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What Do You Worship?

Just as worship begins in the heart, it is also clear that idolatry begins in the heart. The enemy wants nothing more than to turn our attention away from God. The enemy loves to redirect our worship. Pastor John Piper defines idolatry by slightly adjusting his definition of worship. He defines idolatry as “craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God.” The slight adjustment is in those three short words, “more than God.”

With that in mind, what was the last thing you treasured more than God? Think about that for a moment.

For me, it is a sense of financial security. I like feeling the security of knowing that I am good at my craft and desired at my job. I try to convince myself that with all this hard work and preparation, I have good reason to believe I won’t end up homeless one day. Perhaps my idol is certainty. I want to feel certain that my future is secure. This seems normal enough, but even in this “normal” desire, am I trying to replace my dependence on God? Can I ever have enough certainty?

Maybe your idol is comfort, success, pleasure, entertainment, physical appearance or health, your family, popularity, addiction, or something else. These modern idols are often more subtle and quiet than the physical idols we think of when we read the Bible. They are not made of wood or stone; they don’t have hands or feet, but somehow, they become treasures in our hearts.

The apostle Paul summed up the human tendency to pursue idols by saying, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen” (Romans 1:25).

During a mission trip to South Asia, the city I spent the most time in was filled with idol worship. There were bumper stickers of gods and goddesses, temples throughout the area, and even a tree at the university that had a shrine cut into it. This shrine was full of wooden gods. My spirit became burdened for these people. I recalled Bible verses where God was angry at idol worship. I prayed for God to have mercy and patience with these people. I prayed that His Spirit would be revealed to them. I was angry and saddened that they were so deceived by these false gods. I was so sad that they might spend eternity separated from God. I had to do something.

Since this country was deeply religious, spiritual conversations were easy to be had. We shared the gospel, and a few prayed to receive Jesus during the trip. We rejoiced that some had been saved, but so many others were still in darkness. How could these people ever be free with so many idols around them?

The truth is that if we look around our own city and even possibly in our own homes, we will find false gods being worshiped. Our idols are not carved into trees, and they do not have physical temples, but they are idols no less. In our own lives, the idols that seek our worship are harder to see, more subtle, and more difficult to discern.

The reality is that no country is exempt from idol worship. We are created to worship. God has designed each of us to worship him, but the enemy constantly looks for ways to steal our worship away from God.

Reflection:

After reading Romans 1:21-25 today, spend time reflecting. Have you recently been treasuring anything more than God? Has anything or anyone in your life been competing with God for your time, attention, or heart? If so, bring these things before the Lord today.