"And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

             -Exodus 20:1-3 

When we hear the word ''idolatry'', our minds almost immediately drift to third world countries at the other end of the globe, where people bow down and worship graven images and things of that nature. However, when I looked up the word in the dictionary, one of the definitions I came across simply defined it as, "Blind or excessive devotion to something." That puts a whole new light on the subject, doesn't it? That means that anything in our life can become an idol. It doesn't have to be a wooden figure with hands and feet; it can be a monitor, a book, or even a person that we esteem too highly. Basically, an idol is anything that takes our devotion away from God and toward that particular thing.

"And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction."

                            -I Corinthians 7:35 

Though Paul wasn't necessarily addressing the issue of idolatry when he wrote these words, I think that they are very fitting nonetheless. As Christians, we must serve the Lord wholeheartedly if we intend to make heaven our eternal home; in other words, we must serve Him "without distraction." The author of Hebrews wrote, "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1) If any of you have ever watched professional swimming (Michael Phelps, maybe?), then you know that there is not a single hair visible on a swimmers body. Why? Because it slows them down. Even if it means gaining just 1/100 of a second, to them it's worth it (and if you watched the 2008 Olympics, then you know that 1/100 of a second can make all the difference in the world). Now if they are willing to go to such lengths to win an earthly contest, how much more should we be willing to sacrifice in order to win the "race" that is set before us as Christians? After all, "...they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." (I Corinthians 9:25)

Christians must constantly be on guard against idolatry in their lives. In fact, it often sneaks in with such subtlety that we don't even realize it's their until the Lord Himself shows us. Let's each seek the Lord today and ask Him to show us if there is anything distracting us from Him, and that if there is, He would give us the strength to let it go.