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New Year, Same Word

 With each year that passes, I hate the idea of making New Year's resolutions. I guess I just hate setting myself up for failure. Because let's face it, nobody actually keeps those for more than a few weeks. I have tried the whole "word of the year" thing, but that wasn't much better than resolutions. I believe that God speaks through people, and when I see/hear the same message repetitively, I take notice.

These are just a few that popped in my mind.
Some others may include your children, your spouse, hobbies, etc.

What is the definition of idolatry? We usually define "idolatry" as making anything in your life more important than God. However, the best definition I have ever heard for idolatry is "making a good thing an ultimate thing." Created things are ALL good things (Genesis 1:12), but when we treat created things as ultimate- something that makes life worth living- then it's an idol.
The real problem with idolatry- even in ancient times- was in the heart. 
When the ancients worshiped the goddess of love, they made relationships the ultimate thing in their hearts. When they worshiped the god of war, they made victory on the battlefield the ultimate thing in their hearts. When they worshiped the god of the harvest, they made a bumper crop the ultimate thing in their hearts. 
So how do you get rid of idols? 
The answer isn't always to revive the object of our idolatry from our life; to stop loving it, or even to love it less. After all, our family can become the object of our idolatry, but the answer isn't to love them less. The answer is to love God more!
We must become like Habakuk who essentially said, "If I have no food, but I have God, then I will rejoice." (see Habakuk 3:17-19). Or like Jeremiah, "Even when my city and my people are in ruins, the Lord is my portion, and I will hope in Him" (see Lamentations 3:22-24). And like the apostle Paul, "Everything else is rubbish except for knowing the Lord" (see Philippians 3:8).
The only people who's hearts are truly free from idols are those who can honestly say, "The Lord is all I need! He is my joy, my hope, my pursuit, my life, my all."

That is just something that has been on my mind since I first started looking deeper into modern day idol worship. When these things consume our thoughts, time, and energy, they can replace God as the center of our lives, and my friends, if it takes precedence over God in your life, then it's a false idol.

Much Love,
Beth








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