You Become What You Worship
“Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”
Psalm 115:8
He is Worthy.
What I love about God’s word is that there is no beating around the bush. The Psalmist is clear. Whatever you worship—you become.
The Psalm declares idols are powerless, lifeless, blind, deaf, and mute. And if we fix our gaze on them long enough, that’s undoubtedly what we become: powerless in temptation, blind to God’s presence, deaf to His voice, and mute when the world needs us to speak truth.
Idols Then and Now
For Israel, idols were carved from wood, silver, and gold. Today, they glow in our hands, hang in our closets, or hide behind our ambitions. Idolatry isn’t dead—it just wears new clothes.
Recently, I’ve caught myself scrolling on my phone, restless and impatient. On the surface, it looks harmless—just a few videos on YouTube or social media (after all, it’s ‘mindless’). But underneath, I know what’s really happening. I feel anxious about finances. Even though God has miraculously provided again and again, I often reach for distraction instead of Him.
And what happens? I start to mirror the idol. My attention scatters, my heart grows more anxious, and my focus slips. Despite the ironic apple, which literally has Adam and Eve’s bite on it, I believed the lie that the phone gives life. However, instead of life, it drains it.
The Idol Beneath the Surface
It goes deeper still. Yesterday, I could barely take a nap without guilt crashing in: “You should be working. You’re falling behind.” The house wasn’t clean, my three little girls had a half-day of school, and my wife and closest person in the whole world was understandably frustrated as well.
Here’s the truth: I’ve always wanted to be a present dad. And by God’s grace, I am. But I’ve learned that my wife’s normal stress tells me a different story—I hear the echoes of my past. I was tossed between three different homes as a kid. I felt no value, no stability, no worth. So even now, as a grown man, my flesh whispers, “If you don’t hold everything together, you’ll lose the people you love. You’ll be worthless again.”
That’s the idol of performance-driven worth. And it is ruthless. It tells me naps are a sin. Messy houses are a failure. Financial pressure means God has left me.
But the gospel speaks louder:
My worth is not in what I do, but in what Christ has done.
Rest is not failure—it’s worship (You're welcome). Go take a nap). God rested (Gen 2:2). Jesus slept in the storm (Mark 4:38).
My daughters don’t need a flawless provider. They need a present father who points them to the perfect Father.
This is redemption. The boy who once felt discarded now gets to pursue and love a wife and raise daughters who know they are wanted. That’s not performance—that’s grace.
Fighting Back Against Idols
The Bible doesn’t just expose idols—it gives us weapons to destroy them.
Confess quickly – Name the idol out loud before it takes root. “Lord, I’m trusting performance to prove my worth.”
Replace with worship – Fix your gaze on Christ. “We all… are being transformed into his image” (2 Cor 3:18).
Surrender daily – Like Paul, pray, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Phil 3:8).
Fight in community – Hebrews 10:24 calls us to “spur one another on.” You either magnify idols together or magnify Christ together.
The Never Finished Challenge
For the next 7 days, take inventory of your worship.
Each morning, write down one thing fighting for your worship (phone, performance, control, comfort, etc.).
Confess it to God out loud.
Replace it with a battle cry of worship (for example, “My worth is not in what I do, but in what Christ has done.”).
At the end of the day, ask: “Did I look more like my idol, or more like Jesus?”
Never finished means never bowing to lifeless idols. Never finished means worshiping the living God, who makes us alive.
What does today say about God?
Worthy.
I am reminded of the lyrics from the song Who Else by Chroma Worship, “Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus.”
The power of that lyric is in the posture of my heart. When I live making Him more worthy than my pursuits, dreams, ambitions, and even my own life, everything on earth falls into place. I catch small glimpses of eternity—and in the process, I am being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
What a Father!
What a Friend!
what a King!
Thank you, Jesus!