The Dangers Of Idoltry

What Is Idoltry?

Idoltry is placing anything above God whether that be money, food (gluttony), video games, sports, your girlfriends or even family , yes, family as well.

Matthew 10:37 - "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

Idoltry can be subtle, you don't have to openly confess that you love something over God, you could easily place it over God in your heart and show it through your actions, for where your heart is, your treasure is also.

Why Is Idoltry So Dangerous?

Exodus 20:4–5 - "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,"

The wrath of God comes on the idolater because God is jealous. There is a righteous and holy jealousy and an unrighteous and weak and insecure jealousy. And God’s jealousy is not only righteous — that is, he deserves our deepest and strongest affections and iration — but it is loving.

Another Problem with Idoltry is that it also harms us. Psalm 115: "...their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." (emphasis mine)

Whatever your God is, you will become.

Idolatry is extremely bad for you. Too often I see it explained merely as "Well, God doesn't like us worshipping other Gods" -- this is correct, of course, but it doesn

The problem with worshipping other Gods isn't just that it makes God angry, or sad. Imagine that you have a dog, you see this dog is eating mulch for the 100th time. Him eating mulch doesn't affect you, or change ME, or diminish you, but you love him and you want him to be happy and healthy and not get sick and die. There. NOW you understand God's "jealousy," and why he forbids us from worshipping idols.

Whatever your God is, you will become, in the end.

Credit to Merit for the BG.