"Put God First"

An idol is a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved and worshiped by someone. In ancient times people used to make their own idols. They carved statues, crafted poles and worshiped images made with human hands. They put their trust in objects and things and monuments instead of the one true living God.

Now, today we might not have idols of bronze or silver, but the idols people tend to have in this day and age are invisible idols, idols of the heart. Now you may ask how? How can you have an idol of the heart? Well, an idol can be a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or worshipped by someone.

In other words, whatever or whomever you put first in your life, whatever or whomever you honor above all else in your life, whatever you value highly and love deeply, is your idol/god. A career can become an idol, so can money, your business, your spouse or even the secret sin that you refuse to give up. These can all be idols. But it is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who should be first in our lives. He should be honored above all else in our lives. He should be the one who’s highly valued and loved deeply by all of us as his children.

If it’s not the Lord who’s first in your life, then you’re in danger of making that thing or person an idol. If it competes with God for our attention and time, then that thing or that person has become an idol.

Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.

Now I don’t know about you, but this scripture really puts things into perspective. When you cling to an idol you’re saying no to God’s love, it’s not that he doesn’t want to shower you with his love. It’s the fact that you have chosen to turn away from his love. Only God can satisfy the deep longing that’s in our hearts, only God can fulfill us and give our lives meaning and purpose. So, when we try to replace him with lesser things, we will always come up empty. And this grieves the heart of God. The people of the Old Testament were punished severely for their idolatry, but each time God gave them the chance to repent of their sin and return to him once more. And he offers that same choice to us.

So, today I encourage us to examine ourselves and rid ourselves of the idols in our lives. Idols of wealth, relationships, worldly power.

Let’s pray and ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can be discerning. Let’s pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to move so strongly in our lives and to destroy every evil altar that we’ve built in our hearts whether knowingly or unknowingly.