Daniel 3:17-18

PASSAGE: Daniel 3:17-18 - "If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

PAUSE: An Idol is anything we worship other than the One True God! The world will often pressure, and sometimes demand, that we bow down to its idols. DO NOT DO IT! I think that an idol in the modern age is more slippery to identify than in Daniel’s day. For them, an idol was a literal carved object or image that was ascribed to be a god. Pretty straightforward. But in our context, idols are anything that we live for, that we turn to in order to gain our sense of significance or purpose, other than God. It can be our job, our family, our kids, our church, our reputation, control, power, a hobby, an addiction. Quite often it is a good thing that we have turned into a “God” thing! I say that it is slippery because our hearts are very slow to own that a good thing has actually become an idol to us. I think we should take everything that we are passionate about in life and prayerfully ask God to reveal to us if any of those passions have become idols. Finally, the best remedy against idolatry is to keep our relationship to God vibrant and growing. We need to actively choose God as the priority of our lives. Is He currently the unquestioned King of your life?

PRAYER: Lord, the world often lifts up things for me worship other than You. And my own heart can make an idol out of just about anything. Help me to have no other gods in my life but You and You alone! Amen.