Think About What You Think About

The Hebrew Bible is packed with accounts of Israelites being punished for worshipping false idols. There's a reason it gets so much scriptural ink: Idol worship is where we're most easily tripped up, too.

For us, though, false idols are not golden statutes or pagan rituals. They are the negative images we hold in mind, and the fearful thoughts we entertain. If we're constantly anxious and worried, these mental patterns become worship. If we're focused on what's wrong, bad, painful or lacking, we've made idols of these conditions and allowed them to trump the limitless good of The Infinite.

Unity believes God is source energy, and we are one are one it. How and where we direct this energy becomes our experience of it. If love and joy are our focus, our experience must reflect these. If we're overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, these become our experience.

So how do we shift out of idol worship? Here's a three-step treatment guaranteed to break the spell of any graven image:

Recognize. The most crucial step is being aware that a false idol is dominating your attention. You can't shift out of it, unless you recognize you're in it.

Repent. That's Bible-speak for, "Admit you've veered off course." Here's an all-purpose prayer for repenting of idol worship: "Don't focus on the problem. Focus on God." 

Realign. Heed Paul's advice to the Philippians: "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about these things."