“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Exodus 20:3-5)

Growing up in India, where a majority of people did worship idols, this verse was easy to interpret and implement. Idolatry is a No-no!

However, living in a society where most people do not bow before carved images, is idolatry still a concern?

Consider this passage from Ezekiel 14 where God points out that idols are not always external entities:
“God’s Message came to me: “Son of Man, these people have installed idols in their hearts. They have embraced the wickedness that will ruin them. Why should I even bother with their prayers? Therefore tell them, ‘The Message of God, the Master: All in Israel who install idols in their hearts and embrace the wickedness that will ruin them and still have the gall to come to a prophet, be on notice: I, God, will step in and personally answer them as they come dragging along their mob of idols. I am ready to go to work on the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom have left me for their idols.’”

What could these idols of the heart be?

Mark Virkler, the first person whom I heard address this issue, puts it this way:

“If I pray about a thing, and the thing is more prominent in my vision or my consciousness than the Lord is, the answer that comes back will be from me, rather than from the Lord. On the other hand, if the Lord is more prominent in my consciousness than my vision of the thing I am praying about, then the answer will come from the Lord and it will be pure revelation, not contaminated with my desires.”

Case in point. The prophet Balaam. Please read Numbers 22 for all the details. Here is the Reader’s Digest version.

King Balak of Moab calls on the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, because he perceives that to be the only way that he can win the war.

Balaam checks with God. God says: “Absolutely not.”

King Balak does not give up. This time he sweetens the pot and promises great “honour” if he would oblige.

Balaam prays again. This time he gets the go-ahead to go with them.

But when he does head out, the angel of the Lord gets in his way. The donkey talks to Balaam…you know the rest of the story, right?

Did you notice where the idol came into the picture?

The first time he prayed with a pure unobstructed heart. The second time he prayed with an idol in his heart.

Even though the answer seemed to be an “Yes”, in reality it was the idol that brought forth the “Yes.”

Can you relate?

What is the solution?

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols…and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.”

Get rid of them.

May I suggest that we ask Holy Spirit today to reveal to us any idols that we may have installed in our hearts.

Then, shall we pray as follows?

Father, please forgive me for allowing these idols to find a place in my heart.
I renounce them right now in Jesus’ name.
Holy Spirit, will you remove them from my heart?
Lord Jesus, you are the King of my heart.
I submit myself totally and unequivocally to your reign. AMEN.