Are you worshiping idols? Are the people in your church bowing down before false gods? Before you react emphatically, listen to Tim Keller's definition of idolatry in Counterfeit Gods:

A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving "face" and social standing.

It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry....

An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, "If I have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then I'll feel significant and secure." There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship. [1]

God's Call to Intimacy

Recently I sensed the need to return to my first Love. By God's grace I have known what it means to walk in intimacy with the Lord. I also know when it's not there.

Having returned from a trip to Cambodia visiting my son who is a missionary, I realized the need for fresh anointing in life. I longed for power.

I felt led to begin an extended time of seeking the Lord, and as I began, God said, "We're going to start with your idols." I was surprised (an evidence of my entrenched pride), but I pulled up a blank draft on my computer and asked the Lord to show me what they were.

God is gifted at conviction. In fact, when you gaze on Him for any length of time, you see your sin and need quickly.

The Holy Spirit revealed four primary idols in my heart. I sensed God's direction to fast in all of these areas, pulling myself away from their temptations.

Over the next days I experienced a startling phenomenon: It got quiet. Those idols had been creating a tremendous roar in my head.

"Why don't you watch some television? "We need to buy this." "Make sure he knows you're in charge." "What are we going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks?" "Why don't you ..." blah, blah, blah. The constant clamor had drowned the still, small Voice.

When those idols were stripped of their airtime, I could hear the voice of the Lord clearly. The intimacy I longed for returned.

I found myself communing with God about every little issue throughout my day. I discovered He was more interested than I could imagine in fellowship with me. I heard Him expressing His love to me in ways I had not experienced for a long time.

His directions for decisions came rapidly and decisively. Humble, spiritual authority rose. Fresh words came from my lips. Fruit became more evident.

And there was another surprising development: joy. Rich, pure, intoxicating pleasure awakened me in the morning and put me to bed at night.

A Startling Revelation

At this point in my spiritual journey, I had been a follower of Christ for over 50 years and a pastor for 40 years. You'd think I'd know better. But I was amazed at two things.

I was amazed first that my life was filled with these counterfeit gods, and second that what I longed for came from such a simple step. It indicates to me that these gods are subtle and powerful, and no one is immune; but it also reminds me that God has a way of escape that's not as hard as I think.

There is a reason God begins His ten primary commandments with the strong admonition to remove all false gods. "You shall have no other gods before Me" is not a stoic statement of inflexibility but a loving call.

God knows what counterfeit gods do. They steal your affection. You cannot love both God and mammon.

We don't have the capacity for a divided heart. We will always find ourselves gravitating aggressively toward whatever god we feel can bring meaning and satisfaction. And the gods of this world clamor loudly.

Are you worshiping idols? If so, you're not worshiping God. It's as simple as that. You may be going through religious motions, but God says your heart is far from Him (Isa. 29:13).

Don't view His call to repentance as a legalistic demand but as a gracious call to intimacy with the One who longs for you more than you can imagine. Completely lay aside anything that gets in the way of simple, undistracted devotion to the Lord. Tear down the altars at which you worship, and return to your first Love.

---

[1] Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods, published by Dutton, a member of the Penguin Group, © 2009, page xviii.