The Weakness of Idolatry

Tangibility, in the modern world, is regarded by many to be of utmost importance. Thus, that which cannot be held in one’s hands is deemed worthless while great power is assigned to material things. For this reason, people turn away from the unreachable face of God and choose instead to stare into the substantial face of an idol. An additional root of idolatry lies within the hunt for the answers to life’s questions – with humans having a tendency to expect God to immediately provide them with the answers they desire. When these wishes are not granted by God, humans are inclined to then turn from God and to a more unvarying idol that proceeds to fill the gap left by one’s faith. These roots of idolatry have and shall continue to leave their mark on the world, and this mark is manifested particularly in the arts. For instance, Richard Wilbur’s poem “The Good Servant” and Delacroix’s painting “Christ on the Sea of Galilee” – both criticisms of Jesus and his disciples – serve to illustrate the derivations of idolatry taking root in the world and being expressed through the arts. For example, Wilbur’s poem calls out Jesus for his inability to see the suffering of his people on Earth, made evident when he says, “Where men with broken nets/ Seek, for their master’s sake,/ All that that lord forgets/ Because he would not wake” (13-18). Similarly, In Delacroix’s painting, he shows a boat containing a sleeping Jesus surrounded by men toiling with the treacherous waves. Both men make assertions that Jesus is blind to the suffering of the people he calls his own, and that, consequently, man is left to do what he can with the work of his own two hands – and what he manages to create takes the place of faith in his life. This concept of idolatry finding its origins in the work of his hands is also present in Lumen Fidei, for it is said therein, “Idols exist…as a pretext for setting ourselves at the centre of reality and worshiping the work of our own hands.” Despite the reasons why men turn to idolatry – whether it is as a result of feeling too distant from an unseen God or anger with God for apparent ignorance – an argument may be made that turning to idolatry is not because of the nature of God but rather the weakness of man himself. Though it may seem beneficial to idolize material things as opposed to remain faithful to the God one cannot see nor converse with directly, in the long run, faith in God will end up more beneficial. For example, one can live an entire life a slave to the money one earns, but this money can take one only as far as life does, as opposed to God, who, as Jesus said, “sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Mt 6:6). Idolatry has yet to leave this world, but one can hope most men will overcome the temptation.