Exodus 20:3 3 You shall have no other gods before me.
The very first, and possibly the greatest of the ten commandments — it speaks of idolatry.
Idolatry is a very serious and very common practice in our world. It prevents us from giving God the honor He wants and deserves.
A person practices idolatry when they hold any part of God’s creation to be equal to or greater then God Himself. It is usually thought of as worshiping a physical object like a statue, but it can also mean holding any idea or philosophy to be higher than God. In fact, the latter form is far more common.
Three of the most prevalent idolatries in the modern world are money, medicine and church.
Money — Paul tells us in 1 Tim 6:10 that the love of money is the root of many kinds of evil.
Because of that kind of idolatry, some have caused themselves and others a great
deal of suffering.
Medicine — Miracles of physical healing happen with regularity, but such miracles often go
unnoticed or unappreciated because credit for the healing is misplaced. Such
miracles should be attributed to the Healer and not to the tools He uses.
Church — In many church groups, the institution itself has replaced God. God or Jesus may
be mentioned, but in some cases the pastor, the music or programs have taken
on greater importance than the worship. Most common, however, is that the format
and presentation of worship time has become an idolatry. This can result in such
things as legalism on one extreme to demonic philosophies on the other.
We are clearly told in the Bible (Matt 22:37) to love God with our entire being. Such admonitions are common in the Bible because we humans are prone to stray. Another view of it is seen in Colossians 3:5 5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
So an idol is the thing more wanted more than God, desired more than God, enjoyed more than God. It could be a girlfriend. It could be good grades. It could be the approval of other people. It could be a hobby or a musical group that you are following or a sport or even your back yard.
Romans 1:21–23 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Do you have an idol?
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Each of us is a unique spiritual being with a physical body. We are born individually, die individually and stand before God every moment of our lives as an individual. No matter how large a group we are in, our relationship with God is one on one. Therefore our worship and each of our styles of worship must be accordingly unique. That concept is developed and expanded in the book “Worshiping Alone” which is available through Booklocker, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or your favorite bookstore. If you haven’t read it, please consider doing so.
Copyright © 2026 Sam Dronebarger | All rights reserved
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God Everyday 