By Ann Weaver.
When you think of an idol, what do you see? Personally, I see a bunch of island natives dancing around a giant wooden statue or the prophets of Baal screaming at an altar and receiving no answer. In other words, I think of exaggerated, physical events that depict people’s devotion to objects made with their own hands.
This type of idol is real, and this type of worship still goes on today. But there is another more common type of idolatry that happens all around us. It’s the idolatry that takes place in the heart.
Not all idolatry occurs visibly. In fact, these days, I’d say that most of it doesn’t. Instead, people worship things that can’t be seen. This is constant in non-believers, but it can easily happen to a Christian as well.
How is that possible? Because something perfectly good and worthy can become an idol just as easily as something bad and immoral can. Even something as wonderful as wishing for a friend to become a Christian can become an idol as soon as you place it above God in your life. The worst of all this is that it can be hard to identify what our idols might be, because idolatry distorts our sight.
So how do we fix this? What steps should we take in order to cast idolatry from our hearts? How do we throw aside these sinful desires and focus again on our relationship with Jesus as our Number One purpose?
Let’s look at four steps to help us towards this goal.
1: Realize the wickedness of idolatry.
God abhors idolatry and placed it first on the list of Ten Commandments. We are shown its wickedness throughout the Bible. Over and over, we read of instances where God inflicts heavy punishments on those who worship idols. For instance, the Israelites who worshiped the Golden Calf (Exodus 32) or Eli’s sons who were participating in both idolatrous practices and other sinful behavior. (1 Samuel 2:12-36) In many cases, the punishment was death. This shows us just how serious this sin is to the Lord.
In fact, idolatry could be called the root of all other sin, because all sin stems from putting something else in God’s place and prioritizing it over our relationship with Him. Sin also stems from the gratification of self, because whatever we are idolizing, whether it’s physical, spiritual, emotional, or something else, it’s rooted in what we want most. We are putting our own hopes and dreams on the throne meant for God and are worshiping ourselves and our wishes.
2: Identify your idols.
An idol is described in two ways in the New Oxford American Dictionary. The first is “an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.” That is what we usually think of when we imagine an idol. But the second is more to the point of today’s article: “a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.”
This leads us to a way to analyze our inward idols.
What do you love greatly? It could be anything: a physical object, a dream of the future, a person you greatly admire, a desire that you want to be granted, or anything else. Do you enjoy it above everything else? Do you revere it, holding it to a high standard in your mind? If so, also ask these questions:
Do you fear what would happen if you lost this or it didn’t happen? Does it give you a sinking feeling of dread when you think about no longer having it or never gaining it?
Do you take refuge in it? When things get hard, do you flee to thoughts of this object? Do you participate in the activity, dream the dream, or recall something the person said? Would you cling to it if there was no hope left and nothing to gain?
Do you trust in it? Do you base your hopes and fears upon it coming to fruition or assisting you in your troubles? Do you depend upon the thought of it as a safe place or comforting remembrance?
Do you give your loyalty to it? Is it something you stand staunchly by no matter what? What would you do if it became impossible to obtain it or know the person any longer? Would you stick by this hope, wish, dream, or person even if it turned out to be negative?
Do you delight in it? Does it bring a sparkling joy to your heart when you think of it? Does it brighten your day to think of it or experience it? Does it ruin your day and throw you into a bad mood when things don’t lean your way in favor of that objective? Does it bring you more pleasure to ponder it instead of reflecting on God and His Word?
If the answer to each of these questions is yes, this goal is an idol.
3: Cast your idols away.
Once you have identified your idols, you need to discard them and allow Jesus back into His rightful place as your first priority. To do that, I suggest three things.
First: Engage your mind in Scripture. As you envelop your brain in the Word of God, God and His Word will become your joy and delight. Read the Bible slowly each day, taking in the meaning of each sentence. Memorize verses that remind you to guard against idolatry. Some good verses besides the Ten Commandments would be 1 John 5:21, Jonah 2:8-9, and 1 Corinthians 10:14. Meditate on these verses to remind yourself of the evils of idolatry and the rewards of keeping your eyes on Christ.
Second: Stay in fellowship with other Christians. When you are with other Christians, truly fellowshipping with them by sharing your struggles and insights in Scripture, it will assist you in your battle against idolatry. Everyone deals with this sin, and perhaps you can partner with someone else to keep yourself accountable against it. True fellowship is a great guard against many wicked wrongdoings. (Proverbs 27:17)
Third: Pray. Implore the Lord to take your focus away from things that aren’t as important as Him. Ask Him to help you to avoid falling into this sin again. And keep on praying, even when you think you have overcome your idol. That’s just the time when it will creep back in—the moment you think you’re safe.
4: Be on guard against future idols.
How can you remain on guard against having more idols rise up in your life?
First, study the way your idols creep into your life. Do you start out by placing too much emphasis on something, then move on to disregarding your Bible time or prayer time so you can work towards an objective? Do you find that a certain person or other influence is leading you in the wrong direction? Watch for these things and avoid falling into temptation that will lead to sin.
Look out for the warning signs that we’ve talked about. If you find yourself loving, trusting, and taking refuge in something above the Lord, cast it down immediately. Don’t be afraid to enjoy things, but do be afraid of allowing them to take precedence over Jesus—that’s when things become idols.
Lastly, keep Jesus as a priority in your life. Don’t let anything take away from your time with Him. Recall His promises in times of difficulty. Keep Him uppermost in your heart, and love, fear, take refuge, trust, give your loyalty to, and delight in Him.
More than anything else, remember that God is the only one who can satisfy your desire to worship and give honor to something. He is the only one who can fill that throne in your heart—no desire, wish, dream, object, person, event, or amusement can meet that longing like He can. Examine your heart regularly for idols, cast them away, and focus on Jesus, and He will make you whole.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)
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