Exodus 20:4

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

One of the benefits of a man made god is that it does not speak, does not make demands and leaves them alone to do as they please.

1 Peter 1:17

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

Perhaps they created false gods because wood and stone have no power to judge.

Sin without guilt destroys society. These are the lessons of history that have been repeated over and over again. One must not assume that we will not make the same mistakes just because others have done so. While some say that failing to study history dooms us to repeat it, others say we can do better only to make bigger mistakes than their predecessors. 

Exodus 20:5

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

How can we serve a god that asks nothing of us? It would seem that there is a class of men that desire to set themselves up as high priests to these false gods and tell others what to do. They speak for those gods that have no voice. Men use men to retain power over others who worship mute gods. They become man followers rather than God followers.

Judges 21:25

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

1 Samuel 8:5

and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Those that do not like to be judged want to be just like everyone else. They do not understand sanctification.

John 17:19

And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Psalm 4:2

O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

Yes, how long? It is after all His honor and not our own. Believing lies is disrespecting His name.

Shaming is belittling, why do that to others? Why do it to ourselves?

Life is a struggle. There is no shame in struggling, at least you haven’t given up or given in to the lies. Lies are the tools of the enemy. He will call you unworthy. He will remind you of passages like Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

While that is true it is not the whole story.

• Romans 3:22
  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
• Romans 5:17
  For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
• Romans 5:21
  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is HIs righteousness, HIs faithfulness and His graciousness in which we stand, having none of our own, we have access to His.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We live by faith, we walk by faith, we do all things through Him by faith in Him, having no faith of our own because we have placed it in Christ Jesus.

But… no buts, everything after that but is a lie of the enemy, reject it.