Our tendencies towards idolatry must be daily toppled!
What idolatry really is? When we elevate our soul solutions above His Spirit’s solutions for our needs, we idolize our own reason or soul capacity above God. This is the most basic form of idolatry. I can meet my own needs, and I know how to handle this apart from Him and His Word-our soul is lifted up as god. This is what i call internal idolatry. Of course, even ministry itself can become an idol we lift above God.
 Idolatry has never changed in essence. It says, I have needs, and I can figure out how to meet them without God. I don’t need God or a higher power, i’ve got this, and can meet my own needs. Ironically, the first step in healing, is always, I need something higher than me to help!
If my needs are for intimacy, i can choose my own way of meeting my needs—pornography, affairs, partial covenants, leaning into unordained relationships for intimacy etc. God gives us what we really need, when we take what we think we need instead, we move in the ways of idolatry!
I don’t need a loving God to bless and meet them. I’ve got it. Some dying part of us says.
Idolatry is not just lifting up a literal idol, it is thinking that my soul is as high and wise as God’s Spirit, and can solve it’s own needs. It’s pride of being human.
It is elevating soul solutions above His leading and true solutions. It’s false doctrine because it says, i can solve my own problems apart from God.
Let us not give in to idolatry of any flavor. When we think we can solve and resolve our own problems, we elevate our soul above our own and His spirit. It’s a mistake.
It’s not always intentionally sinful. But as when the Israelites, built the golden cow, exactly at the moment while Moses was downloading the Laws and Ways of God on the mountain—that is still our recurring sin! It’s a pattern of being human. We have needs, and we think we can meet them without any help! In this sense, it is disguised pride. All the ways of sin are present in the Garden story of Adam and Eve.
 But idolatry is ugly and punishable. It’s ugly because it is basically pride. It says ok,, even though God has told me not to eat that, i think i could be enlightened by doing so, thus i will eat it, and even convince others to eat it. That was the first rebellion for humans, and it appears that other creatures had already rebelled against Him before this. As Satan was already trying to convince humanity that God was wrong about what they really needed.
Much later, the priest who allowed that golden calf to be built, were severely punished and a new line of priesthood had to be invented! We need to take care of this issue of raising our soul solutions above His spiritual ones. We are not God. He is. And when we do this regardless of what we are trying to solve, we move in dark ways.
This is why our faith begins with faith in the Most High. Not my ideas, but His, not my solutions but God’s. And He has been clear to us about His solutions to the problems of human life.
When we hear the word idolatry, it sounds so ancient. But it describes a pattern in the human soul of lifting itself above its Maker. In the garden, we began by setting out own will above His. My own interpretation above God’s.
  We all still have a tendency to do this constantly—to make up our own life and solutions to it-without or apart from God. There is always a danger for us in this. And we have to tend our souls accordingly. We were born with a tendency to idolize, to put things, including our own ideas above God and His truths.
David told his soul to be still and listen, and be led. That is a way to overcome idols. Let the spirit be the leader. Be still and know your God, and follow Him into this action.
We have to practice sitting with and in His Spirit and putting off the old man-toppling the idol of the false self, as Paul taught us. Even internally, we have an idol of self which has to be daily torn down, so we can discover His version of our true selves!
We have to bring our spirit’s into alignment with His, and agree to rule over our own bodies and soul’s thoughts in Truth. We do so in His power and through faith that He who called us, is able to also cause us to stand!
To cloth ourselves in Christ, and to put on His Mind where two metaphors Paul offered us for the spiritual activity necessary to discern. Let us be willing to do both. Clothing is covering, Christ is a type of clothing, which, when we wear Him, we find our true contours, the shape we were meant to be! We begin to be comfortable in our own skin, and able to discern what is like Him and what isn’t.
Putting on His Mind is sight and knowledge and accurate spiritual perception. We will need both Him as our clothes and Him as our thoughts and perception to make it through our times and to recognize when we are building or participating in idolatry and when other are. We have to be the ones who lift up only The Head. That is where He is taking us in Him.