How do I practice idolatry? PART II 1 Cor. 10:12-22

Thanks for the excellent discussion in class this week! We are asking the question: How do I practice idolatry?

Let us begin by asking: “What is idolatry?” Idolatry simply put is “worship – of anything than God”. Wondering what you worship? Simply look at 15 of the largest industries in America:

1) Starbucks, McDonalds…Fast food industry – the idol of my convenience
2) Planet Fitness… body building/workout industry – the idol of my body
3) GNC stores…health industry– the idol of my health
4) Adult entertainment, Playboy, online pornography…sex industry – the idol of my lust
5) Hollywood, Regal cinemas…movie industry – the idol of my entertainment
6) NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA…all things sports – the idol of my pride & human fitness
7) American Idol, America’s Got Talent… pop culture fame – the idol of my fame
8) IPods, ITunes, MP3…music – the idol of my music
9) Wal-Mart, Target…retailers – the idol of my wants
10) Ford, Toyota, GM…auto makers – the idol of my self-image
11) Citigroup, HSBC, Capital One, Visions…banks, credit cards – the idol of my greed
12) AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner…phone companies – the idol of my gossip
13) DishTV, DirecTV…cable TV – the idol of my laziness
14) Century 21, ReMaxx…realty – the idol of my discontent
15) Applebees, Tullys, Ponderosa…restaurants – the idol of my gluttony

I could go on and on. So could you. We have so many idols! Do you notice they all came back to me? Our idolatrous society is no different from India with their many gods. We just call our gods by other names.

“But I don’t worship them,” you say. Idolatry isn’t about bowing down. It’s about distracting us from True Worship. For the Corinthians, it meant going into a temple. For us, we live IN the temple! Our culture immerses us in the worship of ourselves and our lusts.

Think about it. How much of your week is spent in True Worship of God? How much is spent in worship of the above “idols”? Are you distracted? I am too.

Maybe you don’t have an idol – maybe you are one! Perhaps we struggle more with idolatry than we realize.

Perhaps we are really worshipping ourselves!