In my last post I referred to people pleasing as an idol I worship. Today I’m writing about when God showed me the truth of idolatry in my life.

I was 14. Instant messaging was popular but my dad didn’t feel like it was safe (because of online ambiguity). But mentally I justified chatting with boys I knew and liked in real life. Sometimes we would go to our grandma’s house to use her internet (good old days of dial-up). One day I was riding my bike home from her house, after chatting online with my crush. A wave of guilt hit me as I pedaled onto our dirt road home.

Lately I had been reading Romeo and Juliet (the actual play) and (should I really be admitting this?) memorizing the garden scene (I was a hopeless romantic, okay?). In that scene, Juliet calls Romeo, “the god of my idolatry.”

Riding home on my bike I was asking myself, “Why do I always tell myself I’m going to honor Dad and not chat with boys online and then get sucked right back into it?” God was asking me, “Is it worth it?” And I realized in that moment, that my obsession with boys was the “god of my idolatry,” just like Juliet.

That night while I read my Bible, God spoke to me through Psalm 138:1:

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise.

“GOD! In the face of my idols, I can turn and worship you.” I knew that was my answer. Idols weren’t worth it. Choosing to worship God was just that – a choice. One I could make if I wanted to. I really wish I could say my heart problems with boys ended then, but that was just the beginning.

I still go back to that verse today when God reveals idols in my life. God commanded the Israelites to literally smash the idols they were tempted to worship. Figurative idols such as love of comfort, people’s good opinion, or being 100% responsible person sneak up in my life often and the only way to defeat them is to destroy them with God’s word. It’s powerful because the one true God inspired it. He’s the only one worthy of our worship.