Passage of the Day - 1 Corinthians 8

1 Corinthians 8: ⁵ There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. ⁶ But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life. [read chapter]

Here we have a group of Corinthian Christians trying to justify some of their behavior. The Corinthians responded to Christ in a culture completely alien to the Jewish way of life and completely built on the Greek “gods”. This presented some challenges for this church as they tried to balance their culture, and a new way of life in Christ.

In a significant way, this isn’t too unlike what people face today, only there are no statues and temple practices under the name of a “god”. Instead these idols are attitudes and affections of the heart. Idolatry is and always has been a flagrant violation, because it is a refusal to acknowledge and live under the one true God. In some ways, I imagine it must be easier to deal with this issue when there were statues. If you asked most people today if they worshipped idols, they would laugh at the question and say no. The truth: idols are anything we seek more than God himself. Idols are inward desires our hearts are infatuated with. These idols have names like: physically attractive, successful, financial freedom, better house, sexuality, personal freedom, and the list goes on.

You see, in my head I have a “picture” of what hell on earth would be like: i.e. lonely, ineffective, no one likes me. With that picture in mind, I begin to pursue (give my time, money, affection, life…worship) whatever I think will save me from my personal hell (work, clothes, success, parties). Each of those pursuits are not bad things, in fact, they can be good things. However, when we make them essential or ultimate things they become idols. Another way to identify the “gods” in your life is ask these questions:

Q1:Is there something I sense that I cannot life without? That if I were to lose this one thing, life would be difficult, if not impossible, to go on? -if there is any other answer than God, then you have an idol. A good thing that has turned into and idolatrous thing.

Q2: What are the things I am most afraid of? Not simple phobias, but deep, heart fears. At the heart of this question you will begin to identify the fears of the heart that often times motive your desires for idols.

Good news! Jesus invites us to bring our idols to the cross. To repent, to break them there, and to make Him the sole pursuit, the sole affection, the only Savior and Lord of our life. What do you need to take to Him today?