Recognizing Idolatry

How many 'idols' do I have in my life? This question has been burning in my mind for some time. A few months ago, my daughter Ava was going through a toy catalog with a typical carnal mindset. Every page that she turned to, she said, "I want this for my birthday and this for my birthday and this for my birthday." I went before the Lord for wisdom in how to get to the root of this materialistic attitude that I saw in her. It was tempting to simply deal with her behavior (the typical 'if you ask for one more thing, you'll get nothing'), but I knew that her heart was where she really needed attention. God revealed to me that her heart was building idols out of the things in that magazine. Idolatry? You may think that is too harsh of a term for a three-year old. However, truth remains that anything that we want more than God, we are idolizing. I went to Ava and asked for the magazine. I told her that it had become an idol and that we would have to put it away for a time. She shed tears, but handed the magazine to me willingly. After about two weeks of distance from the magazine, God poured out onto Ava's heart the strength that she needed to look at the magazine without idolizing it. Praise His Worthy Name!