I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” (Daniel 3:15 NLT)

Worshiping God or idols is very different. God wins our loyalty; idols demand it.

Idols always usurp their authority, as we see in worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. There is always some threat of physical or emotional violence or some form of loss if we don’t honor them. We don’t worship them because we want to but because we feel we must bow down to them. Therefore, all forms of compulsions and addictions grow out of idolatry. The emphasis of the worship is not on the idol but on preserving and enhancing ourselves. Therefore, it is some form of self-centeredness. We worship them because we think they will give us satisfaction and fulfillment. The problem is that they can provide temporary happiness but never long-term peace and contentment. Idols always disappoint those who worship them.

God never forces us to love and serve him but wins us with immeasurable love. His love is never more evident than when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for us. “We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19 NIV).

Yet, God does command us to love him (Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT), but that direction is from a whole different motivation than that of vain idols. God is complete in himself. He has no needs. He can exist without our love. Whereas idols demand our worship because it is the best for them, God seeks our devotion because it is the best for us. His love is always others-oriented and self-sacrificing. Idols manipulate us to enslave us; God’s love woos us so that we can be free, fulfilled, and complete in him.

The God of the universe seeks you not for what he can get from you but for what he can give to you. Choose who you will serve today: empty and self-serving idols or the God who loved us more than his own life.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]