Idolatry

1 John 5:21 "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."
As the Apostle John got older he more and more saw believers paternally. Our tendency towards spiritual immaturity is self-obviated, but John's simple words illustrate some simple truths about idolatry, and how to deal with it.

As I came across this verse it seemed like an inspired afterthought of John's as he is warning about sin, the world, and the enemy in the previous verses. He knows our base weaknesses so he finished his theme with an edict about our behavior. I got a few bullet points from this.

• God loves us dearly
• Idolatry is immature
• We must 'keep', meaning make an effort to maintain our distance from anything idolatrous.
• This effort is our own personal responsibility
• There are many idols and they are not all made from wood or stone. In today's world they can be    conceptual, emotional, social, intellectual, and entertainment.

Anything that we choose over God or distracts us from God or tempts us away from God is an idol. I once heard it said that whatever you think about most is your God. Scary thought, huh? Let us keep God central to and more important than anything and everything else and encourage each other to keep Him first and foremost. As His dear children, let us keep ourselves from idols.

In His grip,
Pastor Fred