A Lesson I Apparently Need to Learn

During our weekend retreat Daniel spoke about idols of the heart. This past Sunday, Pastor Ritch spoke about idolatry. In my daily Bible reading this past week I read Psalm 106:39, "They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves." Apparently, there are some lessons I need to learn about idolatry. I have continued to process the information from the retreat and am now processing the information that Pastor Ritch gave on Sunday.

One of the things that Daniel mentioned is that when we want things more than we want God, we are being adulterous people. He talks about what makes a desire wicked. There were two things he mentioned. A desire becomes wicked when I am willing to sin to get it and when I am willing to sin if I don't get it. He challenged us to look at our own hearts and answer this question: What are the things I am saying I can fit into my heart with God? These things are the idols in my life.

Pastor Ritch defined idolatry as the refusal to acknowledge God as the only God to the measure He deserves and in the methods He demands. It is the adoration or acknowledgement that something has equal or greater value than God. It is the acknowledgement of the true God in wrong ways. It is the slandering of God's character. One of his main points is that when we think of idolatry we think of wooden idols that were worshipped and bowed down to in ancient times. Those are not tempting to us. But am I tempted every day to put other things above God? YES! At the heart of idolatry is an exchange of the infinite nature of God for the finite nature of anything else.

Needless to say, I have been taking these lessons very seriously. One thing I have concluded is that I need to stop minimalizing the things that I put above God. It is so easy to say, "This particular thing is just a struggle in my life" instead of seeing it as the seriousness of an idol in my heart. I continue to pray daily that God would reveal the idols in my heart. Jonah 2:8 says "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be there's. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you."