Solomon, the guy who had everything, knew not to worship other gods, but he did anyway. In 992 B.C. God told him that because of his sin, the kingdom would be torn from his hands after his death. From then on, Israel is divided between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

262 years later, the people are persisting in their sin of idol worship, so God goes to the next step and removes them from His presence by sending them into exile. The king of Assyria brings in people from other lands to replace the Israelites. The land promised to Abraham a thousand years earlier will now be occupied by foreigners.

Because these new occupants don’t worship Jehovah, He sends lions to kill some of them. When this is reported to the king of Assyria, he sends in a priest from among the Jews to teach the people how to worship Jehovah.

“Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods…. They worshiped Jehovah, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. They worshiped Jehovah, but they also served their own gods…. Even while these people were worshiping Jehovah, they were serving their idols.” (read the whole story in 2 Kings 17)

They worshiped Jehovah, but not fully. Their hearts were divided. They were double-minded. They also worshiped and served their other gods and idols.

One definition of idol is “object of extreme devotion.” For now, let’s remove the word “extreme” and use “object of devotion.”

Just as each national group made their own gods, we have our own today that we’ve designed to fit us. See if any of the following are an object of your devotion:

• Money and all it can buy, not least of which is the illusion of security.
• Pleasure from sex, food, alcohol or whatever.
• Work and the perceived significance, power and importance it gives.
• Hobbies like golf, video games or __________.
• Physical appearance, which could be your face, hair, clothes or body.
• Marriage and family, especially when we want to give the impression how wonderful we are.
• Success in just about any form–work, ministry, finances, athletics, etc.

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not suggesting a devotion to marriage or working hard at your job are bad things, but they are when they become as important (or more important) than God.

Think about it like this–if God came to you and said, “I will guarantee you (insert your object of devotion here) or a stronger relationship with Me. Heaven is still yours and your current level of intimacy with Me can be maintained, but if you choose __________ you won’t know Me any better than you do now. Which do you choose?”

Would you choose a successful marriage or more of God?

Would you choose children who “turn out right” or more of God?

Would you choose a super model spouse and a great sex life or more of God?

Would you choose a job you love and a six-figure income or more of God?

My quick answer, of course, is more of God. I’m not sure if that’s the honest answer though.

What about you?