Now we come to idolatry. As 21st century Christians this is something that we do not consider to be a problem, but idolatry is widespread today. Anything that takes the place of God can be said to be idolatry.
In Exodus 20:4 God forbids us to make idols. In 1st John 5:21 we are told to “guard ourselves from idols”.
There are several different words in the Hebrew and Greek languages for idol or idolatry. The prevailing thought behind most of them is emptiness, or no value. The Hebrew word אֱלִיל (H457) [’eliyl /el·eel/] has the thought behind it of worthless physicians.
What are our idols today?
Work, television, the planet, the list can go on and on, but it still comes down to anything that takes the place of God. A lot of things that are idols today are not evil in and of themselves. It is when they are taken from their proper place that the problem begins. In United States the biggest idol is the idol of self. So much is sacrificed to this idol, spouses, children, and family to name a few. The only way to avoid setting up idols in our lives is to seek God first, (Matthew 6:33) then the rest of our lives will come into proper focus.
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