Beware of IDOLS.
Hey Everyone! I’ve been wanting to share this post with you all for quite some time but recently got the inspiration to just last week. My Pastor alluded to “idols” during Bible Study and immediately I knew it was time to share it with you. This is a topic is very dear to my heart because I’ve personally dealt with it.
When we think of “idolatry”, we often think of the Israelite's and the Golden Calf. We shun Aaron & that generation from making an Idol and worshiping it. We think to ourselves, “I would never do that.”
Yet, in Modern Day America, we do that same thing…
We worship our relationships, our money, our jobs, our kids & spouses, and even ourselves….OVER GOD.
So, it’s not that we haven’t made any Idols. Our Golden Calf just looks different.
So, I ask you to really think about and answer these questions for yourself>>
What has your time & attention more than anything or anyone else?
What do you crave for? What are you desperate for?
What can you NOT live without? What has your worship?
That is your GOD.
To make it practical… Here’s a Quick Scenario >>
You have a good relationship with God. It’s not the best, but it will work.
You make time for God every day. Well, at least you try to.
You talk to God. You read your bible. What could possibly go wrong?
Slowly but surely…
You start to give more of your time and attention to other things.
A Job. Social Media. A Person…is demanding your attention.
You start to notice that you’re not making as much time for God as you used to.
Your conversations are getting shorter. Your bible devotion has waned.
To the point where you’re finding it hard to even spend time with Him.
It finally gets to the point where you don’t spend time with God PERIOD.
You’ve given your time and attention to other things & you have little to no desire for quality time with God. If this has ever happened to you, YOU HAVE JUST ENTERED IDOLATRY and you may not have even known it.
My Definition of Idols
Anything or Anyone that has more of your time, attention, or worship than God.
We literally can make “idols” out of just about anything, can’t we? Money, clothes, people, social media. You name it. Somebody has probably made a “idol” out of it! Whether you realize it or not, you’re worshiping someone or something. The questions is, “Who or what do you worship?”
Exodus 34:14 (NLT) says, “Don’t worship other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you.”
Why is God referred to as Jealous? Well, because HE LOVES YOU LIKE YOU CRAZY! He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He loves you so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for your sin (John 3:16) and there’s nothing you can do about it! He created you because of His love for you, and His desire is to be loved back by His creation.
But what do we do? We sometimes find ourselves worshiping creation instead of the Creator of the Universe (Romans 1:25). Things that aren’t even worthy of our time or attention, steal our worship away from God. These idols play off of our insecurities and vulnerabilities and cause us to believe that God isn’t enough for us. They make us feel as if we need something more than God.
But what do you really need more than God? I remember God asking me a similar question before. He said, “What are you looking for? What do you feel they can give you that I can’t?”
When I really thought about it, I concluded that:
Everything I was looking for was VAIN anyway, merely things that my flesh wanted.
The second thing I concluded was that there’s nothing that any person or thing could give me, that God can’t give to me over and beyond.
I can recall specific times when I was a teenager where I found myself so mesmerized by certain people God had placed in my life. I was so amazed that they even wanted to talk to me or even be around me. My parents did a fantastic job in raising me but I had such a devalued perception of my self-worth (through rejection from peers) that when people came into my life, I began to worship them instead of God. It wasn’t until I discovered who I was in Christ that I realized that I didn’t need the approval of people to make me feel important. ALL I NEEDED WAS GOD. I thought I needed more, but I didn’t. I also began to notice that when I gave pieces of my heart to people and things, they crushed it.
Some of you may have the same story. But know this: God doesn’t crush hearts. He’s actually close to those who have crushed hearts (Psalm 34:18). He knows how to handle them because He made them!
God just wants your whole heart. But we can sometimes be very guilty of only giving Him pieces of our heart and not the whole thing. Where do the other pieces go, you may ask? Well, inspite of knowing how unsteady people and things can be, we still give pieces of our heart to them, expecting them to be any different. But let me remind you, THEY ARE NOT GOD. People and things are actually horrible “gods” and are not worthy to be compared to the only True and Living God.
I like Forever Jones song, “He wants it all.”
There’s one part of the song that says:
Love me, love me with your whole heart
He wants it all today…
Bow down, let go of your “idols”
He wants it all today…
When we hold on to idols, we actually withhold our worship from God. So, I encourage you to BEWARE OF IDOLS that may have tried to arise in your own life. Beware of people or things that are steadily trying to take the place of God in your heart. When you make something or someone your idol, you are addicted to them. They are the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night. You can’t stop thinking about them or wanting to spend time with them. Well, that’s how God wants us to be with Him - He wants us to be so addicted to Him that we’re constantly thinking about Him and always wanting to spend time with Him. When we keep our worship focused on God, by default, idols are being destroyed in our lives!
And beware of the enemy because he will try you test you. He’ll try to play off of your insecurities and past wounds to get you to direct your worship toward something or someone else. But don’t fall into his trap. You know his strategy. Come up with your own game-plan to counter his attacks. Any time you notice an idol trying to emerge in your life, destroy it by spending crazy time with God. Destroy it by ignoring it and not giving it your time and attention. Destroy it by KEEPING GOD FIRST.
One Day...I heard God tell me something and I believe He's speaking the same thing to you right now. God is saying, "NOTHING...is more important than your relationship with me!"
I trust this blog has encouraged you but also challenged you - If it's blessed you in any way, be sure to share and comment below!
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