Dear children

I John 5:21
MSG - Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.
NIV - Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
NLT - Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts.

I came across this verse today and it struck me. It hit me right between the eyes. And I began to question in myself, "Is there anything that is taking God's place in my heart?" This, my friends, is a big question. I don't think it is one you can ask and quickly answer. I think it is one you ask and you search for a day or two or maybe even a week to see if there is ANYTHING that MIGHT be taking God's place in your hearts. So, I find myself in that process today. My initial thought is NO! But what if there is something? What does that look like? The word "idol" seems so foreign to me. I haven't seen one except in a museum, on a missions trip, or behind the counter at a gas station with some incense burning. But I don't have to face 100ft statues in my neighborhood. And if I did this verse makes it very clear to stay away from them. But with a more modern twist on it, replacing "idol" with "anything that might take God's place", the reality of what John is saying hits me in the face. Apparently, in that era, John was dealing with false gods and people who claimed to be believers but really weren't worshiping the God of the Bible, the true God. He mentions it in the verse before. "And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God." But think about it in your life. Most of us don't live in the proximity of outward idols. Yet we all know people who claim to be Christians and don't live the life that is in congruence with the Christ of the Bible. And maybe I don't live in congruence with the Christ of the Bible all the time either. And I guess that's why it hit me in the face today. "Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." Search your heart today. Is there ANYTHING that MIGHT take God's place in your hearts?