Discipleship Devotional, May 10th, 2025
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
— 1st John 5:21 (KJV)
When some of us read scriptures warning against idolatry, we think it has nothing to do with us because we are not worshiping any graven image. But the Bible is very clear that idol worship goes beyond worshiping false gods like Shango, Ogun, Ashtaroth, Baal, etc. An idol is anything or anyone that we exalt into the position of God in our lives. For a lot of people, football stars, music stars, etc., have become idols to them. This is not to say being a fan of a footballer or a musician is bad, but there is a hold such things or people can have in your life that becomes too much.
For some people, money and the lust for power have become their idol. The Bible several times associates the love of money with idolatry. Jesus famously said that we cannot serve God and money. This tells you that some people substitute God for money in their lives. The love of money pushes them to do unimaginable things. That already shows you what their idol is.
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
— Ephesians 5:5 (NIV)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
— Colossians 3:5 (NIV)
In the two verses above, the scriptures call greed and the love of money idolatry. Still, there are yet other forms of idolatry. People idolize fame, beauty, status, etc. In the true sense, the person you are bowing down to when you idolize anything is Satan. He is the one that seeks worship through subtle means like this. He once asked the Son of God to bow before him and offered Him all the glories of this world. Do you think he is not the one behind these rebranded idol worships? He is. So the Apostle John admonishes us in our anchor text, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Prayer
Help me, Holy Spirit, not to be caught in the web of idolatry. Help me to worship God and God alone. Amen.
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