Idolatry - a Subtle Foe

I have decided to share my heart at a deeper level. In recent posts I have drawn from events that have surrounded my life but have rarely delved into the inner work that God is doing in my life. Perhaps it will be of no other value than to give me a way to verbalize what I am sensing God is teaching but if it can give anyone else aid then I will see that as a blessing.

Idolatry is a harsh word. And it is one that I believe I have misled myself about all of these years. I wanted to believe that I was not an idolater. And I based that opinion solely on the fact that I never bowed down and worshipped any type of idols. But in recent months I have found myself staring into the mirror and seeing that the very darkness of my heart is wrapped in the cloak of a foe that hides itself in different disguises. Idolatry none-the-less.

Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

This verse makes it very clear to me what idolatry is. Anything that diminishes the love that I have for God is idolatry. WOW! Just let that sink in for a minute. How in the world is it that God commands me to love Him with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and then to love my neighbor as myself? How is that possible?

In and of my own strength it is not possible. My life story has proven that out. In my quest to "love my neighbor" I have allowed that love to become the end in and of itself. What has become most important to me is approval. I have sought the approval of others to the exclusion of being in relationship with the God I purport to love. Many of the choices I have made have come from an unwillingness to truly love God and to let go of the affirmation and love of those who have brought pain and sorrow to my life.

This is the highest form of idolatry. When I put the opinions and approval of others before my love of God and the desire to be obedient to His Word I have become an idolater. This is where my great sorrow comes from. Now - to press into change.