In Old Testament times, idolatry was easy to recognize—dancing around the golden calves, bowing before the Baals. Even when the apostle Paul wrote to followers of Christ in first-century Corinth, pagan idolatry was openly practiced. He warned them to avoid any association with it (1 Corinthians 10:14).

Idolatry is still a danger to the people of God, though it isn't always so open or obvious. Idols are usually more subtle and hard to detect, for they set up their home in the hidden places of our heart.

If we want to know our idols, we need to consider our predominant thoughts, for what we think about most of the time may be an idol. Our last thought before we sleep, our first thought when we awake, our reveries throughout the day, are spent on the items and issues we treasure and trust. Any possession or person we put our hope in to bring us fulfillment, any goal or aspiration that becomes more important to us than God—these are the "gods" that attract our allegiance and subtly control our lives.

Only God can satisfy the deepest needs of our heart and make us truly alive. That's why we would be wise to heed the loving counsel of the apostle Paul: "My beloved, flee from idolatry."  — David H. Roper