Idol Minds.

Monday, November 28, 2011
Idol Minds. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” We read those words from the 10 Commandments, and automatically our minds go to the idolatrous worship that Israel found itself wrapped up in so often in the Old Testament, or at least my mind does. We think of a golden calf or some strange little statue of a 2-headed god sitting in some false temple somewhere. We think of pagans, or of those foreign to the true worship of the One, true God. But maybe that command should land a little closer to home for us.
A “god” or an idol can be defined as anything that steals the worship away from the One who is truly deserving of it, Jehovah God. Worship can be defined as the giving of adoration or the highest place of priority in a life. So if worship is giving someone/something the first priority in our life and a “god” is anything that steals glory from the true God, so much of what we consider everyday life is a god today!
We need not go down a list of things in our own lives and ask the question, “Is this a god?” We only, really, need to ask ourselves the question, “Does this matter more than Him?” And please, when you ask that question, give yourself and Him an honest answer. He knows your heart anyway.
Does this extra hour or two of sleep on Sunday morning matter more than Him? Does this dinner or entertainment matter more than Him? Does this hobby matter more than the worship He deserves? Does this animal that grunts, snorts, oinks, quacks, or has a trophy rack matter more than giving Him the praise and worship He deserves?
The more I’ve thought about this issue over the past few weeks, the more I’ve come to believe that so many of my generation feel as if they have a minimum requirement they have to fulfill with God. In other words, so long as we give Him our Sunday morning we can keep our Sunday nights and be ok. So long as we’re serving Him enough on other nights of the week, we can skip times when we need our rest. We’re bargaining with our worship to a God that doesn’t NEED it but DESERVES it at every single opportunity we have to GIVE it to HIM.
When our walk with God becomes more obligation and necessity than a relationship motivated by a LOVE for a Savior Who is deserving of every single ounce of who we are, our minds become focused on doing the least we can for Him. We begin to compare ourselves to others, and that becomes our justification. After all, we’re still more faithful than someone else. The only problem is that our lives are measured against someone else.
We all have some work to do in this area of idolatry. All I’m asking is that we honestly examine our hearts, and ask God to do the same. When He begins to show us things or areas where we are lacking, let’s give them to Him. Let’s recommit ourselves to a life of whole-hearted commitment to Him. Let’s allow ourselves to fall in love with a God that is head over heels in love with us. Let’s treasure every single privileged opportunity that we have to worship Him, whether it’s Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, or some other blessed time when the doors of the church are opened and we can worship with other believers.
Let’s put Him first, and not allow any other “god” to be before Him in our lives, not even for a minute. He’s worthy.



That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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