All these things I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me.

Matthew 4:9

This passage sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It sounds sort of like something God would say. “Bible Quotes” books will sometimes even use this short verse.

The problem is that God nor Jesus is speaking.

This quote comes from the section of the gospel where Jesus is being tempted by Satan in the wilderness (remember that Satan’s name literally means “the tempter”). He is trying to get Jesus, God’s own self, to turn away from God. To worship a different power source. Jesus is neither amused nor fooled by his words.

God tells us to worship God alone. We are to have no idols before him. And yet, there are so many idols that we put in God’s place.

Sometimes it is money. Or power. Or popularity. Or strength. Sometimes it is even our religion or scripture. But the most dangerous of all idols are the human ones.

We must remember that God does not worship anyone. God does not prostrate God’s self before anything in this universe. Anyone who says otherwise is not only lying, but walking a dangerously fine line with blasphemy.

We should also remember that none of us is without sin, save God alone. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Which means that to place our trust in any earthly power is folly.

Whatever idol we choose, or whoever, we are breaking our relationship with God when we do. That is the very definition of sin.

People say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

So identify the idols in your life and then work with God to root them out.

Then seek the true worship of God. For pure and undefiled religion is this: to care for orphans and widows in distress. To loose the bonds of injustice and let the oppressed go free. To share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless into your home. To cover the naked and satisfy the needs of the afflicted.

Go and do likewise.