A New Resolution
As we enter a new year, it is common to reflect on what we are grateful for in the past year. And also what we would like to change for the new year. Many of us choose a health goal. It might be specifically for weight loss, or maybe it’s to cut out alcohol, or maybe it is to make exercise more consistent. Many of these goals can be healthy and with the right motivations can become helpful to help us meet our ultimate goal: To Bring Glory to God.
But, and you knew there was a but coming, we must watch out for these goals to become idols. When reaching a goal or sticking with a resolution, we must guard against the temptation for the goal itself to be ultimate. When it begins taking over our thoughts, desires, and actions, we must ask if the goal has become an idol.
Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
What are idols?
Idols show up much more often in our lives than we might think. An idol is anything that you hold in your heart and mind as more important than God. Many times our idols begin as wonderful gifts. Next, the gift starts to become our main focus instead of the God who gave it to us. Eventually, we hold the gift higher and higher against our love of our God, and now that good gift has become an idol.
When looking at idolatry and how it relates to food, there are a few common ways it can manifest.
- Loving food more than God. Examples: constantly thinking about food, what you will eat next, or where to get your next sweet fix.
- Loving the idea of looking a certain way or attracting certain attention from others. Examples: always following a diet, worrying about particular parts of your body, or obsessing about weight loss.
- Loving our health as more important than God. Examples: Spending an unreasonable amount of time, effort, or energy “researching” certain conditions and remedies for them.
Which one do you identify with?
Some of us may identify with all of these idols (as I have). It can be easy to start with good intentions and right motivations to improve our health, but when it consumes much of our time, energy and thoughts, we need to check ourselves. When we schedule our time to go running over time in God’s word, then we need to examine our hearts. When we spend more time worrying about our health than we do praising God. We need to stop. Confess. Pray.
How do idols relate to self-control?
Idols relate to self-control in many ways. When we let idols creep into our lives, we lose our ultimate goal of bringing glory to God. The idols begin to control our desires and our actions. When they control us, we struggle to find self-control. This is often the point where we feel like we are “addicted” or like we cannot control our behavior. This is when we might say, “I have no willpower” or “I can’t keep those in the house.”
Does this sound familiar?
This is the point where we make a decision to repent and acknowledge that we have not loved God with our whole hearts. Let’s confess and return to God. We remember our ultimate goal is to glorify Him, not ourselves. See Psalm 86 for a beautiful prayer of worship.
How can we re-focus on God?
- Re-focus on God and who He is. Pray. Confess. Thank God for His sufficiency (2 Cor 3:5). Ask for His help (Psalm 33:20, Psalm 40:17).
- Give up the gift for a time. This might mean you choose to stop eating sugar for a while so you can re-focus. This might mean you stop exercising for a time, again, to re-focus on God. Whatever you need to give up, God is worth it!
- Look up the verses from the Psalms (above) and write them down. Maybe memorize them. When you find yourself distracted, think of these wonderful words to help your heart re-dedicate to our Lord.
- Remember that the gifts are for God’s glory, not for ourselves. Gifts of food, our bodies, exercise, these are all wonderful, but we should not lose sight of the Giver Himself. Pray with a thankful heart (1 Thess 5:15-17).
- Re-evaluate your motivations for changing habits. Are you doing all things for the glory of God? Are you serving and pleasing Him in all you do?
Read more about what the Bible has to say about Nutrition.
To read more about common idols we face, see this article.
