As we began a new season of kindergarten ministry a few weeks back, we were getting to know the children. In that first week, they seemed remarkably well behaved.

Given that the curriculum was situated where the Old Testament prophets were speaking out against rampant idol worship, we were tasked with explaining idolatry.

“What do you love?” I asked the children.

“God,” one of the little girls answered.

Good answer. The best answer, really, but not what I was looking for when teaching about idols. The one thing God is not is an idol.

“Well,” I said, “I love teacher Lorraine and I love chocolate.”

OK. They got it. Hands started to go up with answers of their own. They had permission to give an answer that wasn’t God. They came up with all kinds of loves of the lesser-than-divine sort.

Pizza. Brothers. Videos. Sisters. Pokémon. Tacos. Pets. Soccer. Mom and Dad.

The discussion went on to a sort of debate about what might be most loved until one person shouted with childlike gusto “Ice Cream.” All people in the room—teachers and students—agreed with this one. We all love ice cream.

So, I asked the children, “What if we loved ice cream too much. What if we had the First Church of Ice Cream?” Judging from their reaction, that should be our next church plant. We’d get a lot of visitors, that’s for sure. But of course, it was a crazy example, fun because we all like ice cream, and then we started naming different favorite flavors.

Everything we named is ok, maybe even good, to love—things or people we should love. There are many good things to love in life. But what if we mixed up one of those objects of affection with the first answer: God.

Christians mingle fun and pleasure with holy and devout. Sometimes that’s the point. They are not opposites. We affirm life and good things. We laugh. We can even like laughing. Eating ice cream can even be a way to celebrate the wonder of the God who makes all things good. But the fun, good and precious things of our hearts ought not to grab hold of us and turn our hearts away from Jesus the great rescuer.

There is only one God. So we must be on alert for whatever idols might be in our hearts. They’re there. We have only to look. Loves can become idols without realizing it. Somehow we have to turn our eyes away from all the other loves to the first answer: God.

He is our first and best. With so many other loves and distractions to which our eyes might so easily turn, we must fix our eyes on Jesus and keep our first and best love first and best

I have a passion for these kids to love Jesus. They can love him in their kindergarten way. They can be serious, believing Christians. Like Paul writing to the church in Corinth (2 Cor.11:2), I am jealous for them to not embrace the idols all around us and the particular ones that vary from child to child, person to person. It’s not just our class but all of us at church to be pure as a virgin bride in our steadfast focus on the groom down the aisle we are walking toward at the front of the church.

Jesus, in your perfect love, may we love you. Guard our hearts from ravenous lions that seem so appealing. May we be steadfast this day--our actions ones of tender loving thoughts and acts and prayer, horizontal expressions of vertical love and gratitude.

In the weeks since the first mention of ice cream, the children have remained well-behaved. I know it’s only a matter of time before they relax and feel comfortable enough to transgress. As we have been learning, the people of Israel kept failing. God made promises and so did the people, but God kept and is keeping the promises he made.

Meanwhile, ice cream has popped up as an answer to at least one question every week. These are ice-cream-loving, people-pleasing kids. They learn well from their moms and dads and us teachers, too. When we give ourselves and our kids so many things to love, let’s love good things well, but not too much. May our answer to the question of most-loved and most-followed person in life always be Jesus.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:20-21)