The Obvious Idols

Saturday - May 29th

Scripture to Read Today: Colossians 3:1-14

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Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:

sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Colossians 3:5-6

From time to time, I lose my keys, my phone, or my wallet. Who doesn't? Well, I might be a little more absent-minded than others. My wife has a few verbal clues she gives me when I ask if she has seen this item or that item. Amidst those verbal clues is her go-to "Look high." I tend to put things on top of cabinets and other tall furniture. I am not sure why. It must have something to do with my height. Generally, Lesli helps me narrow in on the item's location, and more often than not, it is the "Look high" that does the trick.

Occasionally, I misplace my glasses. If they are what I am looking for, I am in real trouble. My eyesight is so bad that I may not even see them if I am looking for my glasses because of how badly I need them to see anything. There have been numerous times when I am looking for my glasses, ask Lesli for help, and discover they are resting on the top of my head or I'm holding them in my hand. Talk about being absent-minded!

While not everyone may miss the obvious as much as I do when I have lost my glasses, all of us overlook obvious things from time to time. When someone located something that was there the whole time, my grandmother would say, "If it had been a snake, it would have bitten you." Most objects don't have the inherent danger a snake has. But, there are things in our spiritual lives that might appear obvious but can still bite us and hurt us deeply.

In Colossians chapter three, the Apostle Paul begins with a challenge regarding Christ being our very life. He says that we were raised to new life in Christ through His resurrection. Paul calls on us to lift up our eyes and look to Jesus. We are to set our minds on the things above in Christ's Kingdom. We are not to set our minds on earthly things!

Paul then warns us about the most dangerous of all idols or false gods that take the rightful place Christ should have in our hearts. These idols, as he calls them, seem so obvious. You would think that we would need no warning regarding them. He says these earthly things of our old nature are "sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed" (Colossians 3:5). All of us know they are dangerous. But we still fall prey to them over and over again if we are not careful.

We need to heed Paul's warning regarding these things that can distract us from Jesus. We need to take seriously the danger they present to our spiritual well-being. Like the glasses resting on my head, these idols of this world may be obvious, but we must guard our lives from them.

Do you see any of these things listed in verse five having prominence in or dominating your life? Acknowledge that and repent of it. Get your eyes on Jesus again. Reread verses one through four of Colossians chapter three. See Him for Who He is and what He means in your life today!

The evil idols of this world may be evident to all, but we can still be distracted and destroyed by them if we are not careful!