Dealing with Idolatry to Avoid God: Part 1

In G.K. Beale's landmark book on idolatry, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry, he boldly yet conventionally claims that we become what we worship, either for ruin or restoration.  In his own words, "We resemble what we revere for our ruin or restoration."  One could summarize this statement by stating that God judges those that run after other gods by making them resemble what they run after. He offers an audio sermon here of the content of his book. 

His strategy is to pull allusive material in the Bible together in an intertextual convergence that sheds clarity on the greater idea taking place in the text.  His main text, Isaiah 6:19-13 reads,

 ⁹ He said, "Go and tell this people:
       " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
       be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
 ¹⁰ Make the heart of this people calloused;
       make their ears dull
       and close their eyes.
       Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
       hear with their ears,
       understand with their hearts,
       and turn and be healed."
 ¹¹ Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
      And he answered:
       "Until the cities lie ruined
       and without inhabitant,
       until the houses are left deserted
       and the fields ruined and ravaged,
 ¹² until the LORD has sent everyone far away
       and the land is utterly forsaken.
 ¹³ And though a tenth remains in the land,
       it will again be laid waste.
       But as the terebinth and oak
       leave stumps when they are cut down,
       so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

which is an allusion apparently to this passage in Psalms focusing on verse 8 as the grounds for his statement and the widely held belief that "we become what we worship"...

Psalm 115

 ¹ Not to us, O LORD, not to us
       but to your name be the glory,
       because of your love and faithfulness.
 ² Why do the nations say,
       "Where is their God?"
 ³ Our God is in heaven;
       he does whatever pleases him.
 ⁴ But their idols are silver and gold,
       made by the hands of men.
 ⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
       eyes, but they cannot see;
 ⁶ they have ears, but cannot hear,
       noses, but they cannot smell;
 ⁷ they have hands, but cannot feel,
       feet, but they cannot walk;
       nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
 ⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
       and so will all who trust in them. 

Seems bullet-proof.  Not so convincing though if we look at the nature of idolatry, its definition and what it means to worship an idol.  Are we really worshiping the idol, ascribing worth and value to it instead of to God?  Tim Keller takes a stab at this in his latest book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters and explains it succinctly in this video.

The pervasive understanding of idolatry seems to be more of a smoke screen for a much deeper problem that is rarely addressed.  Dealing with "idols" is ultimately only a step to the real problem and not necessarily an end in itself.  If we become what we worship, the questions I have are,

1. Is it a one way process?
2. Do we become only that which we worship?
2. Do we become what we worship or do we worship what we are becoming?
3. Is addressing idolatry, the "end" or a smoke screen for true our avoidance of God?

These and more questions will be dealt with in a following post.