Who's Your Idol?

On September 4, 2002, millions of viewers watched as Kelly Clarkson was announced as the winner of the first iteration of the hit television show American Idol. She has since been dubbed the most successful American Idol winner, and has gone on to win numerous awards and sell millions of albums. On that day, her life changed and the people voted her as their idol... Largely for her singing talents and possibly for her cute looks and down-to-earth personality.

Okay, so she is pretty cute haha. Not that I have anything against American Idol, but what does God say about idols? What exactly qualifies as an idol? Does that mean we can't enjoy these things because that means we're worshipping them?

Exodus 20:3-5 (NLT)
"You must not have any other god but me. [4] "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. [5] You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected-even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

1. Material things: The easiest one is MONEY. Yup, we've all heard it... People worship their riches and the material things they have so much to the point that we forget where it comes from and how fast it can be taken away. I'm guilty of this for sure as I have a very severe attachment to my iPad...

Proverbs 11:28 (NLT)
Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

2. Ourselves: I like to refer to this as pride. We become so engulfed with what we've accomplished - a good job, how good we are at a sport... Or we're vain, and we love our own face our own voice... God knows I know some people who fit into this category.

3. Other people: Yup. Even if we don't think of them as gods. I especially have a problem with this. When someone or something someone has done becomes your every thought, and rules the other aspects of your life, even if it isn't a good person or a good thing, you turn them into a god by letting their actions control your life. And perhaps other people are the worse kind of god there is because not only are they false, but they'll inevitably let you down. God warns us:

Exodus 20:23 (NLT)
Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.

Anything that rivals our investment of time and energy towards Him is an idol. So... that means we can't enjoy anything on earth, right? WRONG. Money, iPads, jobs, sports, beauty, voices, relationships with other people, being hurt by other people... By investing all your time in them, you have turned them into an idol. What I would think God intended for us is that we USE these things that we cherish so much for God's kingdom. Give away your money, use my iPad for biblical purposes, when you work, work like you're working for God, use a sport to reach out to someone who might need it, find beauty in all God's given us, use your voice to tell others the Good News, build fellowship with one another, and use the hurt from others to seek Christ. It's a process. I haven't done it all, and I don't expect that you have either. But now's our chance to start.

The challenge: who is your idol? What thing (good or bad) is controlling you? Can you change your obsession into a good work for His kingdom?