The Road to Deception: idols

Psalm 135:15-18

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is their any breath (life) in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them."
The writer of this psalm referred to "our God", "our Lord above all gods". The Jewish people spoke of "our God" to form the seperation from the false gods of the nations around them.
Our people today, no matter what nation, have been so blinded by this one. This could be one of the biggest forms of deception because we just aren't seeing it (that's what deception is).  We have confused the fast paced, progressive, techno- savy world of modernization with our basic needs.
We can not see the comparison of a "golden cow" that people made with their own hands to something of today.  I mean we would never walk around and around a cow and put our faith in it. We can not relate to crying out to a form of something, giving our blood, sweat and tears to see something change, that it physically effects us (as in the prophets of Baal on mount carmel) Oh no, we would NEVER do that (sarcasam).
If something consumes you more than God himself does, it's an idol. This is where it gets tricky because we don't THINK it consumes us. Let me ask you this, if something tragic happened and it was taken from you, would you change as a person? Would you make an adjustment and continue walking in His steps and not miss a beat? I'm gonna let you stop and think on this...stop reading and write some thoughts down......

I'm going to list a few just to get you thinking, this list could be never ending:
Beauty
Fashion
Physical fitness
Money
Power (leadership) (ways to dominate others)
Control
Technology
Internet
Social media
Hoarding
Cleanliness (to an obsession)
Career/job
Relationship
Food/diet

Is Christ our center? Is He our source? Is everything else just extra? Can you go a week or month without becoming depressed, having anxiety or constantly thinking of it?
From the words of Billy Graham,  in Approaching Hoofbeats, " you don't have to practice vodoo or be a follower of a strange cult to be deceived, anything that entices you away from a wholehearted commitment to Christ, is being used by Satan to deceive you".

What does God say about idols? It must have been a big deal even from the beginning to be in the "top ten".
Exodus 20:3 " you shall have no other gods (little g) before me".
The bible says He is a jealous God. He is not going to compete for your affection. When your heart is divided, you are ineffective. The bible says you are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, and He will vomit you out of His mouth.
I know that people who don't know the Lord may think that sounds harsh but He's a just God not a pushover. He has expectations because He loves you and wants the best for you as He already knows the plans He has for you, and what deception can do to mess those plans up.

Take a moment of self-reflection. Anything other than the Lord should be extra, you could take it or leave it.  Remember, that's a tough question for our culture today.

The Mrs. Pastor