“We may not actually burn incense to Artemis, but when money and career are raised to cosmic proportions, we perform a kind of child sacrifice, neglecting family and community to achieve a higher place in business and gain more wealth and prestige.” xii

We may not physically kneel before the statue of Aphrodite, but many young women today are driven into depression and eating disorders obey an obsessive concern over their body image. xii

an idol is something we cannot live without.

we think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. the greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the best things in life. xvii

The bible uses three basic metaphors to describe how people relate to the idols of their hearts. They love idols, trust idols, and obey idols. xxi

Ezek 14:3 “These men have set up idols in their hearts”

We can locate idols by looking at our daydreams. What do we enjoy imagining? What are our fondest dreams? We look to our idols to love us, to provide us with value and a sense of beauty, significance and worth…

Idols give us a sense of being in control, and we can locate them by looking at our nightmares. What do we fear the most? What if we lost it, would make life not worth living? Anything that becomes more important and nonnegotiable to us than God becomes an enslaving idol.

In this paradigm, we can locate idols by looking at our most unyielding emotions. What makes us uncontrollably angry, anxious, or despondent? What racks us with guilt we can’t shake? Idols control us, since we feel we must have them or life is meaningless. xxii

Why is getting your heart’s deepest desire so often a disaster? In the book of Romans, Paul wrote that  one of the worst things God can do to someone is to “give them over tho the desires of their hearts” romans 1:24

We may not realize how idolatrous our career has become to us, until we are faced with a situation in which telling the truth or acting with integrity would mean a serious blow to our professional advancement. If we are not willing to hurt our career in order to do God’s will, our job will become a counterfeit god. 14

People who have never suffered in life have less empathy for others, little knowledge of their own shortcomings and limitations, no endurance in the face of hardship, and unrealistic expectations for life. As the New Testament book of Hebrews tells, anyone God loves experiences hardship (Hebrews 12:1-8) 15

God saw Abraham’s sacrifice and said, “Now I know that you love me, because you did not withhold your only son from me. ” But how much more can we look at his sacrifice on the Cross and say to God, “Now, we know that you love us. For you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love, from us.” 18

As many have learned and later taught, you don’t realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. 19