What is Idolatry Today

Daniel 5:4 Idols were made from hand, but were imagined to have “powers” to ward off bad things or bring good things.

Idols today are more about desires of the heart like money or power. It is anything I come to rely on for blessing, help, or guidance in the place of the one true and loving God. Often an idol is intangible.

Exodus 20:2,3,4,5 This was revolutionary because other cultures were polytheistic. The Israelites had been with the Egyptians for hundreds of years and were on the way to the Promised Land, which also worshiped multiple gods. God wanted no other allegiance or authority between Him and His people.

We live in a polytheistic world now. Do I have any other god before God?

Exodus 34:12,13,14,15 Why is God jealous? God is greater than anything humanity can make. It’s not possible to carve, paint, or control Him.

Psalms 96:5

Psalms 115:4,5,6,7,8 Idols misrepresent the nature of God and also the (small) power of individuals.

Romans 1:22,23 Reliance on self means making oneself a god. An idol is anything that successfully competes with my love for God.

1 John 5:21

1 John 2:15,16 The love of the world gets in the way of God being #1.