Casting out Idols

I still remember vividly walking through the streets of Nepal.

And still my heart breaks.

Everywhere you went, you saw idols.

Some made of gold or silver and some wooden.

One day we were walking through a tourist area and the streets were seemingly lined with idol shops.

Each store filled to overflowing with statues of gods who could neither hear nor speak.

Incense filled the air as they offered up sacrifices to these gods.

Fruit and flowers were placed daily before them as they sought to please their gods.

Heartbreaking indeed, but back here in the States I’ve realized we all have idols.

Not all idols are statues, not all idols are sold.

But all idols are worshipped and bowed down to.

Here in America, our idols are wealth, homes, jobs, children, sports, hobbies.

Because truthfully an idol is anything we place before the Lord.

Anything that consumes us more than Him.

And honestly all sin at its root stems from idolatry.

When we are afraid, worried, anxious, angry, jealous etc… if we delved underneath and got to the cause, we would find idols.

Exodus 20 says, “Though shalt have no other gods before me.”

The Bible calls God, Jealous.

He will not share His glory.

He will not settle for second best in our lives.

The Lord is to be Lord of all, otherwise, He is not Lord at all.

This is very convicting because so often my focus in on other things.

So I chase after these things and God lets me.

Then in His unrelenting love, He lures me back.

But like Gomer (in the book of Hosea), I keep straying and have to learn the hard way.

Idols can even be good things but these good things when placed above the Lord are none other than sin.

So what are we to do, how do we battle against these idols in our lives.

In Nepal, in order for a new believer to be baptized at a certain church, they have to burn or destroy all their idols.

This shows they mean business, that they are the real deal.

In the same way, we too must cast out, throw out, destroy the idols that wage war in our hearts.

My prayer is that the Lord will be my satisfaction.

Oh, I’m not there and there are numerous idols I must deal with regularly.

But in order to move closer to Him, in order to please the Lord.

I must, we must, deal honestly with the idols that consume our lives.

He will not share His glory.

He will be first.