Idols Can Blind Us

When Good Intentions Become Hidden Idols

When starting The Lion Within Us the motives were genuinely good and yet I found chasing the gains of podcast downloads something that pulled at me each week. The platform we released the show on would send, and still does, an email each week highlighting the number of downloads from the previous week.

I began to anticipate the email each week and subconsciously put so much of my self worth in the number that found its way into my inbox. Some weeks the stats were high and that created a strong sense of pride and other weeks the listenership would be down and that would lead a spiral of condemning thoughts that were quite destructive.

It wasn’t until an update by Apple’s operating system that everything came to a head. In this now infamous, at least from a podcasters standpoint, update it stopped the auto-download function for podcasts and immediately shows began seeing a dramatic negative hit to their weekly download statistics. For quite a while the reality of the new statistics were hard to accept.

After some time of reflection it became apparent that the weekly downloads had become an idol and the grip it had was real. There I was, trying to honor and glorify God with a show to encourage Christian men, and I was mentally correlating its impact to an email each week.

I share this story as it was something I had to work through and I’m glad that God revealed this area of weakness to me. While I’m aware of the statistics now, they no longer have the grip that they once did. Instead I focus more on being obedient to what God called me to and that is putting out the best show possible week in and week out. 

I don’t know what idols might be hiding in your life, but I do know they exist. If you’re struggling to identify them, ask God to reveal them. The answer might surprise you, but every step toward surrender brings greater freedom. Let’s walk in the light together.

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