False Worship
by Sammy Tippit

Look at the things of this world-wives, children, possessions, estates, power, friends, and honor; how amiable are they! How desirable to the thoughts of the most of men! But he who has obtained a view of the glory of Christ will, in the midst of them all, say, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside thee" (Ps.73:25 KJV*). John Owen, Glory Of Christ

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24 *King James Version

Jesus is the incomparable Christ. True worship will always be wholehearted worship built upon the single foundation of the glory of Christ. Everyone and everything else are too superficial and finite to command our absolute loyalty. It is impossible to worship Jesus and also bow to the gods of our culture.

What would a wife think of a husband with dual loyalty? She would not be very pleased if he came home from work one day and said, "Sweetheart, I love you. I really do. I love you more than any other person in this world. As a matter of fact, I love you so much that I am going to live with you more than I live with the two beautiful women I met at the office. I will live with you and be loyal only to you five days out of every week. Then I will love and be loyal to the other two women the two remaining days of the week. You see, I love you more than both of them put together."

I don't think that his comments would be very comforting to his wife. She might say, "Make up your mind. It's me or them. You can't have it both ways."

That's exactly what Jesus meant when He said, "No one can serve two masters" (Matt.6:24). There are many in the church today who say, "I love and worship Jesus." They give intellectual assent to the beauty and glory of Jesus. However, they hold back a part of their hearts for the gods of their culture. They claim to have an altar of worship built to Jesus in their hearts, but close inspection reveals that in their hearts are several other altars.

Dual loyalties and multiple objects of worship have been great problems for God's people throughout the centuries. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel continually struggled to maintain its single-minded devotion and loyalty to Jehovah. During the mid-700s B.C., they enjoyed a temporary time of prosperity. But the hearts of the people were riddled with sin and idolatry. Israel was called out and set apart as God's own people. But they committed spiritual adultery. They ran after other gods.

During that time, God raised up a prophet to call the people back to wholehearted worship of Himself. Hosea, whose name means "salvation," was given that task. His assignment was a difficult one. God required of him that he marry a prostitute and have children by her. That woman, Gomer, prostituted herself with other men, just as the children of Israel prostituted themselves with the worship of other gods. God intended Hosea's relationship with Gomer to be an illustration of the tragedy of God's people whose hearts were divided in their worship.