1 Cor 10:14, “Therefore, my beloved, flee~~ from idolatry“
Paul begins his exhortation with an assurance of intimate friendship: “my beloved.” There are some things we warn children about without having to explain every detail (“Don’t touch the hot stove!”). John wrote similarly in 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
In 1 Corinthians 10:14, Paul uses the present progressive command to tell us to “be constantly fleeing” from idolatry, greed (1 Tim 4:10–-11), “youthful lusts” (2 Tim 2:22), and “sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18). They have no part in a Christian’s life.
Paul begins his exhortation with an assurance of intimate friendship: “my beloved.” There are some things we warn children about without having to explain every detail (“Don’t touch the hot stove!”).
Those who submit to an idol are saying that someone or something is more valuable, more powerful, and more trustworthy than God By this act, they declare that the only true God is weak, self–seeking, and insufficient for meeting their needs; thus they cannot fully trust God. This opens them up to many temptations.
Since the fall of humanity, man has sought to make God in his own image. Since man’s god is too weak to create all things, man must therefore speculate how things must have come to be by chance. When we develop a theory that answers our questions, we become vain and proud, believing our theory to be fact. When we feel we have “figured it out,” reason then becomes the god we choose to serve.
Whatever becomes the source of fulfillment, the resource for dependency, the focus for happiness, and the answer to all your questions about life has become your god.
However, there is no other God. God cannot be reduced to an image, nor can He be visualized by human minds. Supreme loyalty to personal ambitions, desires, possessions, fame, and so on can also become idolatry (Matt 6:21). Covetousness is idolatry, as evidenced by greedy materialism (Eph 5:5).
Lust or inordinate desires are considered idolatry. Paul described the “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Phil 3:18–-19). Have you substituted your loyalty to God with anything else? Tell Him so.
“Lord, if only I could hate sin as You do. Teach me to never love anything that takes my heart from being true to You. Remind me today when choices arise that challenge my loyalty to You.”