The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods.”

Joshua 24:16

But they did, and so do we. Most of us don’t like to talk about our “other gods”, the idols that seduce our hearts and hijack our faith. We know they are there, but much like the germs we encounter every day, we choose not to think about them. But when we refuse to think about them, to examine their power in our lives, they grow. Eventually, they become barriers that keep us far from the one true God, the only one that matters, the only one that’s eternal. We claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus and be His servants, but we only squeeze Him into the few minutes we have left, rather than shaping our lives and every day around Him and His purposes. 

Many things in our lives can become our idols. Money becomes an idol when we refuse to give generously, even sacrificially, because our current lifestyle is more satisfying than helping others improve theirs. Technology becomes an idol when we obsess over social media and care more about the number of likes we get than the number of people we see every day who don’t know Jesus. The things we own become idols when we think they make us look more impressive than others, when we declare ourselves the winner of the comparison game we constantly play in our minds. Even our relationships can become idols when we find ourselves more dependent on others to meet our needs and fill our souls, than we do on our Creator Himself. 

Jesus calls you to follow Him, not money, stuff, or people. He calls you to remove any and all barriers in your life that keep you from loving and serving Him with your whole heart. What is Jesus telling you to leave behind in order to fully focus your heart on Him? What do you need to lay down in order to hold Jesus with both hands and hold tightly to His love, His grace, and His purposes. Wherever He’s nudging you, He’s trying to free you, not punish you. Because when you remove the “gods”, all your idols, your faith will soar, your heart will grow beyond your wildest dreams, and you will be free! You are loved!