Definition of an idol

You may want to read this before you move to the next post on Broken Glass so that you can better understand what I mean by idols.

We're coming to the end of a Bible study called No Other Gods by Kelly Minter and she defines idols this way.
"It is something other than God that we set our hearts on, that motivates us, that masters and rules us, or that we trust, fear or serve. An idol can also be referred to as a 'false god' or a 'functional god'." The things that become our idols start out, sometimes, as things that are not necessarily good or bad but have become "detrimental simply because you desire it too much."

Mark Driscoll defines idols this way...
"Take everything that you hold dear and let it go. What would bring you the most pain if it was taken away from you? That is your idol!"

Pick which ever explanation makes that most sense to you and remember that as you read the references to idols in the next post.