Watch for Kimberly’s new book on marriage coming out September 1! Also, attend her breakout session on the same subject on Friday afternoon at the True Woman ’12 Conference.
In My Honeymoon Hissy Fit, I asked whether you’d smashed any idols lately. You may have been willing and more than ready to pull out the sledgehammer, but weren’t exactly sure how to get rid of the ugly thing. Or, you may have thought you didn’t have any idols to smash.
Let’s go on an idol hunt and see what we find.
Three Questions
I’ll need to ask you a few questions:
1. Do you have conflicts with others?
Conflicts are great places to begin looking for idols, because they can point to root issues of the heart. James explains it this way:
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” (James 4:1–2)
2. What typically fills your thoughts?
Start listening to your thoughts to discover what is most important to you. Are they filled with fear and anxiety, centered on ways to find pleasure or comfort? Would you be embarrassed if others could read your thoughts? When you get honest about what your mind is most focused on and why, you may discover an idol.
3. What threatens your security?
What do you need to feel safe? Do you turn to food for comfort? Do you reach for pills to relieve stress? Answering these questions honestly will help you discover whether your trust is actually in a person, your financial condition, or other temporary forms of security. Anything that shakes your trust in God’s providence, that causes anxiety and worry, is an indication that it (rather than God) is your place of refuge.
Your Hammer
Once you uncover your idol, you can pull out the hammer and smash away! What is your hammer? Love. It’s really simple. Cultivating a greater love for God than for your idol is the answer to idolatry.
How do you cultivate a greater love for God? Well, that’s another blog post, but you might leave a few suggestions in the comment section. I’d love to read your ideas.
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