The Girl Next Door ☎︎: Good Things Make the Best Idols

Wise Word Wednesday

"Good things make the best idols"

I would guess that the majority of the idols in my life, I am not aware are actually idols. Idols are a lie. The worship of idols is an exchange of truth for an illusion. Right now, I am going to do some examining of my own heart. If I think hard, I can see how these things might be gaining more attention than Christ is in my life. I would venture to say, that there is an idol in almost every "room" of my "house".

In My Bathroom:

Obsessing over how I look

In My Closet:

Planning out what I wear

In My Kitchen:

Coffee as a means to feel good
Always thinking about food

In My Study:

Trying hard to make the best grades

In My Quiet Place:

Must check off my Quiet Time for the day

In My Gym:

Making sure I eat the right amount so I do not feel fat
Comparing myself to every girl that I pass

In My Bedroom:

Making sure all my ducks are in a row before being completely happy
My friendships

In My Media Room:

Constantly checking social media
Wishing I had the lives of the people I see in pictures on Instagram
Wanting things on Pinterest
Even the feedback I receive from this blog

Wow. That's more than I thought and not what I expected. You should give it a try yourself. Try to identify some idols in your own life. I must warn you, it's harder than "Where's Waldo". Most of the things you come up with are good things in your life. Most of the things you should thank God for! But Satan loves to use the good things in our life to keep us from best thing....our relationship with God. Satan sometimes even uses our MINISTRY to distract us from who we are ministering for! Idols that relate to our faith are the most subtle because we never tend to check for idols in those areas of our heart. That is why good things make the best idols.

How do you spot an idol in your life? Ask yourself:

Is it specifically mentioned in Scripture as sinful or dangerous?
Do I spend a lot of time, focus, or money on it?
Does it get in the way of what God wants for me?
Does it block an intimate fellowship with Jesus?
Is it putting me at odds with people I consider to be godly?
Is it more important than truth, maturity, or God's presence?
Do I find myself regularly making excuses concerning it?

In the end, putting idols back into their proper place in our hearts is for our benefit. God will not love us any more, but we will have a closer fellowship with Him and that will give us great joy, more joy than what we get from bowing down to an illusion. Find happiness in Christ alone. Turn to Him. He is waiting, eager to have an intimate, "knee-to-knee" relationship with you.

{ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us... Hebrews 12:1 }

{ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21 }

❊Question for the Comments❊

What are good things in your life that are keeping you from the best thing?