People get excited about a lot of things. They may not call them their gods, but in effect they are. What is the focus of your life? That, for all practical purposes, is your god. And when you come up with your own version of God, then you essentially have another god before Him. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Colosse, “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming” (Colossians 3:5–6 NLT). Interestingly, Paul talked about sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. We have a sex-obsessed culture. And for some people, everything is a double entendre. Their minds are always in the gutter. Paul also warned about greed. Some people always want what others have. We might think that only those who are wealthy have a problem with idolatry. Maybe they do. And maybe they don’t. We can’t see their hearts. But we can have very little in terms of material possessions and still make an idol out of things. We don’t have to be wealthy. Sometimes we’re simply obsessed with money. The Bible says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT). Notice this doesn’t say that money is the root of all kinds evil. Rather, it says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The problem is always wanting what others have. We can make idols out of possessions. And they can become more important to us than God Himself. The Bible says, “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him” (Matthew 4:10 NLT). He will never disappoint you. He will never let you down. But every person will in some way. Sometimes people keep us from God. A relationship pulls us away from Him, and we realize that if we really follow the Lord, we could lose our relationship that individual. Yes, we could. And it might be a choice that some of us have to make. Is someone dragging you down spiritually? Jesus said, “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine” (Matthew 10:37 NLT). The gods we create in our minds really are not gods at all. They’re just false images that can’t do anything for us. Will those gods save you in that final day? Will those gods give you the strength you need in your moment of crisis? And will those gods forgive you of your sins? If not, they’re false gods. Turn to the true and living God. | 
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