Idolized

Devotion 12.7.09
1 Corinthians 7:29 "I do want to point out, friends, that time is of
the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives
unnecessarily. Keep it simple..." (MSG)
Isaiah 44:9-10 "All who make graven idols are confusion, chaos, and
worthlessness. Their objects (idols) in which they delight do not
profit them, and their own witnesses (worshippers) do not see or know,
so that they are put to shame. Who is [such a fool as] to fashion a
god or cast a graven image that is profitable for nothing?" (AMP)
So many christians waste so much time on useless things! I myself can
attest to it. Why do we put things before God? We build up these
"gods" day in and day out, and for what? Do they promote us? Do they
heal us? Do they help us?
No! So, what are some of these things we place in the "god" category?
•Friends: they're a good thing! God wants us to have friends, but
when we're running to them for advice instead of God, there's the
mistake! God is our ever present help/friend in times of need. He
always has the best advice, the only advice that will work: advice
that comes from His wisdom.
•Technology: computers, televisions, phones, video games, etc.
There's nothing wrong with these things, I enjoy all of them. They
make so many things so much easier But when we're spending extra time
goofing around on them when we haven't even said so much as thank you
to God yet for waking up that day, there's a problem. Before any time
is spent on ourselves, does God not deserve for us to spend time on
Him? I believe so!
•Work or School: these are definitely good things. It's in these
areas of life in which God promotes us. But, some of us can become
engrossed with our work or school, leaving no place for God to work
with us. We become obsessed to getting to the next level that we
forget God and try to do it ourselves! Bad decision! Without God, our
self acclaimed promotions are short-lived. Our self success can only
take us so far. It's important that we take God along from beginnig to
end in every area of work or school; this way, He'll guide us in the
way to go so that not only are we succeeding at an unstoppable rate,
but we're also living out His Will for that area of our lives.
When we let these things block our field of view, we're complicating
our lives unnecessarily and we're making it impossible for God to move
in our lives. We stuff ourselves so full of these things that they
become our idols. God says we're fools when we replace Him with these
things that will end up failing us, and I don't blame Him.
Each day we need to take a step back and look at what we're investing
into, even I do.
Nothing can ever take the place of God in our lives. There's no
comparison.