What are the idols in your life
Courtesy of PreciousSwain.com
i·dol·a·try
īˈdälətrē/
noun
noun: idolatry; plural noun: idolatries
worship of idols.
synonyms:
idolization, fetishization, fetishism, idol worship, adulation, adoration, reverence, veneration, glorification, lionization, hero-worshiping
"the prophets railed against idolatry"
o extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.
"we must not allow our idolatry of art to obscure issues of political significance"
synonyms:
idolization, fetishization, fetishism, idol worship, adulation, adoration, reverence, veneration, glorification, lionization, hero-worshiping
"the prophets railed against idolatry"
An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God.
What are the idols in your life? What are you giving more of your time than God.
Social Media…The pursuit of success…The pursuit of Money…. maybe you are too busy trying to be on every scene that you have lost track of your scene of purpose.
In Malachi it discussed tithes and we always relate tithes to money but one of our most valuable commodities is time. If we were to tithe our time based on the 10% discussed in scripture it would look like this: There are 60 minutes in an hour which would equate to 6 minutes per hour being 10%. There are 24 hours in a day- 24*6= 144 minutes (2 hours 24 minutes) minimum time that should be dedicated to God daily.
But in the hustle and bustle of daily life we work 8-10 hours per day. According to Businessinsider.com “In Facebook's Q2 earnings last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the average US consumer spends 40 minutes on Facebook per day.” According to Nielsen's Total Audience Report, “Americans aged 18 and older spend more than 11 hours a day watching TV, listening to the radio or using smartphones and other electronic devices.” So now let’s look at some real simple math if we work 8-10 hours and we spend another 11 hours on electronic devices then sleep ….Hmm.
So my question is “Have we made our electronic devices an idol?” We take them everywhere, we use them over ½ of the day, we give them more time an interaction than anything in our lives including God.
Or maybe you are not into electronics but you are single trying to find the perfect mate. You allow your time to be consumed with trying to improve how you look, going to bars, on various dating sites trying to find a mate. You go to church but only with the hopes that you will find a mate. When you pray it always includes something about finding this mate. One – two hours a week you go to church to meet what you think is your obligation to God but 50-60% of the rest of your time is dedicated to finding this mate. Hmmm has this become an Idol in your life.
Maybe you have found the mate and you are so busy trying to keep up with them that you have no time for God….or maybe it is money that you are so busy trying to make that you have gotten off track.
We are Warned over and over again in scripture not to allow this to take place in our lives:
· Exodus 20:3
"You shall have no other gods before me.
· Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
· Deuteronomy 4:23-24
"So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you. "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Take a moment evaluate your day and how you spend it….identify what you have made an Idol in your life and change the behavior. God is worthy of our time.
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