Idolatry: Are we idolators?

Acts 17:16: Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Idolatry is defined in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as: 1 the worship of a physical object as God. 2 immoderate attachment or devotion to something
Worship is defined in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as: 4 extravangant respect or devotion to an object or a thing. The etymology of the word worship in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary is described as coming from the middle english word worshipe meaning worthiness, respect, reverance paid a divine being.

I heard a sermon series by Alistair Begg titled City of Idols ( you can find it on his website for free) several months ago, Mr. Begg put forth the premise that just like Paul was troubled in spirit while in Athens over their many idols, it was said there were more idols in Athens than there were people, Paul would equally be troubled if he visited the United States of our day. I agree with everything Mr. Begg spoke forth in his sermon series, and I especially agree with his main point that our country is saturated with idolatry. You, the reader might be saying to yourself, as you are reading this blog post, that our country is not full of idols that people are bowing down to and worshipping constantly, but I say au contrare, taking into account the above mentioned definitions, we our far greater idolators than the people of Athens. The people of Athens spent a good deal of their time just trying to live, they did not have all the modern gadgets we have to save time on the daily essentials of living. So the people of Athens, though extraordinary idolators in Paul's eyes, would pale in comparison to the amount of time that we, the citizens of the United States, devote to our idols. What are our idols here in the United States. Well, why don't we make a short list, not listed in any particular order: Money, recreation, television, sports and those who play them, movies and those who star in them, our children (we are constantly catering to their every imagined need), our cars, our homes, our success, our status, and many more objects or things that we elevate worthiness, respect, and devotion to that is far above the time we are giving to in our pursuit of God and His kingdom.
Exodus 20: 3 (ESV) states You shall have no other gods before me. This opening verse starts the listing of the Ten Commandments given to the children of Israel by God. God concerned for His worthiness, His absolute holiness, and His deserving of His creation's devotion, respect, and worship, listed this commandment first and foremost as the most important expectation of His creation. So in our modern day culture, we worship, devote time to temporal things, and respect everything else but our creator. We are guilty before Him of the worst sort of idolatry. Why is our idolatry worse than those in Athens, and all the other pagan cultures that went before, or since, because in our country, we absolutely should know better. We have more bibles than people in any other nation or culture, a church on almost every street corner, God's Word being preached constantly on t.v., radio, and the internet, and yet we serve our modern day idols with far more zeal than all those who have gone before us. We pay token lip service to God, making the occasional fly-by visit to one of His houses of worship, in pursuit of our real Gods of money,sex,power, status,pleasure and recreation, television, movies, sports, our children, and unfortunately, the list could go on and on. I have heard it said, that what we value most, is what we will worship. And many of us obviously value the previous listing of our modern day idols more than God. I encourage you, do a radical self-analysis of who or what you are worshipping. I did. And I was convicted that I needed to adjust how I was using my time. Make sure that you are not an idolator, a worshipper of things other than the Living and Eternal Creator of the universe, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. If you are, the place of repentance is just a few feet below your knees right now. Cast yourself on the ground and call out to God and ask His forgiveness, give Him His worthiness, His rightful devotion, and His just respect. And while you are there, knowing your fallenous, and your sin, ask Him for the help to start worshipping Him as He should be worshipped.