The Ugly Truth About Idolatry 

I realized a dangerous prayer is to ask God to reveal your heart to You! That had been my prayer because I wanted God to prune me. And one day in prayer he said, you’ve made your parents an idol. I thought to myself, maybe I am going delusional because there’s no way God would even suggest this nonsense. But girl, he was RIGHT!

I didn’t even think I struggled with idolatry. I wasn’t worshiping money or status. I’ve always felt humble, never wanting to ask for too much, and always putting my feelings last. I wasn’t chasing power. But then God gently revealed something to me about 5 months ago that I had been blind to for years: I had made my parents an idol. I couldn’t understand it to save my life. But he slowly started to reveal heart to me.

It started with love, devotion, and wanting to make them proud. But somewhere along the way, their approval became more important to me than God’s. Their comfort became my source of security. And when God began to force from that security, it felt like He was pulling the rug out from under me. My whole world felt unsettled. I felt guilty, I was so accustomed to talking to my parents about EVERYTHING. But during my transition to a new state he made me keep everything private, at the time I didn’t know why. But now it was because he wanted me to come to him when things weren’t going according to plan, God began to strip me—not to hurt me, but to start to prune my heart of hidden things.

There were things He asked me to do that felt so stupid, but they were deeply spiritual and necessary:

He told me to stop using my mom’s perfume—and to get my own. I was so mad when he told me that. I was like really, with a lil attitude. 😂 “I literally was like dude, you got some stuff with you.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but using her perfume was keeping me in a poverty-like mindset. I was clinging to what was familiar and borrowed, instead of stepping into the identity, provision, and confidence God was calling me to walk in. I know you’re thinking girl you’re reaching. I thought that too, but here’s what it means to me.

• Ownership – walking in my own identity and purpose, not living in someone else’s shadow
• Maturity – growing into the woman He created ME to be, spiritually and emotionally
• Freedom – breaking generational ties or emotional dependencies
• Provision – trusting GOD to provide MY own instead of relying on borrowed things
• Wholeness – healing from feeling lack and learning to be full in Him alone
• Separation – being set apart for your own journey, your own calling, your own legacy

Spraying her perfume made me feel like what I had wasn’t enough. It was subtle, but over time it stirred up feelings of lack and comparison. It made me desire what didn’t belong to me, and it slowly started to develop ungratefulness in my heart. I didn’t realize I was idolizing not just my mom—but also material things, and the illusion of comfort. God had to remind me that He is enough, and what He gives me is more than enough.

And the hardest one: He told me to stop calling my parents for every little inconvenience. I had trained myself to run to them instead of running to God. But He said, “Let Me be your first call.” Girl that was hard, I call them to tell them what I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, looking back— that was probably a burden on my parents. Naturally as a parent, your first instinct is to solve every problem your child has. Unknowingly, I was adding an extra burden to their lives. My parents are everything to me, and the love I have for them runs deeper than the ocean. Especially my Daddy! I’m such a Daddy’s girl, it’s a shame. In my eyes, my daddy can’t do ANYTHING WRONG. LIKE NOTHING. lol, he’s definitely my hero. But I had to learn that he was not my God. That was so sad, I felt grieved. Literally I felt depressed.

For example, God told me to change my major to nursing when I had completed 2 years of education. Soon as God told me, I called my dad— looking back if my dad would have said no— I definitely would not have changed my major. But, thankfully my dad was so proud when I decided to change my major. After I got my dad’s approval I could care what anyone else thought, I valued my dad’s opinion and wisdom above everything. But that’s not honor, it’s idolatry. I still value his opinion a lot, but now I also know I have to Pray to My Savior for his final say. That was a shift that threw a wrench in my life.

I felt torn. Was I being ungrateful? Was I being distant or dishonoring? But God gently showed me the truth: there’s a difference between honoring someone and idolizing them.

An idol is anything—anything—we place above God in our hearts. It doesn’t have to be a statue. It doesn’t even have to be a bad thing. Idols are often good things that we’ve made ultimate things.

When we trust, serve, or love something more than God—or if we’re unwilling to let go of something when He asks us to—we’re dealing with idolatry. Idolatry is sneaky. It hides in love, in logic, in “this just makes sense.” But God’s desire isn’t to deprive us—it’s to purify us.

Honor says, “I love and respect you.” Idolatry says, “I need you more than I need God.” I had to accept that they won’t always understand where God is taking me. They might not always agree. And that’s okay. My obedience is bigger than what the human eye can see.

For me, I had to repent. I had to acknowledge that I made my parents’ presence more important than God’s. That their opinions held more weight than His Word. And I had to let Him break those ties—not to distance me from them, but to draw myself closer to Him.

Now, I still love and honor my parents. But I don’t lean on them the way I used to. I lean on Jesus. And I can tell you—that’s a new journey indeed.

Scripture:

• You shall have no other gods before me. – Exodus 20:3
• Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. – 1 John 5:21
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5

Ask Yourself:

• Is there anyone or anything I run to before I run to God?
• Is there a voice I value more than the voice of the Holy Spirit?
• Would I be willing to give up [insert thing or person] if God asked me to?

XOXO ❤️ Gracelynn