In Song of Solomon 2:15, the reader is warned to “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines…” The passage seems out of place for a love poem, but within its context and the understanding of foxes as destructive creatures, the message becomes a warning to the lovers: Beware of anything that will get in the way of the love you owe to another. Or, when the poem is viewed as an allegory of the believer and God, beware of idols.

A recent survey conducted by Lifeway Research polled 1000 U.S. Protestant pastors to determine what, if any, idols they felt their congregations struggled with. Comfort came to the top of the list with 67% of pastors surveyed stating they believed it was a significant influence on their congregations. Control or security came second at 56%, followed by money at 55%. In all, the pastors identified 8 idols that they felt held significant influence over their congregations, with “sex or romantic love” rounding out the bottom at 32%. 14% of pastors surveyed stated that they felt their congregations struggled with “none of these.”

When asked which of the 8 idols was the biggest struggle of their congregations, comfort came in first again at 30%, while control and security came in at 20%. Regarding the study, the executive director of Lifeway Research, Scott McConnell, said, “It’s easy to think that those in Christian churches have chosen their God and are faithful to Him. However, pastors quickly acknowledge how divided their congregations’ allegiances can be. These gods don’t have a physical shrine, but they compete for the hearts of Christians.” The study also looked further at how the age of the pastors affected their views of their congregation’s struggles, with younger pastors seeing more issues with modern day idols like money and political power in their congregations.

Unlike the idols vividly described in the Old Testament, modern day idols in nations like the United States can be harder to recognize at first and many are linked together. McConnell noted, “In many ways, the top three idols pastors recognize in their churches are related. Comfort and security draw the hearts of the most congregations, but they are often enabled by the pursuit of more money.” The study also reflects other growing schisms between a churchgoer’s personal commitment to Christ and the distractions that can intervene. A “State of the Bible USA 2022” study recently showed that two-thirds of younger self-identified Christians don’t attend church. The study also showed a 21 % decline in what it labeled “scriptural engagement” in Christian adults. Although the study did not explore the specific reasons why younger people weren’t attending church, it can be imagined that some of the idols in the Lifeway study could play a part. These distractions that draw away the heart like the angel’s cry in Revelation 2:4, “thou hast left thy first love,” are all leading to somewhere. The question, as best conjectured in the “State of the Bible” study is, “If Act I is a decision for Christ and Act II is a separation from the church, will there be an Act III? Can they be wooed back into a vital church connection, in which they are engaging with Scripture, sharing their faith, and growing in the company of other flawed believers? And how can we set the stage for that?”