Idolatry

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV)

The first two of the ten commandments both deal with the problem of idolatry. Most of us who are Believers do not worry about these commandments, because we are convinced that we do not have an idolatry problem. While it is true that most of us do not bow down before or worship idols, that alone does not mean that we are free from the problem of idolatry. Rather than thinking of idolatry as a graven image carved from wood or chiseled out of stone; think of idolatry as "anything" that happens to get between you and God. Anytime, we allow anything, other than God, to be our first love, we are on dangerous ground.

What could possibly come between me and God? The list is rather long, ranging from the love of money, to other relationships, to worldly philosophies and ideas, to different addictions, to the pursuit of pleasure... Simply put--anything on planet earth that interacts with our five senses has the potential to become idolatry. It is the reason that John passionately implores us, "do not love the world or the things in the world." John is not actually calling us to hate the planet that we live on; however, everything in and about this world should pale when compared to our love of God!

It comes down to a basic question of desire. Do I want more of God beyond all else that beckons me, or am I pursuing those "other things?" As a child, there was a popular song circulating through the church called, "I'd Rather Have Jesus."

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
Than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

Prayer: "Dear Father, I relate to many of the desperate prayers that King David prayed, because of my own duplicitous heart. I say that I love You and yet I feel a powerful pull on my affections from the world. I know that there is no future in anything other than You. So, in those moments when I allow other things to interfere with my relationship with You, make me aware of what is happening and don't let me fall away from You! Amen"