The Church’s New Golden Calves
There was a time when Israel gathered around a golden calf. Today, our idols have become flesh and blood. We no longer bow before statues of gold. We bow before fame, wealth, beauty, entertainment and sporting success.
Millions hang upon every word, movement and social media post of celebrities such as Taylor Swift, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Beyoncé, and countless others.
- Their romances become our conversations.
- Their arguments become our debates.
- Their failures become our headlines.
- Their victories become our celebrations.
- Yet they do not know our names.
How extraordinary that we can become emotionally invested in people who have never met us, while remaining emotionally detached from the neighbours God has sovereignly placed beside us.
Then there is the religion of sport.
Football has become the liturgy of millions.
Supporters will travel hundreds of miles, stand in freezing rain, spend thousands of pounds, lose sleep, raise their voices until they are hoarse, defend their club with fierce loyalty and rearrange their lives around a fixture list.
Others will gladly rise before dawn to watch Wimbledon, following every serve, every rally and every ranking point of players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff.
Yet suggest attending a prayer meeting…
- Studying Scripture…
- Sharing the gospel…
- Or gathering for worship…
- …and suddenly there is little enthusiasm, little sacrifice and little time.
The world has every right to worship its idols.
It does not know Christ. But the tragedy is not that the world behaves this way.
The tragedy is that the Church increasingly behaves the same way.
- We have become experts in celebrities and novices in Christ.
- We know transfer windows better than we know the Word of God.
- We know Wimbledon schedules better than we know the Great Commission.
- We know chart rankings better than we know the Beatitudes.
- We know Hollywood better than Heaven.
- We know famous faces better than we know the face of God.
Something is desperately wrong.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves some painfully honest questions.
- Why do we become more animated discussing football than discussing the gospel?
- Why do we remember every celebrity scandal yet struggle to remember last Sunday’s sermon?
- Why do we eagerly consume hours of podcasts, interviews, sporting analysis and entertainment news, yet complain that thirty minutes of Bible teaching feels too long?
- Why do we applaud athletes for lifting trophies while scarcely rejoicing when sinners repent?
The prophet Jeremiah recorded God’s indictment:
“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
Has the modern Church done exactly the same?
- Our idols are simply more sophisticated.
- Our temples are stadiums, concert arenas, cinemas, streaming platforms and social media feeds.
- Our priests are influencers.
- Our evangelists are sports commentators and entertainment journalists.
- Our liturgy is twenty-four-hour media.
- Our daily devotions are endless scrolling.
- And our worship is measured by where our attention, affection, time and money continually flow.
This is not merely a cultural problem.
- It is a spiritual problem.
- It is a worship problem.
For whatever consistently captures your imagination, commands your emotions, occupies your conversations and governs your priorities has quietly become your god.
The first commandment has never been repealed.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
The issue is not whether Christians may enjoy music, appreciate sport or admire exceptional talent. The issue is whether these good gifts have quietly climbed onto the throne that belongs to Christ alone.
The devil rarely asks believers to deny Christ outright. He simply distracts them until Christ becomes one interest among many instead of the supreme treasure above all.
- A distracted Church soon becomes a powerless Church.
- A powerless Church soon becomes a compromised Church.
- And a compromised Church has very little to say to a dying world.
The call of God has never changed.
Lift your eyes from the famous to the Faithful One. Turn from the temporary to the Eternal.
Turn from the applause of crowds to the approval of God. Turn from living through the lives of celebrities to living for the glory of Jesus Christ.
For one day every stadium will fall silent.
- Every concert will end.
- Every trophy will tarnish.
- Every celebrity will die.
- Every empire of entertainment will disappear.
- Every earthly kingdom will pass away.
But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The question is not whether Christ has first place in our theology.
The question is whether He still has first place in our hearts.