Before we examine our topic let’s have a quick look at what idolatry is as it will set the tone of our examination of ourselves in respect to ‘Idols of the Heart.’
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word ‘idolatry’ as something like this: “extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.”
From a Biblical perspective a Christian should only worship God in this way and no one or nothing else! God should have first place in everything in our heart in our soul, spirit and in every fibre of our being!
Exodus 20:3-5 (NKJV)
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them (or worship them). For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting (or punishing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
And we should love God in the same way!
Mark 12:30 (NKJV)
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden man has been making carved images out of stone, wood and various metals and bowing down to them and worshipping them and making sacrifices to them both animal and human. Gods like Baal, Molech, Dagon, and the many Egyptian, Babylonian and Medean gods.
And in much the same way these practices are continued today in many modern forms of religion like Budhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Satanism and Islam. Even today man bows down to myriad of false gods created by their own hand and minds. Many Roman Catholics bow down and worship the Pope and bow down and pray to images and pictures of Mary and angels and the so-called saints of different things!
All these things man has used to replace the one true God within their lives and culture! God who is the creator of all things, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God considers this type of worship of false gods as rebellion against Him and this rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and our stubbornness to change, He considers to be iniquity (or sin – a wicked act) and idolatry
1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV)
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
As I have already stated, Idolatry has been part of man’s sinful nature ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Idolatry is evident in all tribes and nations in all recorded history and on all earth’s continents from the pyramids in Egypt to the pyramids in South America. From the stone statues on Easter Island to the Stonehenge in Wiltshire, United Kingdom and from the cave paintings in Africa to the cave paintings in North America.
Ancient idols come in all shapes and sizes and are made of various natural elements and shaped by man’s hands and vain imaginations.
Modern day idols come in different forms as well from money and possessions to humans in the form of Church and Community leaders and various other so called celebrities.
But all idols have one thing in common, they all come from one source – the devil!
An idol is something that a person devotes him or herself to or trusts in for so called self-satisfaction, happiness, security or a false sense of salvation. An idol is anything that is loved more than God and takes you away from worshipping God. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart, “If I have that I will be happy, my life will have meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.”
We will not find our purpose in life in idols of the heart or false religion, we will only find our purpose in life in Christ Jesus who is the giver of life, the bread of life the author of our salvation and perfecter of our faith. Our one and only provider is our heavenly Father in Christ Jesus. Only God knows what we need and what is truly good for us!
1 Chronicles 29 12 (NKJV)
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
1 Samuel 2:8-9 (NKJV)
8 He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them.
9 He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
“For by strength no man shall prevail.
Matthew 6:26 (NKJV)
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Now, getting back to the main topic of this article:
What are the modern-day idols that we set up in our hearts, the things that we place before God and that draw us away from putting Him first in our lives?
Idolatry goes much deeper than bowing before carved statues of false gods.
Idolatry is found in a heart that loves and desires something more or other than God.
Idolatry of the heart is found in the person that is led by fleshly desires and not by the Holy Spirit.
The phrase “idols of the heart” comes to us from Ezekiel 14.
John 3:6-7 (NIV)
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
Romans 8:5-8 (NIV)
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
The phrase “idols of the heart” comes to us from Ezekiel 14.
Ezekiel 14:4-8 (NKJV)
4 “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. 8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
In the above five verses God tells us that anything we put before our worship of Him and hold them in our hearts is idolatry and is something that He will not put up with and urges us to repent of these ‘idols of the heart’ and to return to Him wholeheartedly. He tells us exactly what happens to us when we hold on to these ‘idols of the heart’:
- They cause us to stumble into sin – verses 4 and 7.
- We become separated from God, we separate ourselves from Him – verses 5 and 8.
- All forms of idolatry is an abomination in the sight of God – verse 6.
- The Lord will deal with us himself – verse 7.
- God will set himself against us – verse 8.
- God will cut us off from Himself – verse 8.
A person can maintain all the external features of faithful worship of God and still secretly carry in his heart a pantheon of false gods – some of these heart idols are shown in the above diagram but there are many more. If we carry idols in our hearts, then our hearts are far from God regardless of our outward appearance of faithfulness.
Matthew 15:8 (NKJV)
‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
As born again Christians we need to examine our hearts and our motives for doing things! Would we rather watch a sporting event than study our Bible or go to a Church meeting at our local place of fellowship or a Home Group meeting?
Are we driven to strive for more money just to get a bigger bank balance or do we spend more time at work than we do with our families and with God? Are we driven by self gain and strive for recognition and position in the workplace, a striving that is all consuming?
Do we put our wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters or friends before our relationship with God? These relationships are all very important but none are more important than our relationship with God. Our relationships with each other should be first and foremost rooted in a strong relationship with God first!
Do we take our children to play sports on Sunday mornings rather than teaching them to put God first and go to Church so that everything else can fall into place? Do we please the cravings of their flesh which lasts only momentarily rather than teaching them to honour God, feeding their spirit which leads to eternal life rather than feeding their flesh which leads to death!
Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
Do we put our ministry before our personal relationship with God? Don’t let anything come before your love of God and your personal relationship with him? And if you are a married Church leader – do not neglect your wife and family either for they are your calling too!
Dear readers, stop doing the things that prevent you from having a personal relationship with God and prevent you from having a Godly order in your life and in particular your marriage if you are a married leader!
The greatest command is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Mark 12:30 (NKJV)
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
1 John 5:21 (AMP)
Little children (believers, dear ones), guard yourselves from idols—[false teachings, moral compromises, and anything that would take God’s place in your heart].
Luke 14:26 (NKJV)
26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Hate in the above verse is a purposely exaggerated figure of speech indicating that we should have a lesser degree of love for others than we have for God, not actual hostility or aversion toward one’s earthly family. We are still to love each other but our love for others should be rooted in our love for God first!
God knows your heart, you cannot hide anything from Him!
Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Heavenly Father
I bow before you now and repent of the idols I have kept in my heart, forgive me Lord of this sin and help me to sin no more. Lord, help me to remain in you always. Lead me and guide me in my daily walk in the power of your Holy Spirit. When I slip, Lord, help me to return to you quickly with a true repentant heart as your servant David did. Help me to be a man/woman after your own heart that my lifestyle, my actions, and my speech may glorify the name of Jesus. Help me, Lord, to love others as you love me and to lead a Godly and ordered life, keeping my eyes always on Jesus and being led by the Holy Spirit. Help me not to harbour idols in my heart, Lord and to keep you first in all things. In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!
Jesus the Name above all names!
Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself. My word is flawed the Bible is not!
God Bless You Greatly Brother Ray. This reaching is exquisite, Holy Spirit Breathed Upon! You have captured the Holy Spirit in a Breath Takingly Beautiful, Blessed Way. Thank you for all you do in the Kingdom of Our Lord God Almighty!
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