This topic has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. I've been doing a lot of study on the centrality of the Gospel and God's grace in our lives and how we need to make Christ ultimate within our hearts, our lives, and our homes.

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And this had led me to a lot of thought on what it is that I do hold dear in my life. What are the things that I constantly put first in my life...even above God?!

How easy is it in my day to put other things as more important than God? And that my friends, is what we call creating an idol in our hearts. 

What is an Idol?

Often when we talk about idols, we think of the Old Testament version of idols. Of worshipping false gods and bowing down to calfs made of gold.

But in our modern society, we still have plenty of idols that we worship, even if they are not made of gold and we don't have shrines for them set up in our homes. 

Lately I've been reading a fantastic book on the subject called Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick and in it she gives a very good definition for what idols are:

"Idols aren't just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need." - Idols of the Heart, page 23

So basically, whenever we place something more important in our lives than God, I've created an idol out of that thing. Even if this doesn't happen consciously. With my lips I may acknowledge God as most important in my life, but in my heart, in my attitude, in my thoughts am I placing other things as more important?

Are you willing to sin in order to obtain something you desire? Or on the flip side, do you sin when you don't get something you want or something doesn't go the way you think it should?

"If you're willing to sin to obtain your goal or if you sin when you don't get what you want, then your desire has taken God's place and you're functioning as an idolater"- Idols of the Heart, page 25

How This Plays Out in Our Lives

A lesson in marriage

For most of us, we want a healthy happy marriage. This desire in itself is not bad. In fact, God encourages us to be close to our husbands, to be of one flesh, to be united, and to flourish together within the marriage covenant. Desiring a close and passionate marriage is a beautiful thing to desire and work towards.

So let's say that our friend Jane just read a blog post or listened to a podcast about marriage and she is fired up and excited to put energy and passion back into her marriage. So she sets out with a goal this week to love and appreciate her husband more. Maybe she stops by the store and picks up some candles to help set the mood, she puts the kids down to bed early and makes his favorite meal. She's anticipating the moment he walks in the door to see all the love and care she's put into creating a special night for them...because she desires a close and loving marriage.

But he walks in the door, after being stuck in traffic, he hasn't eaten in hours, and he's just plain tired. He grunts a hello to Jane, doesn't acknowledge the beautiful table she's set or the effort she's put into it, and slouches into the living room to turn the TV on.

Instantly her love and excitement for that night evaporates and she's foaming at the mouth. She heads to the living room to "confront" him. After a bout of yelling and screaming (from both Jane and her husband), she runs off to her bedroom to pout, withdraw, sulk,