“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21
Over the last few days, we have asked the question, WHO or WHAT has your heart? If you have followed along with us, you know by now that anything placed above God is considered an idol. And idolatry is a sin. But what are things that we place above God?
First, we talked about stuff. Perhaps your smartphone, tablet, or computer is more important than God. Maybe it is Netflix or Playstation that’s taking too high of a priority in your life. Now, you might say these things are not your idol, that they are not more important than God, but does your time suggest God is most important?
Then, we talked about your identity. Is your identity caught up in something that captures your thoughts, time, and resources more than God?
Today, we will look at a third threatening source of idolatry: PLEASURE. Do you place pleasure from a source outside of God on a pedestal above Him? We live in a world where alcohol, drugs, and lustful pleasures are all easily accessible. It is hard to find a show on television where when something goes wrong, the main character’s first solution isn’t to pour a drink.
Not only has alcohol become such a regular coping mechanism, but sexual immorality has almost become commonplace. The resources available to watch pornography or find hookup partners on “dating” apps allow you to partake in acts of sexual impurity whenever you please. But make no mistake about it, there are consequences to pay for so eagerly seeking these types of pleasures.
Galatians 5:21 says, “Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Who or what has your heart? Are you chasing cheap pleasure in the form of a bottle? A substance? A lustful desire? If so, God assures you that you “will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” If you want the Lord’s best for you, then it is time to ditch the cheap pleasure acts and find the real source of pleasure: God Himself.