Ideal or Idol

 Have your heart’s desires become your idols? Do you ever want something so bad that it consumes you? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes” then it may be time for a heart check.  It is so easy to get caught up envisioning what life will be like when we get that ideal job, when we get married or when we get that perfect body; but we have to be careful because things almost never happen exactly how we think they should. My pastor always says “You are not disappointed by what you find but by what you expect to find” When we attach our human expectations to God’s plan it almost never goes accordingly.

I think there is a common misconception that an idol can only be a false God.  An idol is anything that takes God’s number one place in your heart and life. When it becomes all you think about, pray about, or talk about it is an idol. You give it all your energy and time and you become consumed.  I noticed awhile back that for me that idol was marriage. I had in my mind what I thought my future husband would be like. My “Ideal” husband turned into my “idol” husband.  I had ideas about what type of activities we would do together, what kind of man he would be… The reality is I don’t know who he is or what things he will or won’t like.  Unmet expectations always lead to disappointment and I opened the door. I couldn’t see it then, but God showed me that I had created an Idol in my heart. I wanted marriage more than I wanted him.

 I think we have often been taught that God is a jealous and he wants no other God’s (or idols) before him. However, what if a part of the reason that God told us not to have idols is for our own protection? Only God knows that if I continue to idolize marriage then when I actually get married I may be disappointed in what I find my reality to be. Only God could know that when you get that job that you have worked for tirelessly all your life, you won’t find the fulfillment that you were seeking. Only God knows that when you spend hours in the gym trying to get to your goal weight you won’t be satisfied because the real issue is internal and not external.  I believe that God commanded us not to have idols for our benefit, not his. He knows that the ideal that we have in our head is nothing compared to what he has planned. The path he is leading us on may be different from the one we would have chosen but it is always better. Perhaps God told us not to create idols because he didn’t want us to be brokenhearted when that idol that we set up in our minds was unable to meet the need and standard the God created.  A person, place or thing will never be able to give you the joy and satisfaction that God can. He is your creator and is the best and only one who knows how to meet your need perfectly.

Allow God to shape your thinking for whatever your heart desires. When you remain open and allow God to give you what he knows is best you will never be disappointed. God wants to give you the desires of your heart but not if that means you neglect him in the process.  Matthew 6:33 states, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”