You Are What You Worship

Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

Psalm 115:4–8 ESV

John Calvin famously said that “man’s nature is a perpetual factory of idols.”

He was absolutely right. And today’s devotional verses show us what happens through idolatry.

What is idolatry?

So what is idolatry? Paul defines idolatry in Colossians 3:5–6 like this:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

Paul gives a laundry list of things. But he uses them as a build up to a description of idolatry: covetousness.

And because covetousness starts in the heart, so does all idolatry.

What happens to idolators?

In today’s passage, we learn something pretty terrifying.

Idols may look valuable, like precious silver and gold. But in the end, they’re powerless things that pass away.

Notice, though, what we learn in verse 8:

Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

We become what we worship. When we worship — or pursue as ultimate — idols, we become powerless, discontent, and disconnected, just like they are.

But when we worship Jesus, we are made more and more like him.

How do you view Jesus?

So the question today is, “How valuable is Jesus to you?”

Is he more valuable than:

• The way you look,
• How much money you have,
• Pornography and sinful sexual encounters,
• Substances that you’re ruled by,
• Or any other idol under the sun?

So, are you pursuing worthless idols — or the God of infinite worth?

Worship and pursue Jesus, today.

Today’s devotion by Jordan Loftis, editor of Short Daily Devotions, host of the Bible Better Podcast, and author of The Men With Bare Feet.