Sniffing out our idols

Idols.

Not the "American" kind, but the unholy kind. (No pity laughter needed... but thank you anyway. Ha!)

We all have them, and we all worship them for various reasons. We know they're bad, and we know that we are commanded to put nothing before our LORD, yet we continue to let these idols take the place in our lives that rightfully belongs to the One who created us, and should reign in, and over, all that we are, have, think, and do.

The tricky thing about idols is that they're not always easy to recognize, due in part to the fact that the roots of an idol are not necessarily evil. Many a worldly idol is a perversion of a very good, and even God given, desire. The inordinate desire for prosperity becomes greed. The immoderate desire for sex becomes lust. The unrestrained desire for godliness becomes legalism.

So... how can we know if a desire has become an idol in our life?

Contrary to what many think, the answer to this question is actually not that complex; the path to sniff out an idol is not convoluted after all. To determine if the object of our desire has become an idol - usurping the throne of our heart on which God alone should be seated - we must simply examine the fruit of this desire in our life.

Are we willing to ignore God, and His royal statutes, to get what we want? Conversely, do we become hopeless and depressed when we don't get what we want? If we can answer "yes" to either of these questions... we have just sniffed out an idol, dear brethren. We have just determined that we want this thing too much.

Again, this is not to say that we need to cut the desire completely from our life; we just need to pursue the object of our desire in God's way, not our own. If, however, the desire is unholy, we need to ask God to change this desire into one which honors Him and hallows His name.

May your LORD be gracious to you, and shine a light on your idols... so that He may crush them in His holy jealousy! See Exodus 20:4-5.

Pray for this: it will be granted.