Latest Devotion
I Am My Own Idol
By: Lisa Boisvert
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I am my own idol. I try not to, but the truth is, the temptation to put myself at the center of my own little universe often overtakes me... The temptation to be in charge, the temptation to be self-reliant instead of God-reliant. For me, the temptation to trust in myself is strong. It's a hard concept to grasp, but at times, many of us have made ourselves into an idol.
Before indignantly proclaiming that the idea is absurd, I offer you a challenge. When was the last time you used your phone to take a selfie? If you've never taken a selfie, have you ever taken a photo of your plate of food (or your location) so you could "share it" on social media? Then we must honestly ask ourselves why would anyone else care what we're eating or where we're going? The truth is, we're all a little self-obsessed.
In the narcissistic culture that we live in, we can feed our self-absorption without realizing it. If you think about it, we're trained to constantly focus on ourselves throughout the day. By nature, we serve our own wants and desires. In other words, we serve ourselves, we trust in ourselves, and we rely upon ourselves instead of Jesus. By doing those things, we've become our own idols.
But God made it very clear that we can have no gods above Him, even when that "god" is ourselves.
You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
The Bible also makes clear that we must be God-reliant, not self-reliant. We are instructed to not trust in ourselves; we must place our trust in God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Then what is the remedy for our self-absorbed idolatry?
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
Practicing humility takes our eyes off ourselves. Valuing others builds up the entire body of believers and it strengthens God’s Church. Staying humble and valuing others is how we defeat self-idolatry.
Idolatry originates from our sin nature, but the moment we met Jesus we became a new creation! With the Holy Spirit's help we can learn to focus on the needs of others. But first, we must humble ourselves!