"The Sin of Idolatry" God created man to have intimate fellowship with Him, and He will not share that fellowship with idols, or false gods.  God declared that He is a “jealous and avenging God” (Nahum 1:2).  He hates idolatry and it is forbidden in the first of the Ten Commandments:  “You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.  For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments”  (Exodus 20: 3-5). Idolatry was the sin that led to the downfall of King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest man that ever lived (1 Kings 11: 1-8).  The Jews were taken captive into Babylon because of the sin of idolatry; their exile was God’s judgment upon the unfaithfulness of His people (Ezekiel 6: 1-6).  The Apostle John warned the church in one of his last letters in the Bible: “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). Many people have the mistaken notion that idolatry is something practiced by ignorant, superstitious pagans who bow down to statues and witch doctors in third world nations.  Actually, idolatry is giving any thing or person the preeminent place of affection that belongs to God alone.  Materialistic, prosperous, civilized America is rife with idolatry: Fine cars and clothing and houses, careers, sports, entertainment and entertainers, food, alcohol and drugs, pornography and illicit sex, the accumulation of wealth and prestige, education, etc.  Even our families and religion can be idols when we serve them rather than God.  Jesus had harsh words for the Laodicean Church in the Book of Revelation, which aptly describes the apathetic, pampered, worldly church in America:  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”  (Revelation 3: 15-17).  The Laodicean church was lulled into complacency and indifference by her idolatry.  Her covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5), deceived her into great spiritual darkness where she no longer recognized the perilous state of her soul.  When Jonah’s understanding returned to him in the belly of the great fish, he repented: “Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy, but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving” (Jonah 2: 8-9). How can we heed John’s admonition to “keep ourselves from idols,” and find the right balance to enjoy the good things with which God has blessed us?  First, we must recognize that every good thing comes from God and not by our own hand.  He gives the power to make wealth, and He gives us “richly all things to enjoy.”  Humility recognizes that God is our source, and responds with gratitude and worship.  If we love the Lord, we will love our fellow man and share our blessings.  We will not horde our possessions, but cheerfully bless the less fortunate whom the Lord places in front of us.  We are to give in His name so that others are touched by the love of God exhibited through His children.  We must always seek to bring God glory, and do not try to build ourselves up in the eyes of man.   God is love and   God is the greatest giver:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but  have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  Most of all, we were created to worship God.  It is what we will be doing in heaven for all of eternity.  God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22: 3) and seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4: 23).  God relishes our worship.  Some of the most beautiful scenes of worship depicted in the Bible are in the Book of Revelation where John was caught up in the Spirit, witnessing the heavenly hosts enraptured in worship. We must worship Him because He is worthy of our worship.  We must shun idolatry because it denounces the presence, power and holiness of God. “…The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:  ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and for Your pleasure they exist, and were created”  (Revelation 4: 10-11).