: An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God.

Keller uses this to explain that our "bad behaviors" (the rats/temper) are symptoms of the deeper idol (the garbage). He often uses the metaphor of a "hot" furnace or a "hot" stove.

Even noble pursuits like family or "doctrinal accuracy" can become idols if they take the place of God. Biblical Narratives as Case Studies