Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. 1 John 5:21 (NLT)
Idolatry. It’s probably not something you think about often. We may not come across idols like the golden calf made by the children of Israel (Exodus 32) or the statue Nebuchadnezzar created (Daniel 3), so we might think that idolatry isn’t an issue today. But idol worship is not about a statue; it’s about placing something in your life ahead of God.
If asked, most believers would say I believe in Jesus, but is He the centre of their life? What occupies our thoughts every day? What do we worry about? How do we spend most of our time? Often, we aren’t focused on Jesus; we’re fixated on things like relationships, romance, sex, money, position, power or entertainment. These areas become idols—things our heart bows its focus to, puts its energy into, and makes the first priority.
Idolatry often happens when we’re unhappy in an area of our life and we try to control an area we can’t, we pursue it more and more which can lead to it taking precedence in our heart over God.
King Solomon, despite his wisdom, chased after many different kinds of idols. He pursued relationships, work, money and pleasure, yet none of these brought him lasting happiness or fulfillment. Even though every one of these areas has a God-given purpose in our lives and can be enjoyed, they make lousy gods. That’s because nothing on this earth is meant to take God’s place as first in our heart.
Keep God in lead position in your heart by spending time with Him daily. Let His Word feed and guide you, and it will bust the chances of any other idol taking over!