What Are You Worshipping Today?

"Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." 
- 1 Corinthians 10: 14  

Idolatry is first defined as "the religious worship of idols."  Well, this seems an easy enough thing to avoid, doesn't it?  I certainly don't own or use anything used in idol worship.  I don't bow down to a physical object and worship it or pray to it.  So I should be in the clear here.

Right?

The second definition of idolatry is "excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc."  I would define it more specifically as "excessive time or thought spent on something unhealthy or dangerous, or something that detracts from or causes harm to the much more important things in life."
In today's American culture, idol worship is rarely overtly worshipping an object.  And yet, idolatry is a major problem today, it's just that we usually don't know or recognize it.  But it is rampant, and it affects each and every one of us.

The subtlety of idolatry is what makes it so dangerous.  We often don't even realize that we're doing it.  There may not even be anything directly wrong with what we're doing; it's the amount of focus and energy we put toward it that can turn it into idolatry.  One of the examples in today's society is people who spend all of their time playing computer or video games.  They basically live their lives online, neglecting their real life responsibilities, and completely shutting out the influence of God in their lives.

There is certainly nothing wrong with having hobbies, computer games included.  I have several hobbies, including computer and card games.  The issue with such things is not what you do, but how you're doing it.  If your hobby is taking up all of your time and not allowing you to be present in other real life situations, then you may have an issue with idolatry.

There are certainly seasons of life where certain activities or responsibilities take up more of our time.  It all comes down to this: God should always be the most important thing in our lives.  If anything, whether it be a person or thing or activity, takes that top spot away, that's when it becomes idolatry.  That's when we start to have other gods before the one true God, who is more than worthy enough to take that top spot.  The most important thing in our life is the thing that has the most impact on us, and granting that role to anything other than our creator is foolish.  We often wonder why we do not feel God moving in our lives.  Perhaps it is because we do not give Him top honors in our life, and our attention is instead diverted elsewhere.

Worship is not just direct praise and bowing down; we worship with our time and our thoughts.  Giving all of our strength and attention to something is a form of worship.  Are you worshipping the world, or something or someone in this world?  Or are you worshipping the one who created the world?  What are you worshipping today?

God has given us more than we could ever deserve.  He sacrified His son Jesus Christ so that we may be saved.  Idolatry is the way we sinners say that such things are not enough; it is how we choose the world over God.  We all must reevaluate our priorities and ensure that only God is the most important thing to us.

Thank you God for all you have done for us, all you have given us, all of which we could never deserve or repay.  Forgive us for the times we give in to the allure of the world and look to it more than we look to you.  You are the one true God, and may we ever look to you as our source in life.  Amen.