The Sign of Idolatry

"The sign of idolatry is always inordinate anxiety, inordinate anger, inordinate discouragement. Idols are good things (family, achievement, work and career, romance, talent, etc.) that we turn into ultimate things in order to get the significance and joy we need. Then they drive us to the ground because we have to have them. If we lose a good thing, it makes us sad. If we lose an idol, it devastates us."

--Tim Keller

We Resemble What We Revere

A helpful yet convicting quote from Greg Beale's book, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry -

All humans have been created to be reflecting beings, and they will reflect whatever they are ultimately committed to, whether the true God or some other object in the created order. Thus, to repeat the primary theme of this book, we resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration (italics in original).

--G.K. Beale