Here's where this whole series has been heading. If I had to name the biggest thing standing in the way, I'd name idolatry. It isn't the only form of compromise, but it's the root under most of the others. And the picture most of us carry around of idolatry is badly out of date.
Statues, figurines, altars, and temples are only the costumes idolatry wore in other centuries. A better definition is this: idolatry is putting aside what God clearly wants in order to satisfy a craving that goes against what he wants.
Read that again and notice how close to home it lands.
Look Back at Achan
We met Achan a few posts ago, the man whose hidden theft cost Israel a battle. His own confession is worth rereading with that definition in hand: "I saw... I coveted... and I took" (Joshua 7:21). Notice the order. He saw, then he wanted, then he acted.
The taking wasn't where the idolatry started. It started the moment the desire was allowed to outrank obedience. The act was only where it finally became visible.
A Warped View of God
There's an even sharper edge here. When I let an unmet desire steer my decisions instead of God's clear will, I'm quietly announcing that my craving knows better than he does what I actually need. That isn't a footnote. It's the same logic behind every idol ever built.
Not a Museum Piece
I'm glad this definition won't let idolatry stay safely ancient. It would be easy to file the golden calf and the worship of Baal under history, as problems for people who lived long ago, and to feel fine since I have no interest in carving a statue.
But put it this way, a craving placed above what God has clearly said, and idolatry stops being an exhibit in a museum. It becomes an everyday possibility.
So here's the honest question I can't skip. This week, where have I let a desire outrank a clear instruction, and called it something softer than what it really was?