Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

The Problem

In our class at church recently, the teacher brought up idols. Not that I haven’t heard a sermon or two on idols, but the way he said it made me think about the idols in my life. He mentioned the usual suspects, our time, television, sports, or putting off time in the word to do something else. 

Back home Sunday afternoon, I was taking a day of rest. And unfortunately fell into some doom scrolling. Yes, this was mentioned in class that morning. Yet, God met me where I was and laid down some new thoughts on the idols I might have in my own life. Or at least have had at some point. I went down a rabbit trail of searching for different definitions of idols from different perspectives from all over the web. Looking at the different examples was fun until it wasn’t. It was interesting until it became uncomfortable.

Here’s a few Idols mentioned that made me ponder them . . . a lot:

Mood

God created feelings and gave them to us. But do we sometimes avoid walking in obedience because we’re not “in the mood” to do something He’s nudging us to do?

Always Being Right

We may not need to prove our point and argue about it. It would be better to speak our truth and be done. Does it honor God to argue to the point of being angry to be the one who is right?

Self-Pity

When we spend time in self-pity, we’ve made the choice to spend that time away or apart from God. The broken record replays in our minds drown out the words of God given to help heal our broken hearts. 

Convenience

This becomes dangerous when we wait for a “good” time to do something instead of walking in obedience in the first place. We don’t want uncomfortable; we want it easy to obey. And on our timeline.

Secret Habits

These aren’t so bad since nobody can see them, right? Ha! Not hardly. This is the one that spoke loudly to me. What habits do I secretly have that could be my idol? Running to something or someone instead of God. Where do I go for comfort? Those that know me, know I like Cherry Coke. But this one smacked me right in the face. Hard week? Glass of Cherry Coke. Sad? Glass of Cherry Coke. Frustrated? Cherry Coke. Excited. Cherry Coke. In every one of those phrases stated, the answer should not be my idol, go to, safety net, comfort or escape. All of them should be answered with God. Not only are these my secret habits, but they have become my hidden altar—where I bow to. 

Plans

I tensed up when I read this one. Don’t be messing with my planner now. One point stood out to me on this idol. Do I hold so tightly to my plans, that I’m too laser focused on my lists that I miss God opportunities? Do I get upset with God, or others, when they mess up my schedule or plan of how I think my day or week should go? 

Being in the Know

Am I more concerned about what’s going on in the world around me regarding news, trends, celebrity’s lives, newest electronics? This becomes our idol when our focus is here instead of what God is doing around us as well as in our lives. 

Things or Stuff

If we are truly honest, do we love the things we own so much that we are attached to them in such a way we worry if they break, are stolen, or are upset when our adult children tell us they don’t want the items when we pass? Have they become their own idols in our hearts and an altar we run to when we think of their comfort or worth? It is not wrong to have things that mean something to us or are useful for us. But do we gather, store, set up on a shelf to protect them? Do we hold on to them more tightly than we do God?

The Solution

As I sat mulling over these different perspectives of idols, a couple of verses came to me regarding the different points above. The one that spoke to me the loudest, and makes so much sense is one you may have heard a time or two:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV

The things I seek can only come from God. Comfort? God. Peace? God. Knowledge of Him? God. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to throw out the idols I have turned to—both obvious and not so obvious. I know it’s time to seek God and not these other things to clutter, confuse, and crowd my thoughts away from God. 

What about you? Do you have an idol that’s keeping you from time with God? No judgement here. Feel free to share below some thoughts you have about the types of idols we have in our lives that we may not see them as actual idols. Let’s talk about it!