CAST DOWN YOUR IDOLS!
This week I found myself thinking about my years in grade school and the Lord opened my eyes to the craftiness of Satan. In this revelation, I realized how true it is that the enemy starts his work on us early in life! He disguises his pitfalls in what seems to be harmless questions and routines, but all the while we are being rocked to sleep and distracted from his true intentions. We’ve all been asked this question before and without me writing it you probably already know what it is! It’s the famous writing prompt “Who or what is your idol and why”? Now one the surface this may seem like a harmless question, however it holds a lot of weight. If you still don’t believe so, then let’s take a deep dive and unpack this question!
Let’s start with the definition of an idol! According to Merriam-Webster dictionary the word is defined in two ways! The first being “an object of extreme devotion” and the second “a representation or symbol of an object of worship”. Now let’s look at what God specifically instructs in his word about idol making and worship. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20: 3-5).
With this is mind, do you now see why the heart of this question goes directly against God and what he instructs? Satan knows that if he can suck us into idolatry at an early age when we’re older it’ll be much harder to see the harm in it. I’m sure you all much like myself named your parents, celebrities, or even a desire as your idol growing up. There’s nothing wrong with loving a person, or being inspired by them. The problem comes when we make that person or desire top priority and give it the number one spot in our hearts and minds.
Let’s make it a little more personal. Perhaps you’ve been steadfast in prayer about becoming a wife, or maybe you’ve been trusting God for advancement in your career. You find yourself constantly thinking about the person or desire. You’re often frustrated and offended at God because you’re praying and nothing is happening! You spend much of your day thinking or fantasizing about what life would be like if you had these things. You may be thinking this is normal, but the truth is you’ve made these desires an idol in your life. Anything that takes precedence over God and your relationship with him is an idol no matter how big or small.
Idolatry doesn’t always come in the form of you literally bowing down to an image or figure. More often than not, it looks like you obsessing over and praising people (especially celebrities), or putting all your time and energy into your dreams and goals (desires). As followers of Christ we must be on guard and ask the father to show us what we’ve made idols in our life. We have to be more concerned with the things of Christ than the fleeting things of this world. "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)
My prayer today is that you seek the father and cast down any idols that have taken root in your life. Ask God for forgiveness and guidance as you place him back on the throne of your heart! I ask that you pray the same prayer for me as well!
Scriptures on Idolatry
"Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:14)
"For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:25)
"Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:4)
Written By: Amber Alycee