Idols

“When you feel threatened, do you move toward love—or toward control?” We can tend to idolize leaders  because they’ve become masters at living out the shiny kingdoms—the very thing Satan tempted Jesus with, the thing so many of us still believe will finally fulfill us. And to be clear: this isn’t just about one leader. It’s about the human hunger to outsource our hope—to hand our peace, safety, and meaning to someone who looks strong enough to carry it.

The shiny kingdoms always promise the same things: control, status, safety, winning. If we truly listen, something in us checks that focus and tries to correct it. Our spirit knows when we’re drifting. But our flesh is strong—dense with thousands of years of programmed belief that the glorious kingdoms of the world could be ours if we just played the game right…said the right things, picked the right side, crushed the right enemies, got close enough to the throne.

Whether we recognize it or not, we tend to idolize these kinds of leaders because they speak to something ancient in us—an old part that still wants a powerful ruler to rule them all. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan… one ring to rule them all. Game of Thrones… one throne to rule them all. It’s a tale as old as time—literally.

Adam and Eve faced the temptation to take what wasn’t theirs: to eat the fruit and become like the Creator, to grab power instead of receiving life. To reach for control instead of trust. To crown the self instead of worshiping the One who gives life. That impulse didn’t disappear—it just got modern clothes. It learned how to campaign. It learned how to sell. It learned how to speak in certainty and make us feel safe.

And here’s a diagnostic question that reveals what’s really going on:

If my peace rises and falls with elections, headlines, or outcomes… what am I worshiping?

Because an idol is anything we look to for salvation that can’t actually save. And “shiny kingdoms” can’t save—no matter how loud they are, no matter how convincing they sound, no matter how much they promise. They can only demand more. More loyalty. More fear. More rage. More division. More sacrifice—usually of the people we’re told are “in the way.”

Jesus doesn’t offer a shortcut to power. He offers a cross-shaped way through the world. The kingdoms of the world run on domination—winning at all costs, securing the throne, protecting the center, controlling the story. The Kingdom of the Creator runs on surrender, service, and love. It looks like washing feet. It looks like loving enemies. It looks like truth without violence. It looks like strength that refuses to become cruelty.

So Jesus came to show us what actually works. What we should place our faith in. Who we should worship. What we should humbly rebel against. Who we should serve. How we should love.

Will we keep chasing shiny kingdoms…or will we live like we already belong to the one that’s accessible here and now and made by our Creator?