IDOLATRY

In ancient times, idolatry was easy to spot—dancing around the golden calves; bowing before images of dragons; setting up shrines and altars to all sorts of false gods . . . Even when the apostle Paul wrote to Christians in first-century Corinth, pagan idolatry was openly practised. He warned them to avoid going anywhere near it (1 CORINTHIANS 10:14).

But idolatry isn’t just a problem of the past. It is still a danger to us today, though it isn’t always so easy to spot. Today’s idols are more subtle—but they still come from the same place as the ancient idols: our hearts.

If we want to know our idols, we need to ask God to help us see the thoughts, needs, urges, insecurities and demands of our hearts that are getting in the way of our relationship with Him. As soon as we’re being driven by whatever’s going on in our hearts or minds, we’re letting something other than God direct our lives . . . it means we’re being idolatrous. We may not think of ourselves ‘bowing down’ to something like insecurity, but if that is deciding how we live and blocking our view of God, then it is our idol.

Only God can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts and make us truly alive. That’s why we need to think clearly about who or what we are living for. If God is not our focus, then we can be sure something else is; and it won’t lead us the right way. We need to listen to Paul: “My dear friends, flee from idolatry.”