who were comfortable with them. For example, the god of war was the protector of violence and murder - what is not expanse for those who are engaged in this daily? Prodigals and adulterers invented the gods of love, who, instigating sensual passions, encouraged animal instincts. The commandment "Do not create for yourself an idol", the significance of which can not be overemphasized, is aimed at purifying and restoring the soul of a person.

How to relate to holy images and relics

Atheists and Protestants reproach the Orthodox believers for worshiping the icons, because, in their opinion, they violate the commandment "We will not make an idol for ourselves". In fact, through the images of Christ and the saints, we turn to the heavenly inhabitants for help. It is always easier to pray when you see an icon, rather than an empty wall.

Icons as a way of communicating with God

Even in the Old Testament times, the Lord commanded the prophet Moses to establish two angels on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. Then the Almighty said that he would always be invisibly among the cherubim. At that time there were no icons, for the Lord had not yet appeared on Earth, and people could not see it.

The first image appeared thanks to the grace of God. It was the Savior Not Made by Hands, which Jesus Christ bestowed on the prince of Augusta, who was ill with leprosy. Praying before this image, he was able to be healed. The icon itself was a canvas by which Jesus mopped his face, before washing. After this, Christ gave this towel to the prince's servant. The image appeared on the canvas when Avgar saw him. That is why the icon received a similar name - because human participation in its creation was not.

Then the apostle Luke created the holy image of the Mother of God on a wooden board, once serving as a dining table for Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. For many centuries, the Lord endowed the images with the power of miracles, which manifested itself in the myrrh of icons.

When a person is applied to relics, he receives God's grace. Therefore, the Orthodox worships not the remains of the saints, but simply becomes closer to the Lord, thereby not violating the second commandment "We will not make an idol for ourselves".

Jesus Christ came to earth to atone for human sins through unbearable suffering. Thus the Lord showed that there are no other gods other than Him. Only the Almighty always forgives and teaches us. Therefore, "Do not make yourself an idol" - a verse that is one of the key among the lines of the Old Testament.