On its surface the second commandment makes what seems like an ultra-simple demand of those who want to obey God: don’t make a carved image and worship it. Most people have never, ever done so. I haven’t. I have never taken a block of wood and a whittling knife and spent a period of time crafting an image that I then bowed down to and worshipped.
But . . . where do images that end up being served begin their existence? They begin in the image factory: the imagination. The second commandment is not a law against arts and crafts. This is a law against something more deviously subtle; against using one’s imagination to dishonor God. People who have carved out images and then worshipped them intentionally did so because it was already in their mind (and in their heart) to do so. So, the carving of the image is just a natural result of what they already had carved in their own mind. Therefore, in reality, it’s not just the carved image itself (and bowing to it) that violates the second commandment; it’s the thought patterns and ideologies we can allow in our minds that precede it. In fact, there are so few actual carvings made of wood or stone to represent the myriad of thoughts and ideologies that have tried to take up space in our minds that can insult a holy God.
What does it take to carve out an image with the intention to then serve the finished carving? It takes an imagination not submitted to God. Otherwise (think about it), the idea of carving out a worship-worthy image is pretty farfetched, it abandons common sense, it easily embraces altered realities, and it taints the culture with damaging philosophies. Welcome to the unbridled mind embarrassingly short on godly boundaries! It is a world of make-believe with the premise that I can think any thought whatsoever and turn it into whatever I want. It is a wholesale license to lie to myself.
G.K Chesterson said, “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing. They then become capable of believing in anything.”
This is why it is vital to erect the intellectual and mental boundaries of a Biblical worldview and to embrace a vigilant lifestyle concerning every thought or philosophy that comes our way. This is not a constraint to a life well lived but an opportunity to build genuine freedom and moral strength, and to enjoy the privileges of a Bible-directed existence.
We already live in a world of an ever-increasing number of altered realities—a world of make-believe with no regard for Biblical principles. This makes the second commandment the most violated commandment of them all.
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