3. The uber-sneaky sin of IDOLATRY

Adultery. Covetousness.

Not a problem. I’ve got those handled.

But what about the uber-sneaky sin of idolatry?

The #1 commandment listed in the Ten Commandments is this:

"You shall have no other gods before me. 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.” – Exodus 20:3-5a

Now, your typical image of an idol might be the golden calf that the Israelites had Aaron make when Moses was gone up the mountain. Or, maybe a wooden statue worshipped by some pagan tribe in a far-off land.

But God’s definition of idolatry is not limited to inanimate statues; rather, an idol is anything that we might worship with our time, money, or focus. Anything that takes away from our attention to God, and the goodness He wants for our lives.

For example, an athlete might worship his or her physique, spending hours working out and admiring himself/herself in the mirror. Young people might pimp themselves for the perfect selfie. Others might follow sports teams, musicians, or movie stars so closely that one might say that they worship them. Pop culture even recognizes our desires to worship another with shows like “American Idol”.

In those terms – on God’s terms – idolatry seems to be everywhere. And it is.

Adultery and Covetousness might have not been too difficult for you, but what about idolatry? Does your time, money and effort glorify God, or does it glorify something else?

Be honest now and then take a moment to feel the pain that God feels when we – as His creation in His image – idolize something or someone else instead of Him…

Ouch.

Next, we will uncover practical advice from the Bible to knock out these sneaky sins. But that’s tomorrow…