When you think of the word worship, what comes to your mind? Do pleasant thoughts or unpleasant thoughts enter in? Worship to our heavenly Father is extremely important, and I hope that all of us are aware of this. However, in this lesson I want us to consider some things that people worship-things that take priority over God and worship to Him.

Idols can be made of metal, wood or stone-or they can be in a person's mind. We read of some of the children of Israel who had set up idols in their heart (Ezek. 14:3). Idols can be metal or mental Idolatry is a subject that is much discussed in the Word of God---Old Testament and New Testament alike. The Ten Commandments forbad their making any graven image and worshiping it (Ex. 20:3- 5). The Corinthians were told to "flee from idolatry" (1 Cor. 10:14). Idolatry is mentioned as one of the "works of the flesh" (Gal. 5:19-20), and "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (verse 21). Though we would not be guilty of setting up an idol and worshiping it, we can be guilty of being covetous and Paul wrote, "...and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5). Peter spoke of "abominable idolatries" (1 Pet. 4:3). What form does idolatry take today? It is to this that I want to call our attention.

Humanism (worship of self) is actually idolatry. Humanism has an appeal to many people. It actually involves self-hood rather than God-hood. The Humanistic Manifesto makes it clear that no one is higher than man. This kind of approach to life reminds us of the time back in the Old Testament when "...there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). The "prodigal son" of Luke 15 is an example of one who was concerned about doing "his own thing" rather than doing the will of his father. We must remember the words of Jeremiah when he wrote, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23).

Another idol in our world today is hedonism. Hedonism is the worship of pleasure. It is the "eat, drink and be merry" philosophy. Pleasure takes precedence over anything and everything else. People who have this philosophy are spiritually dead while they are physically alive (1 Tim. 5:6). Jesus spoke of the word being choked by "cares and riches and pleasures of this life" (Lk. 8:14). Paul referred to some "whose God is their belly" (Phi. 3:19). This simply means that they were only interested in what satisfied them. Again he spoke of some who were "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:4) . Even some who are members of the Lord's church let pleasure come before faithfulness in worship and life.

Closely associated with hedonism is the idol of recreationalism. This is simply the worship of recreation. There is nothing wrong with the proper kind of recreation. Even Jesus on occasion told His Apostles "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while..." (Mk. 6:31). The sad thing is the fact that some let recreation take precedence over service to the Lord. A ball game is more important than worship to the God of heaven. Some will put fishing, golf, or any number of things before the Lord and His cause.

Materialism has become a god to many. This is the worship of money and what money will buy. Jesus said, "...ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24). If you do not believe that there are people who worship pleasure, read Habakkuk 1:15-16. There are three rich men mentioned in the book of Luke who had big problems with materialism. They are "the rich young ruler" (Lk. 18); the rich farmer (Lk. 12); and the rich man of (Lk. 16). Is it possible that we sometimes put materialism ahead of the Lord?

This may seem (to some)like a rather strange or even ridiculous idol, but nevertheless it is true. There are many who have the god of paternalism. This is a worship of parents. We are to love, honor and respect parents (Eph. 6:2), but some carry this too far. When one puts parents above the Lord, this is sinful-in fact the parent or parents become that person's god.

Jesus said, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:37). I have known people who would not obey the Gospel because their parents never did. Let us remember that "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Then there is the god of intellectualism. This is the god of knowledge---education. I heard a preacher say one time, "Education is good to get and then forget." He meant that one must be able to forget his degrees to the extent that he did not allow them to stand in his way of service to the Master. The Athenians of Acts 17 would definitely fall into this category-worship of intellectualism. It seems that Paul was dealing with this problem when he wrote the church at Colosse (Col. 2:8; 18). In 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, Paul discussed the subject of worldly wisdom. Education is a means to an end-not the end itself. I have known of cases where education led people away from God.

There is also what might be called the god of power. Many have worshiped this god in the past, as well as in the present. Men like Adolph Hitler, Mussolini, Napoleon, etc. were men who were seeking more and more power, even at the expense of innocent lives. Some in the Lord's church have this problem. Diotrophes is an example (3 Jno. 9-10).

There is also the worship of man. When Peter got to the home of Cornelius, Cornelius fell down to worship him, but Peter said, "Stand up; I myself also am a man" (Acts 10:25-26). At Lystra, the people wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas. In fact, they called "Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius" (Acts 14:12). Paul and Barnabas told them, "We also are men of like passions as you" (Acts 14:15). Herod made the mistake of allowing himself to be elevated in the eyes of the people, and it cost him his life. We are told that "he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost" (Acts 12:21-23). Today people use such expressions as, "My preacher said" or "Brother So and So said."

If this is not man worship, what is it? There are even some religious groups who worship the dead that they call saints.

Even today, there are those who worship images. Paul found this when he went to Mars Hill in Athens, Greece (Acts 17). Anything that takes the place of God in our life is idol worship.

Last of all, there are many today who literally worship Satan. This is more prevalent than most people realize. Paul referred to Satan as "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). In reality, all who fail to follow the Lord and His will, are following the devil. We must make a choice as to who will be our God. God will not take second place to anyone or anything.

...Virgil L. Hale