The last thing that John warns us about as he closes the Book of 1 John, is to keep ourselves from idols. Now, we may say that we don't live in heathen times. We aren't tempted to bow down in front of a golden idol in a heathen temple. But, I challenge you to examine your lives for idols that you may have. It may be different for every person, but I believe that the threat is just as real today as it was those 2,000 years ago in John's time, and the threat just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Today, millions of people bow to the idol of our American culture. They spend billions of dollars to buy the right clothes, drive the right cars and live in houses they can't afford all because the American culture dictates that they should do so. For me, the temptation is computers and technology. I tent to spend too much time and money on things that I don't really need. I want God's help to curb those things and to spend time doing things that are more valuable. In the USA, we even have something called "American Idol." It's just another thing that we can give our time to instead of God: celebrities. God demands that we give our entire life in service to Him, and He deserves it. After all, He not only made us, but also sent Jesus to die and save us from the sin problem that we got ourselves into. So, anything that takes our focus off God is an idol and we need to eradicate it from our lives or at least make changes so that it does not control our life and leave God back in the driver's seat.
Lord, help me to serve only You. Help me to eliminate the idols in my life. Help me to remember that You deserve everything I have. Help me not to be enslaved to money, power, pleasure, technology, popularity or anything else. Help me to live my life only for You!
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