“Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?” (Jeremiah 16:20)  

The worst sin of ancient Israel was idolatry, and it’s the same with modern saints. Christ tells us “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Christ couldn’t be more precise in His language: If you’re saved, You can’t put anything before God. That includes covetousness (Colossians 3:5), stubbornness (1 Samuel 15:23), and mammon. "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). 

 We pity the poor heathen who adore a god of stone, and yet worship a god of gold. The sin is worse in our case. The heathen bows to a false deity, but we know better. “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). 

Favorite children are the idols of many saints. The Lord is grieved when He sees children being spoiled; they can become as great a curse as Absalom was to David. If you want to suffer, put your children in the place of God. Most church-goers are not aware that God will hold them responsible for not disciplining their children. “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Proverbs 13:24). “Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell” (Proverbs 23:13-14). 

 "The dearest idol I have known, Whate'er that idol be; Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only Thee."