Have you ever taken inventory of the gifts you’ve been blessed with?  These aren’t physical gifts necessarily, but rather character traits or personality “bents.” Some might call them spiritual gifts, although I don’t think that fully encompasses what I want to look at today.

I’ve heard it said our gifts or personality traits can certainly be used for God’s glory, but that when taken too far, they can actually become idols.

So, let’s put a quick definition around “idol” for our discussion today. This isn’t the definition you’ll find from Webster or any of the traditional dictionaries out there, but it perfectly represents the context for this post.

“Idols are anything that present a challenge to God’s sovereignty or to which you turn for answers of meaning, fulfillment, and purpose instead of God.” (gracefulabandon.com)

Perhaps this definition still causes you to scratch your head a bit and wonder just where I’m going with this topic.  Let me illustrate with a recent revelation of my own that led to this blog post.

I have always been considered a pretty decent organizer.  It’s in my DNA because both of my parents were organizers and list makers.  Not sure I can make it through a day or a project without a list!  And it’s generally a characteristic that would be considered desirable in both the business and personal worlds.

I have also used this skill within most of the churches we’ve been part of, so it could be said that I used my organizational “gift” for God’s Kingdom work.  So, it’s all good, right?  Not so fast. 

God has been showing me recently how I’ve been taking this list-making thing a bit too far. He began opening my eyes to this as I was finishing up a couple of godly items on my to-do list – devotions and prayer time.  Yep.  They were on my itemized list for the day.

That alone isn’t necessarily a problem.  Lists aren’t inherently evil.  But where I went off the spiritual track is when I looked at these tasks as nothing more than…tasks.  One more thing to cross off the list so I could keep moving forward in my day.  

I didn’t give either my time in God’s Word or my time in God’s presence through prayer the priority they deserved, and I didn’t have the proper spiritual posture before God.  I had made the act of crossing off the list more important than growing in my relationship with God.  THAT’S when this gift of organization crossed the line into being an idol.  It’s where I looked for some sense of fulfillment, rather than to the God who gave the gift.

So the next day, I repented of my attitude and sat down for an extended time of prayer.  No specific agenda, no specific time frame – just time to let God’s spirit lead me as I prayed through whatever was laid on my heart.  It was such a sweet time of fellowship with God!  I found myself with tears running down my face.  Not sad tears, just emotional tears over the powerful connection I was enjoying.

God was merciful in showing me how much I had been missing.  Now my prayer is that I will keep this list-making gift in proper perspective for more than a few days or weeks!

Is there something in your life that looks good on the surface, but has crossed the line into idol territory?  Are you using your gift for your own glory, or is God the focus?

If this little journey has taught me anything, it’s that, with God’s help, we CAN get back on the spiritual track and use all of our gifts and talents for God’s glory.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10:14