In Parshas Eikev:
(כה) פְּסִילֵ֥י אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֖ם תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן בָּאֵ֑שׁ לֹֽא־תַחְמֹד֩ כֶּ֨סֶף וְזָהָ֤ב עֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְלָקַחְתָּ֣ לָ֔ךְ פֶּ֚ן תִּוָּקֵ֣שׁ בּ֔וֹ כִּ֧י תוֹעֲבַ֛ת יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ הֽוּא׃
(25) You shall consign the images of their gods to the fire; you shall not covet the silver and gold on them and keep it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared thereby; for that is abhorrent to your God יהוה.
Simply put, this passuk is telling us that if you find a beautiful idol made of gold and silver- don't covet it and keep it for yourself, lest you come to serve it if you leave it around in your house. The meforshim say it is specifically referring to the vessels and adornments that are not the idol itself, it's the ״כסף וזהב עליהם״ that they also cannot be taken for yourself.
What to do with it instead? תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן בָּאֵ֑שׁ Burn it. Destroy it completely. And there's a whole Masechta discussing the Halachos of when you are required to destroy it, how, etc.
Let's picture this for a moment. You find an idol, made of silver. It has a golden crown with gemstones, and a golden bowl in front for bringing your donations. So you have to totally destroy it. But why? It has lots of gold and silver- why not make some money off of it? Ok, the idol itself you can't keep around, maybe someone will serve it. But why not keep the bowl? You can use it for a mitzvah- Shabbos, Succah! Ok, you don't want a vessel that is recognizable as Avodah Zarah- so why not melt it all down; both the bowl and idol itself, and use the gold for something else entirely? How will that cause you to serve Avodah Zarah?
What to do with it instead? תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן בָּאֵ֑שׁ Burn it. Destroy it completely. And there's a whole Masechta discussing the Halachos of when you are required to destroy it, how, etc.
Let's picture this for a moment. You find an idol, made of silver. It has a golden crown with gemstones, and a golden bowl in front for bringing your donations. So you have to totally destroy it. But why? It has lots of gold and silver- why not make some money off of it? Ok, the idol itself you can't keep around, maybe someone will serve it. But why not keep the bowl? You can use it for a mitzvah- Shabbos, Succah! Ok, you don't want a vessel that is recognizable as Avodah Zarah- so why not melt it all down; both the bowl and idol itself, and use the gold for something else entirely? How will that cause you to serve Avodah Zarah?
The answer to this can be found in the next passuk.
To explain we will start with a משל. Imagine someone living in a country ruled by a despot and his henchmen. Someone high up in the government embezzled a huge sum of money and was caught. But it wouldn't do to accuse the official, being that he was close to the ruler, so they decide to accuse him instead. And not just for the crime of theft. Because of the amount they label it treason and sentence him to a public execution. They make it a big event, with a full ceremony and the attendance of the entire populace. In honor of this, they have a well known artist embroider a special symbolic scarf with real golden threads that they tie over the condemned's head during the execution. A few days later a messenger from the government comes to the executed man's brother and gives him the scarf as a gift. Obviously it's a thinly veiled hint as well.
What should the brother do with the scarf? It has beautiful embroidery from a master artist. Maybe he should hang it on the wall. The material is valuable too, maybe he should sell it. Would anyone do that?!? Of course not! Any normal person would rip it to shreds! Throw it straight in the fireplace! It's disgusting, despicable!*
To explain we will start with a משל. Imagine someone living in a country ruled by a despot and his henchmen. Someone high up in the government embezzled a huge sum of money and was caught. But it wouldn't do to accuse the official, being that he was close to the ruler, so they decide to accuse him instead. And not just for the crime of theft. Because of the amount they label it treason and sentence him to a public execution. They make it a big event, with a full ceremony and the attendance of the entire populace. In honor of this, they have a well known artist embroider a special symbolic scarf with real golden threads that they tie over the condemned's head during the execution. A few days later a messenger from the government comes to the executed man's brother and gives him the scarf as a gift. Obviously it's a thinly veiled hint as well.
What should the brother do with the scarf? It has beautiful embroidery from a master artist. Maybe he should hang it on the wall. The material is valuable too, maybe he should sell it. Would anyone do that?!? Of course not! Any normal person would rip it to shreds! Throw it straight in the fireplace! It's disgusting, despicable!*
(כו) וְלֹא־תָבִ֤יא תֽוֹעֵבָה֙ אֶל־בֵּיתֶ֔ךָ וְהָיִ֥יתָ חֵ֖רֶם כָּמֹ֑הוּ שַׁקֵּ֧ץ ׀ תְּשַׁקְּצֶ֛נּוּ וְתַעֵ֥ב ׀ תְּֽתַעֲבֶ֖נּוּ כִּי־חֵ֥רֶם הֽוּא׃ {פ}
(26) You must not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be proscribed like it; you must reject it as abominable and abhorrent, for it is proscribed.
Again, the simple meaning would be you should treat it as loathsome. But on a deeper level this is a positive command. You should abhor it, you should loath it! You should engender a feeling of disgust for it in yourself. You shouldn't be able to bring it in your house because you feel it is an abomination.
Why is that necessary? Isn't it enough that you don't bring it in, why do you have to feel disgusted by it? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that there was a strong pull to Avodah Zarah. We might not understand what the big deal about bowing to an idol is, but clearly in those days it was very hard for people to stay away. One of the best ways to save yourself from being drawn in is by getting your feelings involved, making it disgusting and loathsome. Even the tastiest meal loses its appeal if you know the plate it was served on was covered in vomit not long before. If you can make yourself feel that way about Avodah Zarah you wouldn't come to serve it.
That's the reason it has to be completely destroyed lest you come to serve it as it says in the first passuk. Not because having the thing itself will cause you to serve it; maybe you already melted it down and turned it into something else. But if your first thought upon seeing it is not "this is despicable", if you don't immediately feel that you want to destroy it- you've already lost. That in itself is what makes it likely that you will come to serve the avodah zarah in the future.
Why is that necessary? Isn't it enough that you don't bring it in, why do you have to feel disgusted by it? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that there was a strong pull to Avodah Zarah. We might not understand what the big deal about bowing to an idol is, but clearly in those days it was very hard for people to stay away. One of the best ways to save yourself from being drawn in is by getting your feelings involved, making it disgusting and loathsome. Even the tastiest meal loses its appeal if you know the plate it was served on was covered in vomit not long before. If you can make yourself feel that way about Avodah Zarah you wouldn't come to serve it.
That's the reason it has to be completely destroyed lest you come to serve it as it says in the first passuk. Not because having the thing itself will cause you to serve it; maybe you already melted it down and turned it into something else. But if your first thought upon seeing it is not "this is despicable", if you don't immediately feel that you want to destroy it- you've already lost. That in itself is what makes it likely that you will come to serve the avodah zarah in the future.
*Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky was already married with children when he left Europe. He commented that he couldn't bring himself to look at the beautiful light displays non-jews put up in December because when he saw them, all he could think of was the blood spilled during the pogroms that happened every year. Something that could be beautiful on the surface, but he couldn't enjoy because of the feelings they evoked.