Deuteronomy 29:26 For they went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them.
Idolatry is a big deal to the Lord, so big that He disciplines His children by allowing the curses to come into effect. The wages of sin are terrible; that’s what makes life so difficult. God loves with a jealous love, and He cannot tolerate us paying attention to anything else as a god. The reason is that it is not beneficial for us to fear, love, and trust anything other than the One God and Lord alone. Everything and everyone besides or alongside God is harmful to life in this world and in the spiritual realm.
We will always be tempted to trust in and serve other gods along with our love of Jesus. But when Jesus was tempted, He responded, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” We also are tempted to “worship the devil” so that we might receive the things of the world. However, we don’t recognize the devil because he comes disguised as our own Self. Self-service is the most dangerous idol demon that would turn us away from God and His Life. So the Bible warns: “Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary prowls…”
Then we also respond by recognizing that we serve God by serving people as Jesus says, “Ye have done it unto me.” The helpful secret to serving is seeing others as God and self-centeredness as the devil.