Idols

I'm often amazed at how God brings some great truth to my attention through a variety of sources. It happened again today. During worship we sang "All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above." The 5th verse states:

Ye who confess Christ's holy name, to God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father's pow'r proclaim, to God give praise and glory!
All idols underfoot be trod, the Lord is God! The Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

Then the first reading I come across when returning home is this one from Tim Keller's new book Counterfeit Gods:

“If we are deeply moved by the sight of Christ's love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed. We stop trying to make others into saviors, because we have a Savior.”

See the connection between the song and the quote? We don't need to make other people or other things into idols if we are fully convinced that Christ is the only one worth worshiping. We all "think" we would like to be someone's idol, but the reality is that it doesn't work for us or for them. It's too much pressure for one person to bear the burden of being everything at all times. And other types of idols, like money, fame, power, work, etc. are not enough for those of us who have eternity etched in our hearts (Eccl:3:11).

So what should we do when we realize that we have made our own idols, and are persuaded that this is not glorifying to the only one who truly deserves to be worshiped? We should do whatever it takes to remove them from that position, for their sake, for our sake, and for God's glory.

"The Lord is God! The Lord is God! To God all praise and glory!"