Yes, you have one. We all do. They're just harder to spot than the ones in the Bible.
In Acts 19, the gospel took hold in Ephesus so deeply that it showed up in the local economy. New believers "brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver" (Acts 19:19 ESV). A piece of silver was about a day's wage, so in today's money that's somewhere around $6 million. Then a silversmith named Demetrius called a meeting, because people had stopped buying his little silver idols. Business was falling apart.
We don't bow down to statues anymore. Most of us don't have little shrines in our homes. Our idols are subtle and seductive. They're not on our shelves; they're in our hearts.
Here's the simplest definition I know: an idol is anything I pursue or pledge my allegiance to above Jesus. It's anything that has my heart, my affections and my obedience more than God.
You might be thinking, "But I'm not chasing anything evil." Most idols aren't evil things. They're good things in the wrong seat. We all want peace, security, and to be loved even though we're flawed. Those longings are God-sized. When I look to anything to give me what only Christ can give, I've found the idol on the shelf of my heart.
John names the three every one of us is drawn to: "the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life" (1 John 2:16 ESV). Put simply:
I want to feel good. Pleasure and comfort: porn, the bottle, the fridge, the screen. Anything we use to medicate.
I want to have more. The house, the car, the upgrade. Greed we dress up and call "deserving it."
I want to be admired. Likes, status, the highlight reel. Performing and conforming so people will approve of us.
Sex, salary, status. The same three showed up in the garden: the fruit was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and would make Eve wise (Genesis 3:6). They showed up again when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4).
So how do you know which one has a grip on you? Ask three questions:
When I'm stressed or hurting, what do I reach for first?
What am I most afraid of losing?
Whose opinion can ruin my day?
Then do what Ephesus did. Name it. Confess it. Burn it. The believers there came "confessing and divulging their practices" (Acts 19:18 ESV). Then they didn't just quit their idols; they took them off the market. And notice what happened next: "So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily" (Acts 19:20 ESV). The burning came before the power.
So let me ask you: what are you willing to burn?
Scripture: Acts 19:18–27; 1 John 2:15–16; Genesis 3:6; Matthew 4:1–11; Matthew 6:24; Galatians 1:10