The NEW idolatry

Idolatry has always existed. Humans have historically gravitated towards idols. We make them, allow them, erect them and then worship them. God forbid idolatry in Exodus 20 and the bible is laced with passages that warn people from putting anything or anyone (an idol) before the one, true God. Idolatry was never and never will be tolerated by the Eternal One, who calls Himself Jealous in Exodus 20:5.

Idolatry looks different now that it did in Old Testament times. In 1 Kings, God repeatedly told the people to forsake their idol Baal, and instead cling to the Lord. In Isaiah 47, the scriptures say, "I am, and there is none besides me". God has identified Him as the only one worthy of our worship and affection. Today, there are idols all around us. We don't call them idols but they are. Wikipedia says that an idol "is a man-made object that is worshiped in some way". Man makes it. Man likes it. Man worships it.

Technology can easily be an idol. Video games can be an idol. Facebook can be an idol. Tweeting can be an idol. Blogging can be an idol :). Cell phones can be an idol...that's right, cell phones can easily be an idol. It's amazing to see how fast our world is moving and its technological advances. A high school student can take a picture in a classroom in Warren, Ohio and upload that same pic and it can be seen by a total stranger on the opposite side of the world. I've seen how cell phones can be helpful for families in keeping in touch with each other. On the other hand, I've seen how cell phones can easily become an idol.

Remember an idol is something that we can't live without. An idol is something that we wake up thinking about...and go to bed having on our mind. People go to school with their phone, go to work with their phone, eat with their phone, go to bed with their phone, go out on dates with their phone...and often it seems unfathomable to some to actually live and function without that phone. When one becomes so dependent on a piece of technology, in this case a cell phone, a case could be made that it has become an idol in one's life.

I recently heard a high school student say that "they can't live without their phone". I don't know how to get around the fact that this is sin...this is idolatry. This student has determined that in their life that there time and what they do will be centered around this phone. The phone becomes the focus. The phone becomes the object one can't live without. This forces our fierce and loving God to be Jealous. The simple phone that was designed to be a tool is now an addiction, an obstacle and an idol that is preventing one from being dependent on God Himself.

Now, is it wrong to have a cell phone? Absolutely not. I have one and use it everyday. However, I know that I can function without my phone. I know that my life will go on without my phone. The world won't fall apart and my friends lives won't fall apart if I have to go without my phone for a period of time. Life will go on. The world will still function. However, there are people who are so addicted to their phone, that it has become an idol. Instead of using it as a tool and mastering the phone, the phone now masters them. They can't put it down. They can't function without texting. They have to have it. It's become an idol.

Lord, keep my heart soft. Keep me pliable so that I don't allow any idol to be present in my life...including my cell phone.