Naming your Idols
Hello people, It’s been a minute. I have a question for you.
What are your idols?
Before I got to this point in my Christian walk, I had this friend that always spoke about how God helped him to eliminate a lot of petty things in his life for him to “see the ground clearly, lest he stumble”- lol I added that part but you have to admit though, it was pretty good. I would always respond by saying “oh I could never do without my Afro beat, I couldn’t survive, God can’t take that away from me. I have to listen to it everyday if not I wouldn’t feel normal”- yes I said that lol. The wildest part about it was that I was extremely serious. It brought me joy so I really was not kidding. Anyways, he kept emphasizing it anytime he would tell me to read my bible or pray- and he said this a lot. For further context, I would watch movies and, bop to music every single day. I would pretty much do anything but read my bible.
I am not saying afro beat is bad or you need to eliminate it from your life to seek God’s face in your life. We can’t however deny the fact that some songs contain very vulgar lyrics. Ephesians 5:4 tells us not be part of obscenity, foolish talk and, coarse joking. We don’t get a pass simply because someone adds some cool chords and drums to the lyrics.
Back to my story, I struggled a whole lot in studying God’s word and praying. I then decided to try something new. Instead of afro beat, I would listen to sermon podcasts and gospel music. Now when I say this was a game changer for me, I mean it really was. I think this was truly effective for me because I used music to do practically everything except sleep lol. As such, replacing that kind of music with things that would edify me and stir up my spirit was incredible.
As silly as this may sound, Afro beat was my idol, not because what I was listening to was bad or evil but because I prioritized it over my willingness to build my relationship with God. I exalted it so much that I was never planning to ever lose it. It was when I eliminated my idol that I believe I began to hear God properly. In some ways, I believe God is always speaking to us through the holy spirit but a lot of times, we do not listen. Our idols could be hindering us from hearing God. Idol worship is offensive to God but more so we should be more concerned about it because it prevents us from living righteous lives and the bible says that “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”- James 5:14.
Simply put, idol worship -like every other sin is a hinderance to your spiritual life. I think this one kind of creeps in on you and can be very blinding and crafty sometimes. It may even look normal or like an old habit but it could be your idol.
Do you prioritize work over studying God’s word? Yes, we get busy sometimes and fall short, but is this a constant state for you? do you see your time with God as a holiday you take when you’re feeling tired or have a little free time?
Could your idol be movies, do you obsess over Netflix but would never sit through a sermon?
I suggest you do a little self reflection and name your idols. It just might change the game for you like it did for me.
Thank you for reading, See you next week (I hope👀)
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