Modern Idols: Devotions From Time Of GraceSample

The idol of work

The very first of God’s Ten Commandments forbids idolatry, but honestly I would have to say I can’t ever remember someone confessing that sin to me in private counseling. In fact, even the word "Idol" appears to have lost its fear factor and has become a desirable term! The Fox TV show "American Idol" stayed on the air an incredible 15 seasons, including 8 straight years as the number-one U.S. television show. Insane! America loves idols.

But God doesn’t. He calls it terrible sin when anything or anybody takes his place in the center of a person’s life. An idol is a false god, something Satan uses to distract us and seduce us. An idol is anything we love or trust more than God, and they’re all bad. Idols can be good things in and of themselves, but when they displace God they become poison to our souls.

Take work, for example. Scripture tells us how noble and important work is, that anyone who won’t work shouldn’t eat. Work without connection to God is empty: “My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:10,11).

Get control of your pace of work. Make sure there’s time for your family; make extra sure there’s time for worship.