God’s second commandment and the contemporary reality
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” This is God’s second Commandment, which incidentally is the logical continuation of the first Commandment, “I am the Lord’s: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord.” It is hard to follow as the second so as the rest of the Commandments of God because the temptations are many. Money may be an idol when it turns from a means of living to a means of signifying you own self. Items of idolatry can be even the science (allegedly it can save us in itself), the art (when it does not serve the good causes) and even icons and them – the saints. In modern life, often people act in the role of idols: actors, pop stars, public and political figures.
In such cases, it often happens that let’s say the idols are male gender, while the fans – female gender, and here, perhaps, there is some hidden or obvious eroticism. I know women whose idol is Robert Kocharyan, Tigran Sargsyan, even Narek Sargsyan, and they are ready to “jump” at anyone’s face who will at least slightly question the perfection of their idols. Not to speak about Levon Ter-Petrosyan. He, as it is accepted to say, is a “charismatic” personality, and a few dozen men and women (but mostly women) are ready to erect the wooden statue of the first president in their homes (the word “kumra” in Semitic means approximately this, more precisely, “carved in the wood”) and worship him. Irrespective of who is the object of worship: a man, money, or let’s say, science, the idols have one common feature: sooner or later, people get disappointed of them and eventually, overthrow them.
The second Commandment (together with the first one) is called on to examine our heart: to what is our worship aimed at: to the creature or the Creator. The “antidote” to idolatry, I think, is given in the Bible: to love people rather than to adore and idolize them. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (Paul’s first paper to the Corinthians 13, 4-6). While idolatry assumes arrogance, anger, malice towards all the phenomena that do not fit into the frames drawn by our worshiped “idols”. Where there is a lack of love, this empty space is filled in with idolatry.
However, the “antidote” must be from the opposite side too. In other words, sometimes it happens that a person who enjoys a reputation: a political leader, a scientist or a priest, unwittingly becomes “idol.” It is not necessarily for him to be Hitler or Stalin, although, let’s admit that the person must have certain elements of narcissism in order to become an idol or to have such aspirations. But if the person does not sincerely want to become an idol, then it should not occur him mind to substitute the Lord by himself or buy any product of him mind.
This, essentially, means to substitute one piece with the whole. In the most vivid way, this “substitution” can be covered with the motto having almost an advertising shade, “only we”. Only we know how to fight against evil, only we know how to think, get dressed, which books to read, what to eat, what to drink, and finally, how to be saved. As soon as this “only we” begins to sound in any community (religious or secular), then there is an “idol” there who approves these rules. Reputable people who have wit have proper humbleness and soberness to prevent this “only we” in the embryonic phase.
… His Holiness enters the room of the priest and the first question he asks is, “And where is my picture? Why is it so small? Why is it not put in the right place?” I have already told about narcissism.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN,
Aravot Daily
