Idols of the Heart

Ezekiel 14:1–8 (HCSB)

Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.

Then the word of the LORD came to me:

"Son of man, these men have set up idols in their

hearts and have put sinful

stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all?

"Therefore, speak to them and tell them: This is what the Lord GOD says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, the LORD, will answer him appropriately. ‹I will answer him› according to his many idols,

So that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.

"Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.

For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in Israel separates himself from Me, setting up idols in his heart and putting a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I, the LORD, will answer him Myself.

I will turn against that one and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

The most dangerous idols are not those we set up on our mantle but those we erect in our hearts. We would look silly to put a little statue of a car on our mantle and say to people, “This is my god.” But we can hide that same idol in our hearts. People may not know it is there, but it is just as much our “god.”

An idol is anything that we pursue before the living God. We put it in the place that is reserved for God alone. It becomes the passionate pursuit of our life. We bow down to it, giving it our adoration and attention. We pin our expectations for fulfillment, happiness and security upon it.

When we have idols in our heart the Lord promises not to hear our prayers. We have separated ourselves from the Lord and we put ourselves under the curse and judgment of God.

We must examine our hearts and see if these idols are there. When our prayers are ineffective this may be the reason. When the Holy Spirit shows us what our idols are we must not argue with Him. We must confess this as our willful sin and repent. We must consciously enthrone the Jesus alone as Lord in our hearts.

Idolatry is a part of our culture. It is just as prevalent today as it was 3,000 years ago—although it is not as ostentatious. We don’t want to appear to be superstitious. We do not erect our idols upon a pedestal in our living rooms.

Idolatry in our materialistic society is much more insidious. Idols slip into our lives. We must be on our guard. Christians are not immune to this. When the Holy Spirit makes us aware there has been a change in our fellowship with Christ we must check our hearts. Are there idols there?