Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.”  1 Corinthians 10:7 (NASB)

I recently attended a women’s conference with one of my good friends at Epworth By The Sea in St. Simons Island, Georgia.  The theme—”Idols of the Heart.”

I always try to have an open mind and heart when I go to something like this. Often, the message is something I think I already know about, but I’ve learned to dig deeper, to see what God has in mind for me.

As women, we are prone to deeply value our relationships.  It’s how God wired us!  With that said, if we’re not careful, our relationships can also become idols of our heart.

This doesn’t mean we have to devalue our relationships.  It does mean that we keep Christ in His proper place in our heart—actually, on the throne.

None of us purposely wake up and tell ourselves that our husband, or grandchildren, or friends are going to replace Jesus on the throne of our heart that particular day.  But in reality, that is exactly what we do, no matter how unintentional it may be.

Some of us simply “sit down to eat and drink and stand up to play” day after day without giving our full devotion to God.  Our busyness and our own pleasure and comfort become our idols.

In contrast, Luke 10:27 shows us what it looks like to have our lives and relationships in balance with our devotion to God.  He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”