Subtle Idolatry - Idolatry non-the-less

With the Olympics currently dominating most TV households, and hearing how ensconced some are becoming, even to the cost of their Christian commitments, my heart is troubled. In the past (and sometimes even still) I have been just as consumed by my favourite sport - Tennis. And for some people (again, me included) this obsession is not just limited to sport.

At Bible study last night our Minister pointed out that hobbies, while all fine and good to pursue in moderation, are detrimental if they take over your time and life above God. See the very first line of the Ten Commandments - this must be a pretty important issue if God puts it first in His Commandments to us....

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)
1	“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2	“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3	“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4	“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5	“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6	“You shall not murder.
7	“You shall not commit adultery.
8	“You shall not steal.
9	“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10	“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”

What a wake up call I've received. (I'll write about the topic of my obsession one day...but not yet!)

In the meantime;

Let's pray...

Loving Heavenly Father,
Forgive us for making gods of sport, entertainment, pleasure, eating, toys, and technology. We have lost our way, and our focus on You. Have mercy on our foolishness. I pray that this world will move from spiritual darkness and allow ourselves to be saved before it is too late. Deliver us, in Jesus' Name, from idolatry and be our Lord. We pray to give You more of our attention. Father, help us recognise the difference between Your words of wisdom and the deceit of Satan. Watch over us, keep us safe and guide all the decisions we will make today and everyday, to be honouring and glorifying to You. In Jesus' precious and mighty Name I ask these things, amen.