Guiding Scripture: Psalm 81:9 - “You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.” (NIV)
- Remember, worship is about our heart posture. Whatever has our heart has our worship, so if something has taken the place in your heart where God should be, it’s an idol.
- In other words, idolatry is anything that you love---and are more committed to---than God.
- Anything can be an idol. Here are some of the most common ones:
- Idols can be people.
- Daniel 6:7,9 - “The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den... So King Darius put the decree in writing.”
- These days, celebrity culture has become one of the most popular forms of idol worship. Social media has given us intimate knowledge of other peoples’ lives, causing us to worship both them and the platforms that give us access to them.
- Idols can be possessions.
- Exodus 32:3-4 - “So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
- In modern times, we worship everything from food to houses to cars, but the most entrenched and widespread idolatry is probably connected to our smartphones.
- Idols can be politics (ideas).
- Acts 17:19-21 - “(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)”
- These days, many people have turned their preferred political party into an idol. No man made party is capable of representing the perfect and righteous kingdom of God. It’s okay to have preferences, but we must always be willing to lay those preferences at the foot of the cross.
- One thing that makes idolatry difficult to overcome is the fact that it’s layered. When we turn away from God, we rarely replace Him with one thing. Instead, we worship multiple gods in an effort to fill the emptiness we feel without Him.
- What to do with the idols in your life:
- Identify them with the help of the Holy Spirit. “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26, NLT)
- Tear them down. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.” (2 Chronicles 14:2-3, NIV)
- Renew your commitment to God through worship. “At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.” (2 Chronicles 15:11-12)
Action Step: Are there any idols in your life that you may have unknowingly erected that you need to tear down? If so, what are they? Begin walking through the steps to tear down the idols in your heart today.