When was the last time you were tempted to bow down and worship a carved wooden image? How about offering a sacrifice to a false god? Was it yesterday? Two weeks ago? Never? 

For Christians living in the U.S. in 2025, this temptation has most likely never crossed our minds. Yet the Scriptures are full of warnings and commands regarding the worship of idols. Here is what Yahweh tells the Israelites before they enter into the promised land:

“But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.” - Deut. 7:5

The surrounding nations will be full of idolatry. The Lord is instructing His people to immediately get rid of such practices. Be ruthless: crush them, smash them, burn them. Leave no room for these things to continue. God is very clear and very serious when it comes to idol worship. 

So how can we faithfully apply this to our lives today when there is little to no worship of carved images to be found? The key is to correctly understand what an idol is, and how they can show up in our modern context. 

In the New Testament, Jesus calls His disciples to wholehearted devotion to God and His kingdom (see His Sermon on the Mount). Idols are things that we let get in the way of us doing just that. They keep us from enjoying the good life that God offers. And they are offensive to God. Idols do not have to be literal statues with altars and pillars. An idol is anything we put in the place of God. To put it another way: all of us have a throne in our heart. Who or what is sitting on that throne? 

Here are some helpful diagnostic questions to find any idols hiding in our hearts: 

• What am I placing my daily, functional trust in?
• Where is my attention most often focused? 
• What makes me angry?
• What do I try to avoid at all costs?
• What do I run to for peace and security? 
• What do I worry about the most? 
• What defines who I am? 

So we want to go on an idol-smashing spree to eliminate roadblocks in our life of following Jesus. Exodus 20:1-6 gives us all the reason and motivation we need to destroy idols in our hearts.

Reason #1: God is Savior. 

“And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’” - Exodus 20:1-2

Before giving commands to the Israelites, God had already delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. Likewise, He saves us today before we do anything to earn it. Now, in response to His salvation, we live in obedience and faithfulness to Him. 

Idols promise things; but they never fully deliver. In fact, they tend to deliver less and less as time goes on. Only God can save us from the endless loop of idols and sin and disappointment! He makes promises, and He always delivers. 

Reason #2: God is King.

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a 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.” - Exodus 20:3-4

He commands it! That’s plenty of reason to destroy idols right there. Let’s make the throne in our heart match the throne of the universe. God is King whether we like it or not. So let’s start honoring Him as such! 

Reason #3: God is Jealous.

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God . . .” - Exodus 20:5a

God alone is worth serving, worshiping, relying on, and finding our identity in. God Himself knows that this is true. So when He sees humans putting other things before Him, He is jealous for His own glory. It is the right kind of jealousy because it aligns with reality. God can be jealous without sinning.

If someone kidnapped my son and tried to raise him, I would be rightfully jealous for his time, attention, and friendship. I would be jealous for him. In the same way, God is jealous for us. God created us to be in right relationship with Him - which means having Him on the throne of our heart. He is not jealous for what does not belong to Him. God is jealous for what is rightfully His! 

Reason #4: God is Just.

“ . . . visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me . . .” - Exodus 20:5b

Here is the harsh reality: Idolatry is an expression of hatred toward God. It is robbing God of His rightful place and giving credit, honor, and glory to something else. It is rejecting His love and relationship. It is disobeying His commands and design for life.  It is destroying His creation. Because when we follow idols, it will lead to the harm of others. 

God is going to make things right again. He cannot let evil go unpunished! It is robbing Him of glory and it is harmful to His creation. So let’s start smashing idols in our heart in order to faithfully honor the Judge. 

Reason #5: God is Good. 

“ . . . but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” - Exodus 20:6

There is steadfast love available! God’s justice is measured. God’s love is overflowing! We should crush our idols because God is the only One who is Good! He is the only One worthy of that seat on the throne. 

Idols disappoint us and lead to death. God loves us and leads us to life. Why would we idolize things that can’t love us back? God is the only One who can love us perfectly. He will never let us down. The more we eliminate idols and worship God alone, the more we will experience His goodness. 

In this blog series, we will cover five core idols that Christians tend to face in 2025 - approval, distraction, control, comfort, and self. For each one, we will ask diagnostic questions to help us discern if we struggle with that specific idol. Then we will outline the lies and false promises offered by the idol. Finally, we will explore how the gospel addresses and overcomes each one. 

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” - 1 John 5:21

– Matt Karr