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“"Erecting Idols in Our Hearts"”

Thoughts for Today:

A few years ago I was shocked to hear a Christian acquaintance tell me, "God has given me peace regarding having an affair with a woman I met on-line." He went on to say, "I've prayed about this and God has told me to follow my heart and leave my wife." I was horrified. How could anyone think God would direct or affirm them doing something so contrary to His Word? Yet, it can happen to anyone if we're keeping idols. The prophet Ezekiel wrote (Ezekiel 14:3-4): "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry."

In other words, if there is an idol in our hearts and we're seeking the Lord, we will hear the idol and think it is the voice of the Lord. Every one of us needs to pay very careful to this warning. We must guard against idols gaining a foothold in our lives -- and I'm not talking about statues. It's the passions, fascinations and obsessions with people, thoughts or things that ultimately lead to compromise, temptation, and a fall to sin. These idols will lie and say that we are in God's will, but we will be deceived, disgraced and ultimately carried away in captivity. We'll end up in a position or situation we don't want to be. All because we've allowed an idol to take up residence.

It was the same problem the Corinthians were experiencing. They were debating and arguing about the credentials and personalities of the teachers, rather than the teaching. They were idolizing men, and not the Lord. They had allowed human idols to take up residence in their hearts, and as a result, were on the path to destruction. This was Paul's primary concern and source of his "jealousy" (of a godly nature) for them.

Questions to Ponder:

In our passage today, Paul is saying that it is foolishness for him to take away time from sharing the Gospel message in order to defend himself. Yet, he would do so. Why? Because of his great love for them. He knew the Corinthians were struggling, but he would not abandon them, even though they rejected him. I pray that God would give each of us both the wisdom and strength to hang in there with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are similarly being led astray. Will you make the time today? Who can you pray for? What can you do to help someone find their way back to the Lord?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.