Idols .... American and Other

I gotta believe that everyone has a pretty good idea about idol worship and God's position on it but lets start here

"You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. ⁵ You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me." - Exodus 20:4-5  (NLT)

That is a big big thought to unpack.  We can bottom line it as God saying do not worship idols! But it is clear there is more to it then that.  This is a big issue and an almost precursor for us, of the possibility of us losing our way and falling victim to the idols!  We are not to worship them, bow down to them.  I think we need to unpack the idea of worship and bowing down.  Let's have a look at the definition of Merriam-Webster 

1 : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power

2 : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion

This is a good start! Honour and reverence AS A divine being.  Well we are aware that the only Divine Being is God! So worship should be saved for Him.  Further more, worship means to regard someone with great respect, honour and devotion..  If we start applying these thoughts to our daily lives how often can we be guilty of worshiping false idols! Aren't we often guilty of regarding our favourite celebrity or sports heros with extravagant respect and honour? We have all shown extravagant devotion to our favourite television show, not missing a single episode, dvring, downloading whatever it takes to stay up to date.  Let's not even get started on how we treat money! Talk about extravagant devotion!

"And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles." - Romans 1:23 (NLT)

Geez that is not a legacy I want put on my head! But yet here we are worshiping all the false idols that exist in our world, the pop princess, the athletic superstars, the latest netflix drama. 

I think that worshiping God, keeps our head looking upwards, and not getting lost in the chaos and chasm of this world. The distractions and the greed!

"Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world." - Colossians 3:5 (NLT)

It is easy to see that greed can easily be the distraction that takes us away from God, if the devil did have a secret weapon, it would be greed!  I don't think there is anything that can pull us away from God, distract us from Him, and move us away from Him than greed!  Greed forces us to put "ourself" first, to ignore what God wants from us, and for us!  Greed leads us away from the things we want for ourselves, our hopes, our dreams! Greed takes us away from God!

"They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about." - Job 20:20 (NLT)

Greed destroys who we are, we begin to focus on the things we want, and ignore the things we need!

"Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life." - Proverbs 1:19 (NLT)

Greed and worshiping idols robs us of life, takes away all the God has promised for us. 

"And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires" - 2 Peter 1:4 (NLT)

Just don't let the human desires of greed and idol worship corrupt you and leave God's promises unfulfilled.  I know for me, I have to work hard to curb my own idol worshiping, catch me missing a Patriots game, the latest episode of Big Brother and rocking my Tom Brady jersey! The thing I think I need to focus on is distributing my time, but ensuring that God's time remains God's time.  That I take time to worship my Creator and acknowledge all that He does for me!  Keeping my head aimed towards Him, the distractions of greed and idol worship will not pull me away.  Well, at least I hope so! But let's be honest, I am human and I am so thankful for Jesus!

"Listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins."  - Acts 13:38 (NLT) 

PRAISE GOD!!!!!