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31daysofholdingbuttonIf you were to look around my house, you would not find any. No carvings. No gold object. Nothing erected on a pole. But as surely as in biblical days, I have held onto them in my life. And I would think you have as well.

Idols.

They have been defined as “objects of worship”.

The very first commandment deals with this issue: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20: 3, NIV).

God knew exactly how He had wired us. We were made for worship. And if we are not going to worship Him, we will worship something else. Anything else.

I cannot criticize the Israelites as I have had a few in my life….

  • my husband
  • my children
  • a friendship
  • a position
  • a car (oh my red Nissan Maxima – how well I remember you!)

A better definition of idol…… “any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion” (according to dictionary.com). Take note of the word “blind”. To be an idol, we only need to make something more important to us than God.

As our love for our idol increases, we truly are blinded. We are blind to how consumed with our idol we have become. We are blind to how it cannot fulfill us. We are even more blind to the fact that it will fail us, leave us, age on us, die on us, or leave us high and dry. Maybe that is why, they say “love is blind”.

Jeremiah had something to tell us about idols….

A craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. (Jeremiah 10: 3-5, NLT).

They are useless. The only thing they do achieve is to blind us to the One True God…..

Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. (verse 6)

As long as we are blinded by our object of worship, we will miss the One worthy of our worship.

These days, probably because I am {{older}}, (I whispered that last word), I am much more guarded and and aware of idols. I cannot say that has always been true in my life. But this is what I have come to realize…

There is a God-shaped hole in each of our lives that can only be filled with God. That hole will only be satisfied with God which is why God quickly addressed idolatry. He knew this one critical point about idols:

Our idols will shape our lives.

We become like what we worship.

“Those who make them (speaking of idols) will be like them and so will all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115: 8, NIV)

And God wants to transform us into the likeness of His Son. It is critical that we are aware of our object of worship.

So during this harvest season, may you be reminded each and every time you see a scarecrow decoration…….

We will no longer hold onto idols.

We will hold onto Him alone.

Today I am linking with …. Unite and Tell Me A Story and Soli Deo GLoria and Momma Notes and Titus 2sday and Teach Me Tues. and TitusƂĀ  2 Tuesday and Monday Musings .