“My beloved ones, avoid idolatry.”
(1 Corinthians 10:14)
As I began my adult faith journey in my late twenties there was so much about my relationship with God that I did not understand. I did grow up Catholic, went to Mass every Sunday, and participated in many aspects of my local parish. Despite all of this I was surprised how much I did not know about my faith much less my relationship with God. This was particularly true when it came to understanding the idols I had in my life.
Idolatry isn’t confined to worshipping a golden statue like the Israelites in the Book of Exodus. It’s much broader than that. Here’s a helpful definition: an idol is when something or someone becomes more important to us than God. By that definition even good things can become idols when we make them the ultimate things in our lives. Anything, or anyone, can become an idol if we place the value for that thing/person above our value for God.
In ancient times that would look like bowing down to worship a golden statue. That certainly is an example of idolatry. Modern day idolatry looks different, but it’s still common. Remember, anything that becomes more important to us than God is an idol. And if we are honest, that list could be pretty long. Here are some examples of modern day idols:
Money/Material Things
Job/Status
Physical Appearance
Entertainment
Phones/Technology
Friendships/Other People
Influence/Fame
This isn’t a list of the things to avoid or a list we should use to beat ourselves down. This is a list of things that can take the place of God in our lives. When a good thing becomes the ultimate thing, it becomes a destructive thing in our lives. That’s idolatry. What I encourage us all to do is prayerfully evaluate our lives and make sure that nothing has become more important than God. Idol worship might look different today, but it still exists. We shouldn’t let anything, even a good thing, take the place of God.
Have a great week!
Fr. Patrick
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