“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” (Luke 16:13,14)
You can expect some serious brush-back when you step on someone’s idol. Paul caused a near riot in Ephesus when word got out he was no fan of their patron goddess Diana.
“Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” (Acts 19:26-28)
The issue though was not about the true object of worship, it was about money.
“For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.” (Acts 19:24,25)
Idolators don’t like being called out. Many a Pharisee wants to be seen as an orthodox worshipper of God. But what we bow down to and serve in our heart is our true god.
Our homes can appear to be the holiest shrines to our Lord. Crosses, doves, and scripture plaques can adorn our walls. But whether we know it or not, covetousness makes us an idolator of the heart. (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5)
The word of God is designed for reproof. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16) If you find yourself getting hot under the collar when some truth of God’s Word is presented to you, it is time to check your heart. You may need a good “house cleaning.”