4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol
An idol is anything or anyone who we place in the position in our lives where the Lord should be. We can make really good things the object of our worship. I know you are probably thinking to yourself, “I don’t bow down to anything in worship.” You might have the images from movies or the news of people bowing with their face to the ground. You certainly don’t do that! How foolish! But what is worship? Worship is the placing of worth on someone or something. We value our relationships so we spend time cultivating them. We add value to them by putting them in our calendar. We take time for those things that are important, thus showing what they are worth to us. When we place the worth that is due the Lord somewhere else, then we are worshipping an idol. The Lord is to be the center of gravity in our lives. Placing Him in His rightful place is worship that honors the Lord. If He is not in the top spot in our lives, then we are making an idol. Something occupies that top spot. If it isn’t the Lord, it is our idol. It doesn’t make much difference what it is. It can be made of chrome, high-tech materials, or of flesh. It can be something non-tangible like pleasure, happiness, success or security. Maybe it takes the form of an unspoken message we keep telling ourselves like, “If I can keep my spouse from leaving me, then I am acceptable.” No matter what pursuit gets our energies and attentions, if they are not centered on placing the Lord in His place in our lives, then we have created an idol. It can be difficult to remove an idol from its place in our lives. The longer we pursue something other than the Lord, the more that misdirected pursuit becomes engrained in the fabric of our being. It takes the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit to unweave those threads of idolatry. Are you willing to let the Lord untie your life?
The Arnold Journey 