However you choose to spend your time outside of God, you have made into an idol. Have you ever heard of this statement? I have and have dealt with idolatry in the past.

In 2005, I was delivered from idolatry. Well, before then, I didn’t think I was guilty of this until I ask the Lord to reveal to me anything that was keeping me from Him. This may seem funny to some, but I needed deliverance from secular music…to be more specific, Michael Jackson. Everything about Michael, I knew. I loved him and defended him. As a child, no one understood me or could help my insecurities… I feared everything, so I hid behind the persona of Michael Jackson. To me, he understood loneliness and the pain of being singled out. I easily related with his story. I began to follow and study (whew it sounds bad just saying these words, but it’s my story) Michael Jackson at the age of 6, after a life altering experience. I couldn’t speak to anyone and if I did, no one would listen.

But fastforward to 2005, God revealed to me that even though I stopped listening to secular music, I needed to break spiritual ties to Michael Jackson before He can reveal Himself to me. Today, I can say, if I hear his music or even the name, I won’t have any ties to it. I am reminded of my deliverance from his music but nothing more.

So, I said that to say, idolatry is very real. My time was spent thinking and listening and studying a man. Now that I think about it, I was nuts! But God!!

Now you may not be of that magnitude, but anything that has your attention more than God, you need to put down! The Word says that God is a Jealous God (Exodus 34:14). His Throne is shared with no thing! No person, no activity, no other relationship…NOTHING!!

But what is considered an idol?

Let’s take a quick look…

1. Lust: Today, media has giving lust a whole new meaning. Originally, it is something your flee from, but every innocent scroll down your timeline, you are tempted with something. The bible discusses this in many scriptures. One that come to mind is from 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also from youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
2. Pride: We are consumed with pride these days. Ho we are better than the next or how we can get ahead with little to no work at all. We are prideful bunch! I think there a a line between being proud of what you can accomplish in the Lord and what you thought you did on your own. When you become over-zealous in yourself, you have bigger issues. “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD:though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”(Proverbs 16:5)
3. Entertainment/Media: Are the things that keep you entertained pleasing to God? Do you see yourself secluding from others because of the fear of being caught or judged? Maybe you need to reconsider what keeps your eyes from God. Entertainment can be music, social media, movies, TV shows, etc. As you can see from my testimony, this idol is very real. Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Do you have a God-honoring heart with your daily activities and entertainment?

I truly believe if you are serious about your relationship with God, He’ll reveal your wrong, convict you and give you a new appetite that is pleasing to Him. If you are afraid of what others think about this decision, then you are giving those verythings and people power over you in which can be considered as another idol. When you are so concerned about how others perceive you instead of the One who has the ultimate say, can be an idol. As Christ followers/representers, we should seek the very things and heart of God. By doing this, we place our very desires in His hands. We are secured in Christ. We have power of the lust and thoughts of this world.