Anything worshiped above God .... Is an Idol!
Belief in inanimate objects .... Is an Idol!
Counterfeit Gods revered.... Is an Idol!
An idol can be anything that becomes a reverence focus higher than God. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, tells us that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and money. Often, we don't recognize the things we put on a pedestal and worship, because they look different from those the Israelites submitted to in the Old Testament. Today's idols aren't Asherah polls or images made of stone, wood, or metal. They can be anything that takes God's place as the most important focus and priority in your life.
We have to be careful not to prioritize these things in our hearts and minds, leaving no room for God. Whatever we treasure in our hearts more than God becomes an idol that dulls our spiritual hearing and hardens our hearts to Him. God specifically tells us not to make idols or erect images to bow down to because He is the Lord your God. When the things of this world seduce us to the point where they become indispensable in our lives, that's idolatry. Every idol must be crushed.
Exercise
What are you making more important than God in your life? Is it money, your career, your appearance, material things?
Prayer: Lord, show me my idols! I don’t want any strong holds hindering my life. Do not let anything, even good things, blind me to you in anyway. I won't go anywhere or do anything if you’re not there with me. Amen
Scripture Reference
Exodus 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other God’s before me.
Definitions
Inanimate: not animate; lifeless.
Idol: an image of a deity other than God.
Deity: a person or thing revered as a god or goddess.