What are some of your hobbies?
Think about the entertainment industry right now and how much you depend on entertainment to become the center of your focus. We like to be entertained and sometimes we get so wrapped up in the entertainment that we treat is as an idol and it separates us from God.
Some people worship the enjoyment out of doing things that are fun and they are drifting away from the Father. At a recent college retreat, the lessons were how anything can become idols and how people get so wrapped up in the presents of the world that it leads them away from the father.
The first lesson was entertainment and how hobbies can become idols when people get so wrapped up in the worldly presents of the activities of what is fun and forget what is truly Important. God is very jealous and many people let their activities that may be fun come between their relationship with him as they wrap themselves in the presents of what the world wants to offer whether it be through the television shows, the music we listen to or just regular hobbies that grab the attention and it drifts us away from spending that time in His Word.
Exodus 20:23 (NIV) Do not make any goods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
Idolatry is real and may be wrapped up in shiny packaging like a present, however it can rip apart the most important relationship with the ONE WHO TRULY MATTERS. The Father is very jealous and wants us to worship him not the idols of the world that we may face everyday here in this cold hard world. Vanity is very vain and idolatry may not be seen, however it still exists.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 (KJV) Vanity of vanities saith the Preacher, vanity if vanities; all is vanity.
This world is very vain and meaningless and people can get so wrapped up in the presents that they may not see it as idolatry, but God sees it and is very jealous. People of this world like to be entertained however they see the presents and want them to the point that they worship it.
The next lesson was over success.
How do you explain success? Is it that you rich, that you are financially stable, have a family or good at sports? Everybody has a different definition of what success means to them. You may be good at football and offered a scholarship and that may be a definition of success. God has a different meaning for it. People get so wrapped up in the presents offered of having good health, a family, having a lot of money and being successful in the presents that may come with it.
For example the trophies from state championships in football. Christians today are selfish to the point where all they want is to be successful, however in God's definition true success if found in HIM. We live in a busy world and sometime we need to slow down and swallow the pride to not let riches become our idols. People do not see success as an idol, however the presents of how the world defines success may be shiny. Children are being taught in the earlier ages to play sports and learn how to compete, but the question is what are they really competing in? Are they competing just to win or being brought up in a way that they learn that as God's children they need to be giving HIM the glory whether they win or loose. Idolatry with success is a problem that is continuing to grow in today's society and it looks good to the outsider looking in just like somebody giving you a present and watching you open it.
Luke 18:22-25 (KJV) Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Success is defined by many people in various ways and many are being taught how success is measured based on awards, medals and wealth, but with God success is measured by him and trusting in the Father above.
Christians have to be willing to give up the glory and wealth to follow Christ and give Him the credit he deserves. Today we need to count the costs of what we may loose if we choose fame/wealth and it becomes the idols of our memories and through the wealth people may loose sight on what is truly important for when it matters the rest.
Wealth is like a present that is only temporary and you can be poor and still be very rich in Christ, just have to TRUST IN HIM.
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Idolatry is everywhere and it can come in wrapping paper with a bow that represents wealth and success and when we worship it becomes an idol and saddens God for He is Very Jealous and when we try to define success and people worship idols such as wealth and fortune it breaks his heart. Idolatry is an issue that existed back then and continues to exist in the modern society through wealth, fame, fortune and allowing it to become a focal point and it takes the glory away from the one who deserves it the most. The presents in the world look so good and they may be appealing but at what cost? Imagine you are the richest person in the world and you have everything you ever wanted but you still don't have true happiness because you filled it with fame and fortune and turned your back on God and get so wrapped up in the presents that it becomes an idol and idolatry breaks the Father's heart.
The different definitions of success are varied by individuals, and at what cost are we willing to give to Follow Christ and Trust in him to provide and though it is unnatural, Only with God is true success measured by his standards.
The next lesson was how relationships can become our idols that we may worship. Christians as well as others may get involved in a friendship and it becomes their whole world. Lust can also be a stumbling block in our relationship with the One and only Father Above.
We often need to reminded that we are his children and he loves us unconditionally like a father loves his children. In the relationship idols they see the presents with the attractive bows and they want it and more of it that it can leer them away from God's plan for they idolize their friendships instead of focussing on the TRUE LOVE that only HE provides. We need to refocus our lives in on the relationship we have with our FATHER ABOVE and know that is True Love.
Lastly, it was how people idolize themselves by the selfish ambition. When Christians and others put themselves on the pedi-stool and it can become the most destructive and most terrifying and we can cause idolatry within ourselves. It is human nature to focus on self, however with God there is no place for second place for He deserves to be on that pedi-stool with all of the glory for he truly cares and truly deserves to be on top.
Selfishness within self can also bring heartache and pain and it can be the most destructive for when we think we are in control when in reality only One person is truly in charge and that is God. The heart is so tender and can be the most dangerous when we put other things in the place where GOD belongs and it can break us down. It is like a puzzle and he wants the whole heart not just a piece of the puzzle for He has it figured out, but if we allow ourselves to commit idolatry because of self, God's heart breaks for his children and is a very Jealous God. When we idolize ourselves and give ourselves the credit that we do not deserve, it saddens God.
Picture your father crying in front of you and see the pain it may bring to see your father crying. Now, replace your earthly Father with GOD and do the same thing. Presents of the world. The credit belongs to the one who truly deserves it not us for God is the Father and we need to TRUST IN HIM.
Exodus 20:4-6 (NIV) “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, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
God should be the one with the glory and praise. We shall only worship him. Christians will be proud, however they need to put the one who truly deserves to be on the pedi-stool back instead of replacing it with the idols of this world. There is only one God and when we allow ourselves to become the center it breaks the Father's heart. For there is only One God and He is very jealous, and he loves his children, but he does not like others worshipping other Gods for there is only one and that is the True God. Do not turn your heart into a marketplace to other gods for that is idolatry and the most dangerous is ourselves.
Put The Father back where he needs to be at the top. Put HIM first and ourselves second.
John 2:16 (KJV) And said unto them who sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Anything can be an idol.
From entertainment, success and wealth, love and relationships and ourselves and you can fill in the blank. God is a very Jealous God and he wants our whole heart not just pieces and if we fill our hearts with idols and presents that are in this world we break his heart. There is no room for seconds when God measures true love and success when we only worship HIM. The world wraps idolatry in various packaging by making it appealing, like presents with a bow on top and that breaks God's heart and should break yours as well. Don't turn your heart into the marketplace and give the Father what he truly deserves and that is your whole heart. Not just pieces of the puzzle. What you may find entertaining or find in success, because in God there is true wealth and success along with true love.
Idolatry is all around and it is wrapped up like presents to be opened in this world.
The war inside of us is how we can take anything and turn it into an idol without realizing it and forget that we worship the idols we are breaking the Father's heart. The presents of this world are only temporary and God wants our whole hearts to only worship him and not be replaced by something that can be so meaningless and worldly that in HIM you will find True Love for what it is meant to be and Put the Father back on top and Trust in him.
Slow down and know that he will provide, but be aware of the presents that the world tries to offer and know that God is very Jealous and it breaks his heart when his children commit idolatry with worldly possessions. Trust in God and give him your whole heart. The idols of this world are numerous but we need to only worship The One who truly matters and that is God who is the Father who loves his children that deserves the credit not the idols of the world that we continue to face as we live in this world.
The wrapping paper and bow may make it look appealing, but it breaks God's heart.
A-men.
