DEALING WITH SECRET IDOLS IN YOUR LIFE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts
and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.
Should I let them inquire of me at all?”
(Ezekiel 14:3)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever watched the television reality series, American Idol?
The contestants are unknown singers who have a dream of a singing
career. They compete for several weeks and with some coaching, they
try to improve their skills.

There is nothing wrong with individuals having a desire to
use their God-given talents as a means of making a living
for themselves. Singing may not be their ‘idol’, they just
want to make the best use of the talents God has given them.

When living as a child of God, we need to be careful and avoid
making idols of anything. We are warned many times to have
nothing to do with idols. We shouldn’t create any manmade
images that are idols, and we should also guard against allowing
idols to form in our hearts.

The children of Israel chose to make idols with their hands so they
would have a visible creation to worship. However, believers today
can have a struggle with allowing idols to be formed in their hearts.
Many of us can have secret, hidden idols in our hearts, can’t we?

An idol is anything we allow to take the place of God in our lives.
A ‘heart idol’ can be things like, seeking the attention of others,
a desire for material possessions, successful career obsessions,
outstanding athletic abilities, addiction to television, food, even
pornography, just to name a few.

There was a girl who had made food her idol.
Here is what she shared:
    I was idle for too many years about my idol. I sported too
    much weight on my female frame. I consumed too many
    calories and burned too few to boot! The result? I was sick
    and tired, weak and miserable, but for years I refused to
    take action. I sat idly by and it was killing me…literally.

    When my cholesterol level skyrocketed over 300 and the
    chest pains became more frequent, I finally took action.
    God was ready and willing, as He had always been, to meet
    my every need. He supplied daily strength and lifted me up
    when I failed. Over 10 months and 100 pounds later, food
    was finally put back into proper perspective in my life.

    It wasn’t hard for others to see that I had an issue with gluttony,
    but other secret idols of the heart can be more evasive. While
    handmade idols of world religions are easy to spot, these secret
    idols of the heart are not always visible and easily detected.

    Sometimes only we know the secret idols of our hearts exist,
    and we procrastinate doing anything about them. We say,
        “Perhaps I’ll quit tomorrow”.
        (or next Monday, or next month)
    Before we know it, we can count the many years we have devoted
    to our secret idols. We find that we have been spending a large
    part of our lives in wasted idleness.

Quite often we are the only ones who know our ‘secret’ idols even
exist. We are the only ones who can tear them down through God’s
grace and His power. In order to destroy an idol action is required.
We can’t get rid of an ‘idol’ by being ‘idle’.

Most of the time it cannot be destroyed overnight, but if we don’t
consciously start taking steps to remove it (again with God’s help),
it will only grow stronger over time. And as it grows stronger, not
only does it ‘own us’, but it becomes more difficult to eliminate.

ACTION:
What ‘secret idol’ exists in your own life? Be honest with yourself.
Is it selfishness, or a desire to get the attention of others? Are you
driven by the approval of others, instead of the approval of God?
When will you begin to tear down any hidden idol in your life? I
believe that God loves to hear the sound of an idol being broken.

Pray the following (and mean it):
“Heavenly Father, You know the idols I have created
in my heart. I need to stop making excuses and sitting
idly by. Please grant me the courage to be honest with
myself and get rid of any false gods in my heart. Only
You and You alone should be on the throne of my life.
I’m ready to make that a reality and I need Your help.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

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