1 John 5:21 - May Nothing Take God's Place in Your Heart

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

1 John 5:21

God does not want us to have idols in our lives. An idol is anything that takes God’s place in your hearts. I like what the New Living translation says. It says “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” We feel empty inside but we don’t know why. It may be that we have an idol in our lives, which depletes us spiritually. Sometimes it is hard for us to admit or see that we have an idol in our lives. We may not see it, but others can. God may reveal it to you through the mouth of other people. There was a time when the girls were small that Dave wasn’t happy with the way I was keeping house. I told him that I wasn’t able to find the time to give it the attention I needed. He ended up telling me that I had time to watch Regis and Kathie Lee everyday and talk on the phone with my friends. This hurt my feelings and I went crying to the Lord. The Lord ended up speaking to my heart and telling me that David was right. I had idols in my life. The television and the phone were the two idols I had in my life at the time. It was an arrow that penetrated deep into my heart. If David wouldn’t have said anything, I might not have realized it. I confessed my idolatry to David and to the Lord. Then I made the necessary adjustments in my life. The phone and television are no longer idols in my life. Examine your heart. What takes away time from God and His Word in your life? What takes God’s place in your heart? What do you spend a lot of time doing but makes you feel depleted and empty in your life afterwards? Ask the Holy Spirit if it’s an idol. If it is, confess it as sin and make the necessary adjustments in your life. You will be spiritually blessed because of it.

Father, may we keep ourselves from idols. May nothing take Your place in our hearts. If we have any idols in our lives, reveal it to us now. We want to confess it as sin and we want to make the necessary adjustments in our lives. We want You to be first place in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.