"They went after false idols and became false..." (2 Kings 17:15).

Our Creator knew what he was talking about when he warned us about idolatry. We become what we worship. Follow the lead of false "gods" and you will inevitably "become" false.

Worship MONEY? Covetousness will take deep root in your heart and greed will become your defining ambition.

Worship SEX? Those created in the very image of God will become nothing more than objects to be consumed on the altar of your pleasure.

Worship POWER? People will be simply pawns on your personal chessboard.

Worship CELEBRITY? The artificial, the Photoshopped, and the carefully choreographed will somehow come to mean more to you than the imperfect (but real) flesh-and-blood in your own home.

Worship SELF? For a little while you'll sit on your homemade throne and live like a tiny tyrant...

But only for a little while. Why? Because when we "go after" false "gods," we're suppressing the truth (Rom 1:18). We're exchanging the real glory of the immortal God for foolish, false images (Rom 1:23). Claiming to be wise, we will live like fools. Why? Because we become what we worship.

That fact will be terrible news or life-changing good news, depending on the OBJECT of our worship. In Colossians 1:15, the Lord Jesus Christ is presented as "the image of the invisible God." Colossians 3:10 describes the opportunity to "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Jesus is the true and better way who leads to abundant, eternal life.

We are ALL worshipers. It's simply a matter of who or what we are worshiping. Either way, we will become what we worship.

Worship carefully.