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Idols — it seems they are so prevalent that there is a TV show called American Idol. We have to be very careful today that we are aware of our idols. It is so important to God, that He put a command against it in The Ten Commandments. Look at Exodus 20:4-6, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. (5) You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, (6) but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (NASB).

Recently I was reading a devotional from Crosswalk.com on the idols we have to avoid in 2024. I used their idea and then added my own stuff to it. Here is the direct link if you would like to read their article: https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/4-sneaky-idols-to-look-out-for-in-2024.html?utm_source=Daily%20Bible%20Living&utm_campaign=Daily%20Bible%20Living%20-%20BibleStudyTools.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9166951&recip=523457815&aps=b73798f7faef538283446d5c1dd57f2674e9f3b86488f0de50a1def10e1b93e4&lctg=523457815.

Over the years some idols have remained the same and others have gone away. Idols are in some way another form of addiction. Let me list for you some of the top idols I see today in our culture that even Christians have to battle: 

(1) Possessions, wealth and money — Jesus said this in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (ESV). The Greek New Testament word translated as “money” is [μαμωνᾶς, mamonas]. This word can also be translated as “possessions.” This is why we are warned about this in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (ESV).  

Notice it says “the love of money.” That is what distinguishes money from an idol. It is when you are obsessed with it. You are always trying to figure out how to get more. It comes up in a lot of your conversations. You battle being content. Let me ask you this: do you check your bank balance more than you read God’s Word? If you do, then money is an idol to you. 

Remember Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (ESV).

(2) People — when we idolize people, we think about them more than we think about God. We put them on such a pedestal that we go over-the -top in admiration, adoration, and even sacrificing ourselves and health for them. 

  • This can happen in a marriage where one spouse elevates the other spouse to the point where the spouse doing this becomes totally dependent on them for all their emotional, psychological, relational and spiritual needs. 
  • We see this with fans of celebrities where they can even resort to stalking them or their lives are filled with articles, posters and etc. of them. If this is you, here is a Christian web link that can you help you with this: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/signs-youre-worshipping-celebrities-as-false-idols.html. 
  • I have seen this happen in churches, where members elevate their pastors to such a pedestal that they live and act as if their pastors words are almost equal to God’s. Here are two web sites that identitifies the signs of what I call “pastor worship”: https://www.briellemag.com/how-to-spot-pastor-worship/. Here is the second one: https://www.compellingtruth.org/pastor-worship.html. Remember Jesus’ words in Mark 12:30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (31) The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (ESV).

(3) Career/job — there are people who live to work. They do not care how many hours they work and sometimes they seem not to care how much they are away from their family. One of the signs this is an idol is your work is your identity. You will even miss church to go to work. I realize there are exceptions for those in the medical field, law enforcement, fire prevention, military and etc. 

  • This is an easy idol to worship because if we love our work or career, it is challenging to erect boundaries that keep us accountable. This one was so big that it is also in God’s Top Ten of Commandments. Look at Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (11) For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (ESV). This means we were created by God to both work and rest.
  • Do you think it is a coincidence that this is the longest of the Ten Commandments? I don’t and I personally know why. 
  • Here is Christian link that may be able to assist you with this: https://www.crosswalk.com/family/career/finding-your-work-life-balance-in-2017.html.

(4) Addictions — I see this today in so many ways. Some start out innocently but then become an addiction. Our culture is addicted to food, sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, partying, immorality, rights, and self. 

  • This is why the Bible warns us about this in 1 Corinthians 6:12-18, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. (13) You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (14) By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. (15) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! (16) Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” (17) But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit,. (18) Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” (ESV).
  • Jesus warned us about this also in Mark 7:20-23, “Jesus went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. (21) For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, (22) adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. (23) All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (ESV).
  • If you have a food addiction, maybe this Christian web link can help you: http://www.fulloffaith.com/food-addiction.html. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:7, “Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” (ESV).
  • If you have a pornography addiction, maybe this Christian web link can help you: https://xxxchurch.com/.
  • If you have an addiction to shopping, maybe this Christian web link can help you: https://blessedisshe.net/blogs/blog/blessed-chats-addiction-shopping or this one: https://www.thetrumpet.com/10032-the-cure-for-shopping-addiction.

Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7,  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification:[b] that you abstain from sexual immorality; (4) that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, (5) not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; (6) that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. (7) For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (8) Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you" (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: "Dear Jesus, I know I have some idols. I put many things ahead of You all the time. I do not want to be under the control of any idol or addiction. Please convict me to put You first. Convict me to ask for help either through a Christian website or a Christian counselor or a Christian friend. I only want to be under the power of the Holy Spirit, not any other"spirit" of this world. I see now that I cannot do this alone because if I could, I would not have this addiction. I am addicted due to my choices and I surrender myself to You. Please help me. In Jesus' name, Amen."

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