What’s an idol? Anything that you worship. You don’t worship anything, eh? Humans are MADE for worship, take a closer look. What about that Netflix marathon last night? Or the bottle of wine you look forward to when you reach your door. How about that monthly makeup subscription?
“But these are harmless joys of life!” You cry out, “I deserve them! I need them! They are . . . my precious!”
It’s a fine line, I grant you, between something you derive enjoyment from and something you crave/feel the addiction to. But I know this–you can feel the difference between the two. I know I can. Why care about this? Because when you divert your attention, your worship from God, you pull away from him.
Once you pull away, you lose your ability to cope. All the anxieties of the world return, you get strung out in your thoughts, lost in moods of anger, fear, resentment. I find when I’m far from God I’m deeply unhappy. So keeping alert for false Gods in your life can greatly assist in keeping those shelves clean and your alter clear for the Lord. Here’s how.
1. Make a list.
Cheesy, yes? Useful, also yes! Begin making a list of all the things you LOVE doing, in capital letters. Things you feel like you “need” in order to survive. Go with your impulse here, there is no right or wrong answer. Even if it feels weird to put it on there. I’ve been fairly open about my past with disordered eating, and my list would most certainly have some version of that on the list. Because food began to replace meaning in my life. It became THAT important.
Some questions to help stimulate your list. What do you feel a twist in your stomach about when you anticipate it? Not a “good” twist, something deeper, more destructive. Is it driving to the mall to go shopping? Or maybe reaching for your smartphone? Nothing is too silly to put on here, the idea is to freewheel it and see what you come up with.
2. Resist comparison.
It CAN be helpful to share these areas with others, but it’s not necessary and sometimes can be counterintuitive. Why? Because what’s become an idol to you can be harmless to someone else. But it’s not THEIR idol. Case in point, I used to stream podcasts and music relentlessly. If I was walking, washing the dishes, etc I was listening to music. When I gave this up, one friend seemed a little dispirited by it. “But music is relaxing!” she claimed. “It can help your moods!” “That’s exactly the problem,” I wanted to say (I didn’t, I just smiled). I don’t want the balm or band-aid of anything on this earth to manage me. I will not rely on anything other than my faith, period, because I’m strongest when I’m without. This is what it means to let go of the controls in life. Idols are deeply personal, and if you are being honest with yourself you know which ones you need to call out.
3. Disrupt with presence.
Ah yes, the buzzword of the decade. Presence! Define it how you like, but the reason I like this term is it prevents you from replacing one idol with another. Humans love “doing” and “thinking” to keep busy. By disrupting your idol with pure unadulterated presence, you can feel God in your life. Those walks I used to take with blaring music? Now they are headphone-free. I can HEAR the birds, I talk to people along the way. I notice the crocus poking out as the first sign of spring emerges. I greet dogs and admire trees like a hippie. It takes me waaaaay back to my childhood when I would walk to school. I think the reason being is when I viewed the world without much else clouding my thoughts. Being IN God’s creation is a beautiful thing. Living fully alive connects us to it, so by dropping your idols, you can reside at peace as God intended.
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As the Lenten season begins, let this be your first task in clearing out whatever is cluttering your alter in life. I promise you, you won’t miss that desperate feeling of “needing” anything. Nothing makes you stronger when you realize that all you needed, in the end, is God’s love.
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