An idol is a substitute for God – when something or someone becomes more important to us than God.

What are the things in your life that have taken the place of God? What are the things to which we devote our energy, time or for which you make sacrifices? 

When there is a distinction in our adoration / desire for God and something else – you can be certain that you have idolized something.  

John Calvin said our “heart is an idol factory. In a fallen world, people constantly seek things they can worship, even though the Creator is before us in plain view.” 

Physical Idol 

Why is the worship of a physical idol wrong? 

Jesus explained the rationale behind the second commandment when he said…

John 4:24 (NKJV)

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Attempting to create a visible representation of the invisible God will always lead to misrepresenting Him. No matter how beautiful the picture we might make, it is no substitute for reality. All they do is arouse God’s jealousy.

Furthermore, people are easily tempted to attribute power to various objects / idols to capture the power and use it. Therefore, it reduces God to something we could manage for our own self-satisfaction.

The essence of idolatry is where we ask the gods (we create) to help us get all we want (for our own personal yet selfish desires); this contrasts with the heart of Christianity, which is to live for God’s glory. 

You could be an idol

Paul mentions several sinful desires in Colossians, which he links to idolatry.  

Colossians 3:5 (NKJV) 

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 

When people engage in either greed or the sexual sins that Paul has mentioned, they follow their desires rather than God’s, in essence worshiping themselves which is idolatry.  

Man as an idol. 

Paul in the book of Romans reminded us of the danger and futility of trying to make God into our own image: 

Romans 1:22-23 (NKJV)

22. Professing to be wise, they became fools,

23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

The first warning in Paul’s list is the “corruptible or mortal man.” You have made a person an idol when you start thinking of someone as your primary source of blessings and contentment. This could be your boss, pastor, leader, spouse, children, etc.

The legitimate image we can worship. 

There is only one legitimate representation of God and therefore only one legitimate means of accessing him. – Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15). So if you want a representation of God – look at Christ, learn Christ, read Christ and think about Christ. 

Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Conclusion

Not everyone is going to live a 100% idol-free life. But this is more for us to remember how easily we can fall victim to it. We should ask ourselves questions like the following to verify if we have created an idol; 

Where Do I Spend My Time? Where Do I Spend My Money? Where Do I Get My Joy? What’s Always on My Mind?  

We are not saying that you should not have a fun-filled life, but question yourself: Is there a difference in your devotion to the idol and towards God? Do you find yourself more drawn closer towards this idol?