Worshipping Idols

Idolatry was a frequent sin committed by the people of Israel in the Old Testament. God has never minced words about how much he hates it. Unfortunately, man is incurably religious. Either he bows to the false god or to the true God. Idolatry takes men far away from the true God. Idolatry defiles God’s sanctuary. It defiles the name of God and provokes Him.

The things we worship are not always sinful in and of themselves. In fact, they are often good things that God has given as gifts. The problem emerges when we idolize the gift rather than the giver. The first and second commandments forbid worshiping idols in any form. In the Scriptures, people who practiced idolatry were punished. God's wrath was shown to them in several ways as a result of this sin.

To succeed in life and be the person that God wants you to be, you must throw down the altars of darkness (your fathers’ ancient altars) and build another altar for the worship of the true God. Look at the life of Gideon. He was a mighty man of valor. He was destined to be a national deliverance minister, but instead he was reduced to a fearful slave because of his father’s altar.

It is very destructive to live under the control of evil altars. Idolatry and evil altars can make a person who is destined to be president spend an entire lifetime as a servant even among the poor. You cannot have it both ways. When you choose your idols, you reject God. In turn, when you turn away from idols, you escape the wrath of God. I pray that God delivers you from the bondage of idolatry and helps you to turn to him.