1 Corinthians 10:18-22
Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.
Although idols are nothing, there is a demonic force behind them. Satan and his minions seek to draw people away from true worship of God. In ancient Corinth, idols were everywhere. Some people face this today. I have been to Thailand and Bangkok several times. In most businesses and homes, are Buddha statues. Often these can be found on the corners of properties. I don’t know what value the Thai people place in these statues. I’ll have to ask some of my friends there some time.
In Western cultures, we create our own idols. An idol for us would be something that draws our focus away from God. We are enticed to put something else first in our lives, such as careers, entertainment, sleep, various tasks, spending time with people or family, and so on. The strange thing is that these are important, but they can take time and focus away from God. Jesus taught us to put first God’s kingdom and everything else can be put in the right priority (Matthew 6:33).
Paul warns the Corinthians with a weak conscience who came out of pagan idolatry worship that eating food sacrificed to idols causes one to participate in the worship of that idol. It was a strong temptation for this group of people. The best defense against this happening was to flee idol worship and anything that had to do with it. When Christ comes into our lives, we too must make a radical break from or radical re-prioritizing of those things that tempt us to return to the old life. The best defense is a good offense of a living a life of regular worship, living with the sense of God’s presence with us.
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