The Messiness in Idols of the Heart

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Today we are discussing the messiness of Idolatry. According to the Webster dictionary, idolatry is “the worship of a physical object as a god” and “the immoderate attachment or devotion to something”. By all biblical definitions, idolatry is certainly the practice of making and worshiping physical images. But it's also more than that. It is the essence of the misdirection of our worship.  It is our hearts clinging and confiding in that which does not, or cannot, bring us peace or security. It is called the idols of the heart; and that is anything that we desire more than God, or that takes the place of God. 

Some idols of the heart are obvious: such as success, work, image, material possessions, and yes, even our smartphones. But a heart idol can go even deeper than those obvious idols. The heart idol is bound up with the deepest emotions and instincts of our heart and that is what keeps this idol hidden. If we are serious about putting the Living King first in our life, we need help in seeing what may be taking His place. And may I add, there is no such thing as not worshiping something. Everybody worships. The choice we have is what do we worship.

As we dismantle our love relationship with idols of the heart, we shift our hunger to God. And please know that God does not destroy our dreams and aspirations, He wants to be part of it. He wants to bless us and bless our relationships, but we have to first shift away our dependency on our idols of the heart and build a relationship with God.
 

As idols start falling apart in our heart, the glow of the love of God will unmistakably start building within us. Before long, we will start singing that the joy of the Lord is our strength. When God is at the center of our life, we will have joy and be able to say with Solomon in Proverbs 10:22 “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes us rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.”