But Be Advised

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." Psalm 135:15‭-‬18 NIV

     Idols are made up of Anything that takes our focus off of God. They get in the way of us communicating, trusting, honoring, & hearing God. We are made to worship, and if we are not worshipping God, then we will naturally find something else to worship. In many cases we end up worshipping ourselves along with other things or people. We become like what we worship. If we are worshipping God we should become more and more like Him.

     I read in a devotional today written by a lady named Sharon Hodde Miller about this very subject. She explained something that she refers to as the "Mirror Reflex" she explains it like this and I quote...

"It’s hard not to look in a mirror, isn’t it? If you walk by a mirror you are going to take a look. We all do it.  This reflex is also true in relationships. We’re constantly looking to others as a reflection of us. When we do this, we allow other people, our possessions, and our profession to shape our self-image. When the reflection is good, we feel great. When the reflection is bad, we feel insecure...The mirror reflex causes us to make everything about us, even when it’s not...When you treat people like mirrors, you create a world that is all about you."  End quote.
     This is oh so very true. Of all of the idols that we have in our lives, the idol of self is the hardest to remove. This " Mirror reflex" is probably the biggest and most powerful idol that we have to face. But when we worship God, He becomes our mirror. We start to see ourselves the way that He sees us. We start to reflect Him and no longer need other people or our professions and things to define who we are. We are no longer in need of our idols to make us feel valuable and secure. Then before we know it our idol of self is no longer an idol. But Be Advised, that idol will never completely die. It will sneak back into our lives the very second that we take our eyes of off God and we will be worshipping the mirror once again.

     God loves us so much that He gave us the freedom to choose  who or what we worship. God is a gentleman, He will never force Himself on us.

     Father, Thank you for loving us so much that You have given us the freedom to choose. Thank you for not forcing us to worship You. Our relationship with You is completely up to us. It will become what we make of it, and regardless of what we choose  to worship other than You, You are always there with open arms waiting for us to worship You. Help us Lord to make You our idol. Forgive us Lord for putting ourselves and things in place of You in our hearts and lives. Help us to worship You in all that we do. In Jesus name -Amen-