Are you guilty of idolatry?

If you are a true follower of Christ, I hope your answer would be “no.” But just because you do not have statues to false gods in your house or pray to false gods doesn’t automatically make you free from idolatry.

An idol does not have to be a statue or image. It can be anything that usurps the priority of God in your life. In other words, anything that would cause you to neglect your regular daily interaction with God through prayer, Bible reading, obeying Him, and gathering with His people could be considered an idol.  That could include hobbies, sports, recreation, work, television, politics, housework, homework, friends, family, food, or even sleep.

Anything that we use as an excuse for not doing what we know we should be doing in building our relationship with the Lord has become an idol, no matter how important we may think it is.

In 1 Corinthians 10:14, the Apostle Paul gives a very simple, but very necessary command:

“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

He is not saying that we cannot do any of the things that may become idols in our lives. But what he is saying is that we must constantly be on the lookout for things in our lives that cause us to put God in second place.  And what we must run from are the excuses that we make in order to justify our idolatry.

Admit that you have let idols into your life, run back to God in repentance, and make Him your first love again. That is the best way to avoid being guilty of idolatry.