a questionnaire - identifying your idols

What are your idols? What desires drive you? What do you worship?

We've talked about how change begins when God changes our hearts by his grace in Christ. We've talked about how our part in the process is to turn from the lies of our hearts to trust God (faith), and to turn from the idols of our hearts to serve God (repentance).

A couple of weeks ago, I gave you a questionnaire to help identify the lies of your heart. Now here's a questionnaire to help you identify the idols you habitually serve.

I want …

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that comes to mind is …

I’m working towards …

I worry about …

What’s most important to me is …

When things get difficult, I rely on …

Life only has meaning when …

I’d like to be …

I’m preoccupied by …

I can’t cope without …

I only have worth if …

I’m enthusiastic about …

I want the love or liking of …

I expect …

When my thoughts are drifting, I think about …

I make sacrifices for …

I feel like a failure when …

I’m proudest of …

I worry about …

I feel frustrated when …

I’d be happy if …

I spend my money on …

I trust and depend on …

I hate myself when …

I’d like to be accepted by …

I’m afraid of …

I devote my spare time to …

I feel down and discouraged when …

I want the approval and respect of …

I need …

I get angry and resentful when …

I wouldn’t even want to live if I lost …

I’m jealous of …

When I’m sad, worried or lonely, I get comfort from …

I hate …

I’d be happy if …

I don’t know how I’d ever cope if …

I talk a lot about …

I have a right to …

I’m willing to disappoint or hurt others to get …

I feel sorry for myself when …

I feel most at peace when …

If only …

I’d really like my children to …

I feel pressured and tense when …

I daydream about …

I pray for …

My hero or role-model is …

I crave or long for…

When I lie awake at night, I think about …

I’d consider myself successful if …

I feel happiest when …

summing up
What are the common themes? What are your idols?


If your idols are people, places or things, what deeper idols do they represent? (e.g. peace, security, control, happiness)


What are the idols you need to turn from with God's help?


How is God bigger and better than your idols?


I’ve based these questions on Tim Chester's You Can Change 125-6, Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp’s How People Change 142-5, Mark Driscoll’s Vintage Jesus HT Pastor's Blog, the handout Unlocking Freedom from Redeemer Presbyterian Church which was taken from Tim Keller’s Leaders' Guide to Galatians, and Getting to the Heart of Conflict by Peacemaker Ministries.