Tim Keller defines idolatry as “anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” (Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. New York, Penguin. 2009, xvii.) While I like that definition, I think sometimes idols can be even more sneaky. They may not be things that we consider “more” important than God, but without knowing it, they exist to us on a level with God. That’s just as problematic. Idols may be on a level with God because they are on the same list of things we really like: God, our jobs, our friends, our kids, our pets, our lifestyle, etc. But God deserves our highest attention and love and honor. He belongs in a completely separate category above everything and everybody. In addition though, idols can even be placed below God but and keep us from loving our neighbor, the second greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:39) Does our love for our pets, for example, ever come before loving the people God has placed in our life? Let’s love God and people, not idols! “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
Adorn the Gospel 