I took this picture last year, and though most people don’t understand it, it is something that is very relevant to me. If you know much about me at all, then you probably know that these three of the things in my life (not including Lora) that are most commonly vying for first place: God, money, and guns.
There are times in my life when I truly believe that, to the best of my knowledge, God is my number one priority. He is the lens through which everything happens; the means and the ends; preeminent. But there are many times in my life when I catch myself serving other things, when my priorities are screwed up and there is something that dominates my thought life and drives my actions other than God. In most cases, issues around money and how to get more of it, or guns (and how to get more of them as well) are the main things that I fight. Some of you have probably seen this firsthand by asking me a question that is in any way related to shooting and getting an answer that is much more detailed and about three hours longer than you wanted. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Guns and money can both be used and enjoyed by Christians in Christ honoring ways, but when they (or anything) become something greater than God in our lives there is an issue that must be addressed.
If we are honest, we all struggle with keeping God first in our lives. Often times we assume that he is first because we say he is, but our hearts really say something different. How do we know when something has become a god to us? It’s really quite simple. Anything in my life that I value more than God is an idol.
Now we must be careful in asking ourselves if we have idols in our lives. Odds are if someone asked you what you value most in life, if you are a believer, you would answer God. This response is the church response, the default response for believers. So when we are looking for idols in our lives it is easy just to say “I believe God is the most valuable thing, so I have no idols.” That’s a faulty assumption because head knowledge and heart knowledge are two completely different things. We can't just ask ourselves the question, we must look at the evidence. What do I love most? What do I spend my time on? Where does my joy come from? God is the ultimate source of joy and satisfaction for the believer. The purpose of our lives is to glorify God, and we glorify God by enjoying him and valuing him above all else.
There are times in my life when I truly believe that, to the best of my knowledge, God is my number one priority. He is the lens through which everything happens; the means and the ends; preeminent. But there are many times in my life when I catch myself serving other things, when my priorities are screwed up and there is something that dominates my thought life and drives my actions other than God. In most cases, issues around money and how to get more of it, or guns (and how to get more of them as well) are the main things that I fight. Some of you have probably seen this firsthand by asking me a question that is in any way related to shooting and getting an answer that is much more detailed and about three hours longer than you wanted. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Guns and money can both be used and enjoyed by Christians in Christ honoring ways, but when they (or anything) become something greater than God in our lives there is an issue that must be addressed.
If we are honest, we all struggle with keeping God first in our lives. Often times we assume that he is first because we say he is, but our hearts really say something different. How do we know when something has become a god to us? It’s really quite simple. Anything in my life that I value more than God is an idol.
Now we must be careful in asking ourselves if we have idols in our lives. Odds are if someone asked you what you value most in life, if you are a believer, you would answer God. This response is the church response, the default response for believers. So when we are looking for idols in our lives it is easy just to say “I believe God is the most valuable thing, so I have no idols.” That’s a faulty assumption because head knowledge and heart knowledge are two completely different things. We can't just ask ourselves the question, we must look at the evidence. What do I love most? What do I spend my time on? Where does my joy come from? God is the ultimate source of joy and satisfaction for the believer. The purpose of our lives is to glorify God, and we glorify God by enjoying him and valuing him above all else.
This is the hard truth about idols. Anything in my life that brings me joy that is not, ultimately, from God is an idol. That’s hard. We were created to be satisfied and to have our joy in God and God alone, and to value him above all else. Everything in life, and even life itself, is given to the believer in order to be used in such a way that Christ is demonstrated as the most valuable thing we have, treasured above all else. Money is given to show that Christ is to be treasured more than money. Guns are given to show that Christ is to be treasured more than guns. Food is given to show that Christ is to be treasured more than food. Life is given to show that Christ is to be treasured more than life, and death is given to show that Christ is to be treasured more than death. The supreme value and worth of Christ is to be displayed in every part of the life of the believer. To do otherwise is sin – serious sin.
Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:7-8)
So preferring the pleasures of money or power or fame or sex over the “pleasures at [God’s] right hand” (Ps. 16:11) is not like preferring caramel to hot fudge. It is a great evil. Indeed it is the ultimate meaning of evil. Esteeming God less than anything is the essence of evil. (Jonathan Edwards)
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