Threats of Idolatry

Daily Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 43-46

Daily Focus Passage: Jeremiah 44

Jeremiah prophesied to the people of a coming destruction because of their idolatry and unfaithfulness. The people of Judah were known as God's people, yet they chased after other gods. They allowed their circumstances and desires to overcome their faith in the Lord. As the people in Jeremiah struggle with idolatry, so can we struggle with the threat of idolatry.

THE THREAT OF COMFORTABILITY

The people fall into idolatry because they desire to become comfortable in life. The people of Judah wanted to avoid the difficulty of remaining faithful to the Lord while living in this world. They decided that being comfortable outweighed the call to remain faithful. The seeking to remain comfortable means that the self becomes our idol. This idolatry occurs because the comfort of the self is greater than the call to remain faithful to the Lord.

THE THREAT OF CONFORMITY

The people of Judah fell prey to conformity by adopting the ways of the foreign nations. Conformity occurs unintentionally. It is a slow movement from one direction to another. Conformity slowly adjusts our eyes from focusing on Jesus to focusing on everything else. This threat leads us to idolatry in a subtle manner and often sneaks in before we recognize it. When we allow conformity to adjust our view, we become guilty of idolatry because we fail to seek the Lord alone.

THE THREAT OF COMPLACENCY

Complacency threatens to move us to idolatry because we become apathetic. When we do not have a passion to live in faithfulness before the Lord, we set ourselves up to fall into idolatry. We begin to accept things that are not true and are sinful. We cannot guard ourselves from the threat and walk away from seeking the Lord. Complacency leads to the idol of apathy, which leads us away from the Lord.