Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
There are already a lot of books written and sermons preached regarding this topic, but still, a lot of Christians walk around ignorant of the fact that functional idols have robbed God of their affections. With my limited knowledge of theology, I have so far read about the fact that we are made to worship God but because we are fallen creatures, we make for ourselves other things that we worship and those become sources that we think could satisfy us. The thing is, genuine Christians know that that is a lie because these things could not fulfill the void in our hearts. But thank be to God! He has made a way for us to overcome this struggle.
Ps. 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
In this Psalms, God gives us an antidote. But it is up to us if we would respond to His offer. We are, in some sense free to continue on the destructive path of worshipping functional idols. We willingly ignore because seeking God requires a lot of work and discipline. It is easier for us to hold on to our own idols because we can have a sense of control over them. The trouble though comes in when those functional gods disappoint and frustrate us. That’s when reality starts to sink in. When your boyfriend can’t give you enough love and attention, or your grades start to drop, or your job starts to really stress you out, or your beauty and money fail you. It’s easier that way. It’s easier to just follow our deceitful hearts.
If you are struggling with the same thing, rest assured that you are not alone. I struggle with this every day. I know people who struggle with this too. You are not alone in this struggle. But do know that God is just waiting for us to give Him our functional idols back. And this is not just a one-time big-time offer, we need to lay down our idols moment by moment. This is the process of justification. My dear brother and sisters, taste and see that the Lord is good and He deserves ALL that we have.
Reading Recommendations:
When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch
Worldliness by C.J. Mahaney
Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick
