The fatal flaw in this idol is that it does not take seriously the destructive consequences of sin in our lives and our world. The idol of the benevolent grandfather has brought chaos of values and the destruction of life into our society. The Bible reveals the truth about God. He is a righteous, holy and just God who has absolute ethical standards for all his people. When those are violated they bring destruction into lives.
Sin is serious and costly.
It cannot be winked at. To forgive us of our sins cost God his own son who came into our world and took upon himself the penalty of all our sin and died an agonizing, costly death upon the cross in our place. But God said we were worth it to him so that we could be forgiven. God provides for our forgiveness at tremendous cost, but he cannot wink at the destructiveness of sin. A second idol is the vending machine god.