God for divine favor while simultaneously making choices that go against His revealed will . That ’ s a contradictory request due to the nature of a covenant . Remember , a covenant is a divinely-created relational bond which carries with it both blessings and consequences .
Moses made it clear what the consequences would be if the Israelites did not choose life . He said in Deuteronomy 30:17-18 :
“ But if your heart turns away and you will not obey , but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them , I declare to you today that you shall surely perish . You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it .”
They would perish . Their dreams would perish . Their plans would perish . Their hopes would perish . All because they chose to be drawn away and worship other gods .
We may not have wooden idols in our culture today , or statues to bow down to . But we do have other gods whom far too many of us serve on a regular basis . People have chosen race over God , culture over God , class over God , gender over God , possessions and entertainment over God , and so much more . We keep making all these choices and wonder why things are so chaotic , not only in the world but also in the church . It ’ s because we keep choosing idols over God ’ s revealed rule .
How do you know when you ’ ve chosen an idol ? An idol is any unauthorized person , place , thing , or thought which you look to in order to determine your decisions . Whomever , or whatever , influences you to the degree of making the final decision in your life is an idol . If it is not the true , living God and His Word , it is an idol .
You serve what you obey . You worship what you align underneath . If the entertainment industry sways your final decision about something , and it contradicts with God ’ s rule , then that is your idol . Or if economics makes the final decision , or a friend , a relationship , even a spouse — all of these can be idols . After all , had Adam listened to God rather than Eve , he would not have also eaten the fruit . And we would be living out a very different outcome today .
“ You serve what you obey . You worship what you align underneath .”
Any overruling of what God says on a subject in your life – whatever the person , place , thing , or thought is – at that moment and in that decision becomes your god . It ’ s your idol . And you have removed yourself from the covenantal covering of the umbrella . See , the covering no longer works when you choose an idol . When you choose financial profit over biblical principle , or you choose cultural norms over God ’ s revealed rule – you are worshipping an idol . It ’ s a lot more straight-forward than most people like to think . Matthew 6:24 states it this way : “ No one can serve two masters ; for either he
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