Both Scripture and now many years of observation have convinced me of this: unless a person comes to the place where they are truly devoted to God, over any other devotion, their lives -- at some point or another -- are going to break down and fail. We were made to know and love and serve God; and if we won't or don't, our lives will not work.
"You shall have no other gods before me. (Ex. 20:3)
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 Jn. 5:21)
'There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.' (Prov. 14:12)
"...ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” (Rom. 3:16-170
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30) "But the way of the transgressor is hard."
'Only if your identity is built on God and his love and grace can you have a self that can venture anything, face anything.' (Tim Keller)
The Alternative?: Living in Idolatry (‘God-substitutes’)
Here is a list of various ‘god-substitutes’ and the particular kinds of brokenness and damage that each one brings into a life:
• If you center your life and identity on your spouse, you will be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling. The other person’s problems and flaws will be overwhelming to you.
• If you center your life and identity on your family and children, you will try to live your life through your children until they resent you or have no self of their own. At worst, you may abuse them when they displease you.
• If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person. At worst you will lose family and friends and, if your career goes poorly, develop deep depression.
• If you center your life and identity on money and possessions, you’ll be eaten up by worry or jealousy about money. You’ll be willing to do unethical things to maintain your lifestyle, which will eventually blow up your life.
• If you center your life and identity on pleasure, gratification, and comfort, you will find yourself getting addicted to something. You will become chained to the ‘escape strategies’ by which you try to avoid the hardness of life.
• If you center your life and identity on relationships and approval, you will be constantly overly hurt by criticism and thus always losing friends. You will fear confronting others and therefore will be a useless friend.
• If you center your life and identity on a ‘noble cause,’ you will divide the world into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.
• If you center your life and identity on religion and morality, you will, if you are living up to your moral standards, be proud, self-righteous, and cruel. If you don’t live up to your standards, you guilt will be devastating.
In pride we become obsessed with whatever interferes with people making much of us.
Our besetting sins are warning signs that our characteristic idolatry is at work.
‘Only if your identity is built on God and his love and grace can you have a self that can venture anything, face anything.’
-- based on chapter 10 (“The Problem of Sin”) of Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God” (Dutton)
No comments:
Post a Comment