Dethrone the Idols

Growing up, American Idol was one of my favorite shows. Every Tuesday night, I would park myself in front of the television, listen to all of the performances, write down the phone numbers for my favorite contestants, and spend the night calling in my votes (long before text or in-app voting existed!).

In Exodus chapter 20, we read the Ten Commandments given from God to His people. The second commandment instructs us against idolatry:

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” (Exodus 20:4-5 NLT)

This command is reiterated in Deuteronomy 29:18-20 as Moses reviews the covenant the Lord has made with His people:

“I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit. Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin! The Lord will never pardon such people. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against them.”

Warnings of the consequences of idolatry can be found throughout the New Testament as well (Colossians 3:5-8, Ephesians 5:5, Romans 1:23-25).

I would guess that most of us living in America in the 21^st century have not been tempted to bow down and worship statues or images of other gods. However, we would be foolish to believe that this means we are free from the temptation of idolatry. In our culture today, countless things are vying to become our idols.

Perhaps, similar to my American Idol days, we are spending our time divvying out our votes of what is going to get the top spot for our passion, attention, and desire week after week. The idols of sports, entertainment, politics, success, notoriety, control, beauty, and wealth may look different than the idols of the Old Testament, but we still need to be careful of the posture of our hearts towards such things.

In Mark 12:30, Jesus gives us the key to overcoming all forms of idolatry. When asked which of the commandments was most important, Jesus replied,

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

When we are wholly devoted to loving God, there is no room left for devotion or worship of anything else. Let us desire to uproot and rid our hearts of anything that has become an idol in our lives so that we can make room to truly love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Father God, please forgive me for the idols I have made in my life. Please open my eyes to idols that I am blind to. Give me the strength and discernment to alter the posture of my heart toward them. I know it may be difficult, but I thank You that You promised us in Your Word that everything is possible with You (Mark 10:27). You alone are worthy of our devotion and praise.

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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.