“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”—Exodus 20:3-5 (NIV)
I’m sure when you think of idols your mind pictures golden calves, false gods, and maybe even pagan altars but in our modern age (and even in biblical times) idols can range from our favorite celebrity to our phones to even our own comfort zones.
Idolatry is simply anything or anyone you put before God in the place of God.
If you spend more time on your phone than in your Bible it’s likely because your phone has become an idol.
If you’re more interested in what a famous celebrity is up to more than what God wants from you then it’s likely that celebrity has become an idol.
If you care more about how you look going to church than actually engaging in worship at church then perhaps your appearance has become an idol.
Anything that replaces God in your heart for any reason in any way is an idol.
In today’s age idols more often than not don’t look like carved images cast in gold but instead like quiet habits, desires or distractions that subtly pull you farther from God.
To recognize and destroy these idols in your life isn’t about guilt, shame, or condemnation but rather living in limitless freedom through Christ.
What Is an Idol (and Why God Warns Us About Them)
Perhaps you think that some things that are “idol-like” in your life aren’t that “bad”.
Well, let me lay some gentle Truth on you.
Idols are bad because they don’t do anything but feed your flesh. Your flesh is bad because it doesn’t do anything but try to sin. Sin is bad because its only function is to result in your spiritual death.
In other words, that idol (sin) you don’t think is “that bad” is even worse because it convinces you it isn’t sinful. Like Eve in the garden you’ve been deceived by good-looking fruit that in reality will lead to your inevitable loss.
God doesn’t want you falling prey to idolatry out of a need to control you but to protect you.
Idols are one of the primary ways the enemy distracts us from God—slowly pulling our hearts away from the path of life and toward spiritual death.
It’s sort of like if you were to have a text conversation with the devil while you were walking down the street and he kept texting you because he knew you’d walk into traffic as long as he could keep your attention on your phone rather than where you were going.
God is aware that what we worship shapes who we become but so does the devil. God instructs us to stay away from idolatry even as far as warning us not to idolize pictures of Him!
He does this so we aren’t shackled to any identity outside of Him (and not just His picture).
In order to live limitlessly in Christ we have to first cut off from ourselves whatever may be competing with our love or trust in Him.
“And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” –Matthew 5:30 (NIV)
Obviously, God doesn’t want you to literally chop off a body part but Jesus intentionally used strong language here to show how seriously we should take sin—not to promote self-harm, but wholehearted repentance.
He wants us to understand that sin is never neutral and that dealing with it requires serious, decisive action—to “cut it off” so we don’t fall prey to the devil’s ultimate goal which is to lead as many people made in the image of God where he knows he is ultimately condemned to live– hell.
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” — 1 John 5:21 (NIV)
Recognizing Modern-Day Idols
1. Comfort
When ease and convenience become more important than obedience.
Another one I’m guilty of: the comfort zone.
Most of my life’s problems till now can be attributed to my comfort zone.
One thing God will never let you do is live in your comfort zone.
Why?
Because comfort kills growth.
Idols of comfort will keep you stuck by whispering to you “stay where it’s safe.”
But are you safe in your comfort zone when it’s slowly killing you?
I got so comfortable in my discomfort that I allowed my life to fall apart while I was “safe” in my comfort zone.
Your comfort zone does nothing but train you to be unfruitful—keeping you idle, weak, and unfaithful.
Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh, but it’s the truth.
If you want to be fruitful it will require you to be uncomfortable for a time (not forever) and step out in faith to do the uncomfortable but useful work God calls you to do.
2. Control
Hello, my name is Alyssa Jordan and I am a control freak.
Show of hands who else needs to be in “control freaks anonymous”? 🙋🏽♀️
Trusting our own plans more than God’s will and timing is the funniest thing I think humans are capable of.
Like we actually think we can do better than God!😂😭
If you can’t trust God you can’t be fruitful in anything you do. You don’t even have to like it to do it lol.
You know how many times I’ve just simply said “ok Lord you know better I’m going to let you handle it.” And then I pout about it?!😂
Trusting Him isn’t a natural reflex so it’s ok if you don’t always care for it but do it anyway and watch how much better things go for you.
Control feels safe, but it’s often just fear wearing the mask of responsibility.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”—Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
3. Approval
When the opinions of others outweigh what God says about us it’s become an idol.
“Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?”—Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
I used to struggle with this one a lot.
Not to throw my mom under the bus (love you mama!) but I grew up a people pleaser because I learned it from her.
Thankfully I also learned not to care what others thought of me when I’m not doing anything wrong, so coupled with my innate stubbornness I’m now well equipped to handle people’s opinions of me, negative or otherwise.
I get it though, as humans we all desire validation of some kind but the only validation we need comes from the one who Created us.
“So God created man in his own image and God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”—Genesis 1:27 and 31 (ESV Combined)
He gave us all the validation we’d ever need right from the start!
Seeking anything more than that is futile and the idolatry of approval which is an endless battle.
“If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” –Galatians 1:10 (ESV Continued)
4. Success
When achievement becomes identity.
Many people find success and then wrongly assume they did it themselves. I promise you success comes from one of two places.
God.
Or…
Satan.
However, Satan’s “success” is designed to entice you away from God’s Success.
See, God blesses and Satan destroys.
Satan offered Jesus “success” in the wilderness.
Had Jesus been fully man instead of God in the flesh He could have succumbed to the devil’s temptation of perceived success.
Success itself isn’t sinful. God wants us to succeed but when it replaces surrender to Him, it becomes slavery.
We can oftentimes bind ourselves by success because we either go about obtaining it the wrong way or we go about stewarding it the wrong way.
Our perception of success needs to be in light of God’s Word and His will for us not by what we “feel” is successful or by what society has defined as success.
Otherwise it will become an idol and a sneaky one at that!
5. Distraction
I think this is probably one of the most common idols.
The devil loves to keep people distracted and he uses things like technology, social media, and busyness to do it!
When you are constantly distracted the noise of it all drowns out God’s still, quiet voice.
God’s voice is more often a whisper than a boom. Think more how He called to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:12,
“and after the fire the sound of a gentle whisper.” (NIV)
Scripture also shows God’s voice thundering—but those moments were times of worship, declaration, or judgement, not distraction.
My 1st grade teacher used to get our attention by dimming the lights. It was a gentle way to get us to stop and take in what was happening and then she’d speak softly so as to keep that attention.
We have to focus in order to hear a whisper, right?
We must learn to be still so we can know God. (Psalm 46:10)
Idols don’t always look like outward rebellions, sometimes, most of the time they look like “small” subtle distractions.
6. Self
I’d like to point out that all the above-mentioned idols stem from one idol, the most common which we all idolize to some degree.
Ourselves.
Pride is the origin of every sin. It’s the sin of self-worship.
Some people struggle with this worse than others. Obviously Satan is the worst self-worshipper there is. So, naturally he uses this sin against everyone else.
Because the more people he can get to reflect his sinfulness, the more the devil believes he rivals God.
So my only advice to this is to kill your pride daily. Humility is the antidote to pride. It’s not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of God more—submitting your will, plans, and identity to Him instead of placing yourself at the center.
Pride always comes before a fall, so if you don’t want to fall, be aware of your pride and firm in your humility.
It’s ok to take pride in righteous things but it’s not ok to be prideful as a person. It’s a slippery slope which is why God reiterates the need to examine our hearts constantly and follow His lead instead of our own.
How to Identify the Idols in Your Own Life
Ask yourself a few questions like these:
What do you turn to for comfort before you turn to God?
What do you fear losing most?
What takes up most of your thoughts, time, or energy?
Remember idols aren’t always obvious, they’re often the “little” things we justify most.
Ask God to help you identify your idols…
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”—Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
I asked God to reveal idols to me as well and I’ve come to realize I have more than I thought I would.
My own idols
Some everyday idols I’ve struggled (and some I continue to struggle with) are:
- Pinterest. I kid you not I could scroll through Pinterest all day. I’m a very imaginative person and my imagination loves to run wild when it has inspiration like imagery (aka pins) to use for whatever I’m imagining.
- TV and movies can have the same effect as Pinterest.
- YouTube is another one I abuse for the same reasons!
- Imagining my future and maladaptive daydreaming (which is compulsive daydreaming). This is something I’ve struggled with since I was a child. Remaining present is very difficult for me. I often prefer my imagination to my reality so I often choose to live there which makes it an idol.
- Food. Food had become such an idol that the thought of not having certain foods felt like a restriction even though the foods offered no value beyond a sugar high. So I had to change the way I thought about food and instead of thinking “I can’t have this” God re-defined it to “I don’t eat this”. This small shift has helped me shed not just 60lbs but also my idolatry of food!
The 4 “R”s to Replacing Idols with Intimacy:
Recognize it. Be honest about what’s pulling you from God. It’s ok to admit that you have an idol(s). God already knows this so just be real with Him.
Repent of it. Ask God for forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). God already forgave you but being repentant shows that you are willing and ready to make necessary changes and adjustments so you can walk in line with His Will.
Replace it. Switch out the time, energy, and focus you give that idol with something fruitful like prayer, worship, and reading the Word. Train your mind, body, and spirit to remain centered in Christ by redirecting and reinforcing the behaviors and practices that are fruitful in your walk with God.
This may sound weird but it’s the same way you teach a puppy not to do something you don’t want it to (like bite you). When my puppy (now a 140lb behemoth) was biting at my hands I simply replaced my hands with a toy so in time she learned almost subconsciously what I wanted her to do instead. It honestly works the same for us humans lol.
Refocus daily. God shouldn’t live as an afterthought. God is the literal reason everything and anything exists and is sustained. So He should be the MOST important priority in everyone’s lives.
Our lives should in fact revolve around Him not because He’s vain or arrogant, He deserves our love and devotion because He is loving and devoted to us! Try to make God the first thought in your head where your flesh would normally be.
Even little things can be dedicated to God as an offering to Him, showing Him you acknowledge Him above all else.
Because the cure for idolatry isn’t self-denial, it’s deeper devotion.
Reflection: Living Free from Everyday Idols
Freedom from idols comes from a continual daily re-devotion to God.
If that sounds daunting, well it can be, just like forming any other good habit or discipline, but when you center yourself in Christ your desire to be devoted to Him will grow and it won’t remain daunting.
You don’t have to be perfect, in fact you won’t be but if you give Him even a mustard seed worth of your heart He can turn that into Mountain-moving Faith!
So, whatever may be quietly and subtly replacing God in your life, relinquish it today, right now!
No point in delaying it, you won’t be more obedient later and God’s patiently waiting on you to make room for Him and all He has for you!
Ask God to show you one area where your attention has drifted. Write it down, pray over it, and take one small step back toward Him today.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
I’m sorry for all the times I’ve filled up the empty spaces in my heart with everything but You. I pray that You will help me empty those spaces again so You can fill them for me with Your spirit, Your strength, Your love, Your grace, Your peace, and Your limitlessness!
I know that all You want for me is to live under Your authority so I may dwell in the riches and glory of your kingdom with Your Son Jesus!
Thank You for Your overwhelming presence, power, and protection over me! I could sing praises to Your name day and night without ceasing and it would never equal the honor You deserve.
Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your love which grants me a way out of the darkness my flesh is so determined to walk in.
I boldly ask today that You give me the strength and courage to cut all ties to whatever idols are playing tug of war with my attention and to devote my full focus to You and Your Will for my life!
In Jesus’ mighty name I pray and give thanks,
Amen.
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