Getting Rid of Idols

Each time that the Israelites got into more trouble than they could handle, they come running back to God.  We see one instance here:

The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands?  But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.  Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

But the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”  Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD.  And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer. — Judges 10:11-16

Notice how God did NOT choose to return to them until they had purposefully rid themselves of their foreign gods.  Just asking for his blessing and oversight was not enough.

How about us?  If I come to the conclusion that watching television is not good for my thought life, is it enough to just turn off the set and tell God that I want to change?  Perhaps He would bless that decision in a greater way if we actually took the step of getting rid of the television?