Education Bubble

This is something I bumped into this morning.

The budget for education in the United States was $972 billion in 2007, according to the 2009 Statistical Abstract of the United States — all of this money and all of these people for the promise that a life of employment success follows. Just as buying a house was the surest of investments, investing in an education is thought to be a sure bet. But the housing bubble has popped, and the education bubble is afloat, looking for a needle, according to PayPal founder and Facebook investor Peter Thiel.

"A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed," says Thiel. "Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It's like telling the world there's no Santa Claus."

In an article for TechCrunch, Sarah Lacy accentuates Thiel's point, writing, "Like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future. Both whisper a seductive promise into the ears of worried Americans: Do this and you will be safe."

Read the whole article.

American Pantheon

I found this a helpful reminder, particularly that comment about 'a generic Deity'.

Above all, beware the idolatry of a Christless civil religion. The American civil religion has the kind of pantheon that can fit lots of statues around the base of that dome, and Christians must not bow down to any of them. We are Christians and the worship of a generic Deity is prohibited to us. There is no way to the Father except through the name of Jesus. But there are manifestations of the American civil religion that are seductive to evangelicals. And so we must be told, again and again, little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

Doug Wilson

First Things First

When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.

Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all.

When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.

C. S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis (8 November, 1952)

HT Justin Taylor

Idolatry?

I was thinking about buying a house. I currently rent where I live, and that has worked well for the last five years. But a house is available, and there are some distinct pluses associated with owning it. But I’ve decided not to buy it. And there are some good reasons. All of this is significant because it may be that God has used it all to answer a prayer. I’ve been reading and thinking about the whole area of idolatry. As a result, I had prayed that God would show me my idols so that I might turn from them to serve Jesus more wholeheartedly. I’ve discovered that it’s feels good to have some money. For most of my life money has been tight. I have never been poor. It’s just a matter of not having a lot of money. But now I consider myself rich. What once had to cover a family of seven now needs to cover just Gabrielle and myself. And so, I now have money. And one of my joys is the ability to give bunches of it away. When I see a need I can now think, ‘Maybe I can send them some money’. And that feels good. But it also feels good not to have to think about money. As I thought about buying a house I felt the return to that sense of constraint. I would have to be careful again. And I didn’t like that feeling. And the thought popped into my head, ‘Has the very pleasant experience of being carefree when it comes to money become too important? Is it becoming an idol?’ I’m not sure.

Idols

1 John 5.21

I was listening recently to a lecture on idolatry as it related to ministers. In the middle of his comments the speaker referred to 'comfort foods'. It wasn't a major point but something he mentioned in passing. He said something like, 'I thought Jesus already sent Someone to comfort us – the Holy Spirit.' The Spirit used that passing remark to get me thinking. It's out of that nudge that I wrote today's sermon. This morning we're going to take a look at idols. We're going to do that because idols are real and they affect us as we work at following Jesus. I sincerely hope that the Spirit will use His Word to deal with your idols as He is doing that to deal with mine.

When the language of idols pops up most people think of statues and bowing and all of that. That won't do if we're going to make progress in this area. Let's return to the language of gaps that I used in another sermon. We live in a fallen world. Because of that nothing works the way that it's supposed to . Nothing. And especially not us. We were created to enjoy the Father and His good gifts and in this way to be challenged and satisfied. We are, in so many ways, challenged, but we are not satisfied – and we won't be. Not here. There is a gap. On the one side is the way things were intended to be and on the other, where we live, is the way that things actually are.

Work is supposed to be stretching, refreshing, joyous, fulfilling and exciting. All of work. All of the time. It's not. It may, at times, be more like that than at other times, but it never achieves the goal of what it was meant to be. There's a gap. Relationships are supposed to be invigorating, completely open, revelatory and safe. All relationships. All the time. They're not. Again, we do better at times, but our relationships are never what they're supposed to be. There's a gap. Life in all its different aspects is supposed to be the experience of perfection that amazes and fulfills. But it isn't, and we feel it. We feel it everywhere. We live in a fallen world. Everything is broken. And the gap between what is and what ought to be, the gap that frustrates us so, is never going to close as long as this fallen world exists.

Now, how do we deal with the gap? In a way, that question summarizes life. How do we deal with the different gaps that confront us? This gets us back to that comment about comfort foods. Mondays are my day off. This past Monday I was plotting out my day. What would I do? I had planned to be on Peach Street to buy something at the Mall. And the thought occurred to me, 'I can get a Wegman's sub and have it for lunch. What a great idea. They are so good!' Now, that sounds innocent enough. But let me tell you what was going on in my heart. One theme of my life is a kind of boredom. It comes from being alone. It's a gap that separates me from life as intended. If real life, life according to the original plan, is in vivid color, then boredom is a drab and depressing gray. Now, how do I deal with that gap? From my youth food has functioned as a gap-filler. It has been a way for me to create some color when life got a little too gray. That's what my plan for a Wegman's sub was about. I will deal with the gray by adding the pleasure of a particular food. I will gain comfort from a sub. Now, here's the point: When I do something like that, I become an idolater. I am dealing with the gap, but I am dealing with it in the wrong way. I am forgetting about Jesus.

Now, is food somehow evil? Absolutely not. And this is what makes this whole issue of idolatry so difficult. Food is a gift from God. It's more than just fuel for the body. It is, in fact, intended to give pleasure, to add color to life. But it is not to be something that we grasp at as a way to deal with the gap. Jesus has told us that He will fill the gap, every gap. He will take what is drab and fill it with color. No more boredom. No more gaps. That's why He's come. And He has many ways to do that. He may, in fact, provide a good meal that gives pleasure. But here's the key: when we feel the gap, how will we respond? Will we look to Jesus to fill that gap in a way that He thinks best, or will we grab one of His gifts – food or anything else – and try to fill that gap on our own as we think best? We become idolaters when we expect some bit of creation to fill a gap that we sense instead of trusting Jesus to do that. We worship the creation – look to it, hope in it, expect it to fix things – instead of worshiping the Creator by entrusting ourselves to Him.

Consider something that the Apostle Paul has to say. 'Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.' Do you see Paul's point? When we say, 'If only I had that then I'd be okay' – whether we're talking about a Wegman's sub, a different job, a soul-mate, a new computer game, whatever – we express the idolatry of our hearts. We look to this created something to fill the gap instead of looking to Jesus. Jesus has come to fix a broken world. He, and only He, can deal with the gaps. Only He can make it possible for us to live as He originally intended. Hoping in something else to deal with the gap is worshiping an idol.

So, how does Jesus fill the gap? He uses a variety of ways. As it turns out, in my case on Monday, after an enjoyable time of golf, Jim invited me to join him for lunch. So, he raided his fridge, and we ate. I didn't have a Wegman's sub, but what I did have – some food with friends – filled the gap nicely. It was much better than a Wegman's sub. There is, of course, the 'however' here. My life wasn't suddenly emptied of gray and filled with color. Jesus dealt with the gap, but it was not completely filled nor was it permanently filled. Let me make clear that your experience of the gap can be reduced as mine was on Monday. More color can be added to our lives, pushing back the gray, but the gaps will still exist.

And that leads to this. Jesus' promise to fill the gap will not be fully and finally kept until He returns. That means that we will all experience that sense of a gap – actually, lots of gaps – for the rest of our lives. We will, every day, face this question: 'Will I trust Jesus to deal with the gap that is confronting me at this moment, or will I take matters into my own hands to try to fill it myself? Will I worship Jesus or some aspect of His creation?' This is so very difficult because the world, the flesh and the devil tempt us with so many things to use as idols - including good things like a Wegman's sub. Wrestling with this is hard. It's part of Christian suffering that the Bible talks about.

This highlights, again, the importance of our choices. Remember, we don't stand still as Christians. Our walk with Jesus is either improving or deteriorating. So, consider what happens when you choose an idol to deal with a gap. It will work – at least for a while. But over time our idols won't satisfy like they once did. A Wegman's sub might work for a time but after a while something more will be needed. The idolatry grows, and as it does it enslaves more and more. But choosing to trust Jesus to fill the gap creates some change also. Choosing to worship Him instead results in those gaps being filled. You begin to notice that there really is more color in your life. And persisting in this kind of choosing results in a growing ability to trust Him more to finish the job completely. Our choices in this really matter. All of this is simply an application of what Jesus was getting at when He said, '...with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.' Life is not static. It is dynamic. We will either grow as worshipers of Jesus or descend into the abyss of idolatry.

Now we're ready for our text. 'Little children, guard yourselves from idols.' It's not one of those complicated parts of the Bible. John offers a simple exhortation. 'Be careful. There are idols everywhere. Watch out for them.' I'd like to look at this exhortation in terms of two questions: 'Why?' and 'How?'

So, why should we guard ourselves from idols? It will take some effort. Why should we expend that effort? The most important reason is not about our well-being. The most important reason shows up in a place like Isaiah 42. 'I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.' When we worship some idol we rob Jesus of the glory He deserves. Remember our purpose for living: to make Jesus look good. Any idolatry not only fails to do that, but it actually makes Him look bad. Professing Jesus as Savior, but depending on something else to help you make it through the day is hypocrisy. It is a hypocrisy that makes Him look bad. Guarding ourselves from idols is of great benefit to us. But it is not the first reason why we do that. If pursuing our well-being becomes our first motivation, then, ironically, we have fallen into idolatry. The first reason for guarding ourselves from idols is that Jesus deserves no less.

Now, to the second question. How do we do this? There are several things to do. This isn't complicated, but that doesn't mean that it will be easy. The first thing to do is to admit to yourself that you have idols. You are an idol worshiper. That should be very sobering. Our God is quite clear about this. He hates idolatry. And you don't have to look for some out-of-the-way text to know that. This is the Second Commandment. 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me...' Our idolatry is a very serious matter. But though we should be sobered by this we should not despair. Remember the Gospel. Jesus has come to save idolaters like us. He has come to rescue us from our idolatry and all of its consequences. So, the first step is to be honest and admit to yourself, 'I worship idols.'

Now, if you would be rescued from your idolatry, your heart will need to be changed. After all, what's wrong with eating a Wegman's sub? It all depends on what's going on in the heart. Idols reside in the heart. If you would be freed from idols, your heart will need to be changed. At this point, it's important to remember that you cannot change your own heart. Seeing that is actually very helpful. It reinforces the fact that being rescued from your idols is a Gospel issue. It's something you can't do, but it certainly is something the Spirit can do. And that's encouraging. The Spirit is a gift from Jesus. He has work to do in your life, things like dealing with your idols. And He will deal with them. That's the Gospel. It really is a Gospel of grace.

However, this does not mean that there is nothing for you to do. There is much for you to do, but it is done in preparation for or in response to what the Spirit does.

So, first, you need to get lots of Bible into your soul. You need to listen to sermons, be involved in Bible studies, read your Bible alone and in with your family, listen to the Bible on your iPod, think about the stuff you learn from your Bible. You want to give the Spirit lots to work with, lots of Bible to work with. Now, no one here can spend every waking hour getting lots of Bible. That, actually, would be a bad thing. We have different situations, different schedules, different abilities. So, you should aim for what's right for you. But keep the goal clearly in mind: lots of Bible. The Spirit will use it to reveal idols that you never knew you had, things like Wegman's subs.

Then, you'll need to interact with others about these things. You're going to need to talk about all that Bible that you're getting. This is something for husbands and wives to do and for families to do. Dinnertime, when the family is re-united, is a great time to talk about Bible. This is something that you'll want to discuss with the other folk in the church. This makes for good discussion at the monthly luncheon or after worship. All you need to do to start is say something like, 'Can I tell you what I've been seeing from the Bible'? And you really do need to do this because getting more Bible is something that you can't do alone, not well anyhow. No one can see all of the Bible. The Spirit uses other people to help us see more of it. Remember, this sermon started in my soul as I listened to someone talk about the idolatry of comfort foods. We can't do this alone.

And then, you'll want to pray. You'll want to pray about getting more Bible into your soul. Getting it into your mind is relatively simple. That just takes discipline. But getting it into your soul is a different matter. You'll need to pray about that. And then, you'll want to ask that your idols be revealed to you. That's a little scary but not terribly. Our God is actually very gentle with us.

And all of that will come to a climax when the Spirit points out some idol. He will put His finger right on it. There will be no doubt. You'll feel the nudge. You'll almost hear words: 'You have sinned. You have robbed Jesus of some glory. You have worshiped some idol. You've worshiped this idol.' And that is so very serious. At that point, you'll need to return to the basic theme of the Gospel: repentance and faith. Repent of your sin. Admit it. You looked to an idol to deal with the gap instead of looking to Jesus. Be honest, and say it clearly, in black and white. 'I worshiped an idol; this one.' But don't stop there. Never stop there. Come again to Jesus. And there is no need to be afraid. He isn't angry at you. He will welcome you and receive you gladly. Come to Him for forgiveness and for change. He will give you both. And then, rejoice. Jesus is at work in your soul. You've taken another step in the right direction – by His grace. And the day will dawn when He will be finished with His work in you. No more gaps. No more drab gray. No more idols.

The Demanding Jesus

Mark 10.17-23

The Gospel is simple. Jesus calls to us and says, 'Follow Me. I will lead you into life at its best.' Being religious is a counterfeit alternative to following Jesus. Why it exists is no mystery. Being religious is easier than following Jesus. Being religious boils down to some mental exercises about some doctrines that you need to agree with and then involving yourself in certain religious activities. Each person chooses his own level of religious devotion. Some are more into the doctrine thing than others. And then there are those who are more into the religious activities part. But they all assume that the level that they have chosen is good enough - at least for them. Following Jesus is a whole other matter. And that's what our unnamed friend in this morning's text discovered. He was ready to get a little bit more serious when it came to being religious, but discovered, instead, something about Jesus that he had not anticipated. Our friend approached Jesus, the Good Teacher. He didn't expect to encounter Jesus, the Demanding Master.

This aspect of Jesus' character - being demanding - is not commonly known. Take a survey of your friends and neighbors and ask them, 'What was Jesus like?' [It actually should be, 'What is Jesus like?', but that will only confuse your neighbors.] The answers that you will likely get include things like being a nice guy, being compassionate and that He liked kids. The term 'demanding' will not appear on most lists. But that is what He was - and is.

People miss this aspect of who Jesus is because they skip over the hard sayings. And they skip over those sayings because so many ministers skip over them too. Listen to a few:

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

These never seem to make it into those colorful coffee table books with titles like, Family Bible Sayings, people give for Christmas. And so, people just don't realize how demanding - not to mention egotistical - Jesus really is. But that's exactly what our friend, the rich young ruler, discovered.

He comes to Jesus with the proper signs of respect. He runs up and kneels before Him and addresses Him with honor, 'Good Teacher'. He then asks the perfect question. 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' He is a great candidate for a new disciple, no? After a brief thrust and parry, Jesus gets down to brass tacks. Listen to what he says. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' Now, that's demanding.

It's important that you understand - that you feel - what Jesus just said. Put yourself into the picture. [That, by the way, is a good thing to do with many of the Gospel stories.] You are this rich young man. You come with the perfect question. In response Jesus tells you to sell all that you own and to give it away to the poor. Now, what would that mean in your life. First, there's the house. Sell it. And all the contents too: furniture, decorative items, fun stuff, 'necessities'. Everything. Then there are your cars, however many you own. Next, you take a trip to the bank. Checking account: zero it out. Savings account also. Do you have any CDs at the bank? They go too. Then there are any investments that you might have. And don't forget your pension. Whatever you own goes. Jesus says, 'Get rid of it all'. And now you have nothing. It's at this point that we tell ourselves, 'Well, He wouldn't do that. How would we care for our families and provide for their needs? We still have to live.' And yet, that is exactly what He did with our friend. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor...'

Kind of demanding, no? And when our friend turned away, when he decided to stay on the road to hell, Jesus didn't say, 'Wait a minute. I might have been a little hard on you.' No. He let him go. Jesus is not just some Good Teacher. He is a Demanding Master. And it needn't be money that He demands. He could demand anything. He could demand your health, your good reputation, your child, your spouse, your career. He could demand any other these - and more. And He has. This is where reading old Christian biographies, especially missionary biographies, comes in handy. Jesus has been very demanding through the centuries.

Does this mean that we should no longer think of Jesus as compassionate and caring? Absolutely not! Actually - and this is where it gets really interesting - Jesus is demanding precisely because He is compassionate and caring. To understand that all you need do is ask why. Why would Jesus demand something from us, something that is good? Well, why did He demand the possessions of our friend in the text? Stop and think about it. What were those possessions to him? They were an idol to him. I think that's clear when you understand what it was that the man did. In one hand he had the eternal life that he said he was seeking for. In the other hand were his possessions. Jesus said, 'Pick one.' His possessions were his idol. Jesus wanted to rescue him from his idolatry.

Definitions are important here, as elsewhere. What's an idol? It's a phony god that tries to fill a role that it cannot. An idol is what gives someone a good reason to get up each morning and gets him through a hard day. It's something that a person is willing to sacrifice for, that gives him a sense of being safe, that is loved first. These, and more, are roles that only Jesus can fill. Anything else that tries to fill these roles is an idol. Our friend looked to his stuff, and what it could get for him, to provide what only Jesus can provide. And so, Jesus says to him, 'You cannot inherit eternal life if you keep that idol. It's Me or it. Choose.' And he did.

Now there are some things that we need to remember. First, we all have idols. We may know about a few of them, but the fact of the matter is that we are unaware of just about all of them. There are things that we look to when we should be looking to Jesus instead. Second, idols never satisfy. How could they? Even when they seem to work, they don't. It's just not immediately obvious. Idols always fail. And so, because He is compassionate and caring, Jesus makes demands. He wants us freed from our worthless idols. Sometimes Jesus' demands come in the form of a gentle request. But there are times when it's an ultimatum, like with our friend.

Jesus is demanding in our text, very demanding. And yet, He shows that He really wants this man to flourish. Though demanding, Jesus is so very 'for' this guy. And He shows this in what He said. Listen again. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' Did you hear the promise that Jesus offers? This is what makes it all work. '... and you will have treasure in heaven...'

Heaven has fallen on hard times. We've been told that we need to be practical and deal with this life. And heaven is boring anyway, right? But the Bible is clear. It presents the hope of enjoying the rewards of heaven as a major motivation for following Jesus faithfully. If our hearts are not striving for heaven we become easy pickings for Satan. Our hopes will either be rooted there or they will be rooted here. To the extent that they are rooted here, Satan will have us. Hopes rooted here can be kidnapped by Satan. And we will pay the ransom to get them back. Hopes rooted in heaven are beyond his grasp. Jesus calls this man to give away all his earthly treasures so that he can enjoy heavenly ones. What He takes away here He promises to replace there and that with interest. But that means nothing if heaven is some vague spirit place with clouds and harps. So, listen to this from Psalm 16. 'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.' What do you suppose these 'pleasures' are? I remember reading this once and thinking that it sounds so earthy, so robust, so real. What are the pleasures of your life here? Can the pleasures of your life there be less? Remember it's pictured as a wedding banquet where everyone is having a great time.

Now, if Jesus had demanded something else of the man, His promise would have been different. So, if Jesus' demand had been about the loss of a relationship, He would have said something like, 'Give to Me the joy of this relationship, and, in heaven, I will return it to you but in a way that is deeper and more satisfying than you can imagine.' If His demand were about that sense of accomplishment that a career can give, then Jesus would have said, 'Quit your job and follow Me, and in heaven I will satisfy that desire many times over.' Whatever He takes away, He promises to replace, but in a way that will amaze.

Let me step back and explain something here. There are several reasons why I've told you all of this. Let me tell you one of them. I want to help you understand what Jesus is doing with your life. He has been demanding, and you have felt it. I know that I have. He has just taken some things from you. He didn't ask, as He did in the case of our friend. He just took it. It hurt. And you wondered about that. Or instead of taking something away, He just refused to give it to you. You never had it to enjoy. And you wonder why. I want you to understand why. It's because He is compassionate and caring. That's why He is so demanding. He is dealing with things like idols. He wants you to flourish and that will only happen if He is your treasure. It will only happen if He is the one who fills all those roles in your life. It is because He is compassionate and caring that He is sometimes very demanding.

Understand what Jesus is doing, and accept it as an expression of His compassion and caring. If you do, you will be able to rejoice in the Lord and fulfill your calling as His disciple. But if you don't understand what Jesus is doing, or, worse, if you refuse to accept it as a gift from Him, then you will become disappointed, discouraged and even bitter. And I would spare you that. So, understand who Jesus is. He is demanding! But He is that way because He loves you.

Idolatry

Exodus 20.1-3

At our last Bible study we took a look at Stephen’s sermon before the Sanhedrin, the sermon that resulted in his martyrdom. One of the themes of that sermon was about idolatry. We had a good discussion about this, with one particularly interesting question. Afterward, I thought it might be good if I preached about idolatry at some point. I was thinking in terms of weeks down the pike. But it seemed that the Spirit was nudging me to speak on this sooner. So, after some prayer it seemed right to preach on it today. And so, here we are. We’re going to take a look at idolatry and we’ll see how the Spirit wants to apply this to our lives.

Our text is too clear to miss. There are to be ‘no other gods’ in our lives. No idols. If you know anything about the Old Testament, you’ll agree that idolatry was a big deal for our God. It was a sin that was to be punished by execution. And when the northern ten tribes pursued their idols, they were exiled from the Promised Land by God, never to return. Idolatry was a big deal for our God. And nothing has changed to this day. It’s not surprising that idolatry is dealt with in the first of the Ten Commandments. In fact, whenever someone breaks any of the other nine Commandments he’s also broken this first one. It really is a big deal, and we all need to see it that way. So, the first thing that I need to do is to help you to see clearly why it is such a big deal, and I’m going to do that from two different, but related, perspectives.

To get at the first of these, let me ask you a question. Why are you? That is, why do you exist? Let me answer that in what might seem to be an inflammatory way. You exist to make God look good. Your purpose is to reveal God’s nature, character, personality and all the rest to everyone you meet. You exist to reveal how good God really is. The rest of His creation does this automatically. Listen. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.’ And we are called upon to join in. ‘Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name…’ This isn’t a matter of hype, just honesty. God really is good, and you exist to make that very basic fact known. Imagine a situation where you’ve enjoyed something, or a need has been met, or you’ve accomplished an important goal. What’s happened? God has done good to you. And you are to respond to that fact. You are to acknowledge God’s goodness first to God. But then, you are also to let others know how He has been so good to you. ‘Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name…’ This, pretty much, summarizes why you exist: to reveal God’s goodness as you enjoy that goodness.

A person falls into idolatry whenever that simple reason for living is ignored; when, instead of acknowledging God’s goodness before Him and others, that person gives the credit to someone or something else. He might thank his lucky stars, offer a special sacrifice to Baal or just give himself the credit. Regardless of how he does it, whenever someone fails to make God look good, he’s fallen into idolatry. You are here to make God look good because the fact of the matter is that He is good. And to refuse this purpose is to try to be what you were never designed to be. To refuse this purpose is to live a lie. This creation – and that includes all of you – is designed to point to the goodness of our God. Pursuing anything else just won’t work.

That’s one way to answer my question, ‘Why are you?’ Now, let’s take a look at another answer. God created you to enjoy a relationship of love with Him. He didn’t do this because He was in need, because He was lonely. He wasn’t. Remember, God is Father, Son and Spirit. They have been enjoying a relationship of love since forever. It’s just that God decided to include you in this relationship of love. Creating you was an act of pure grace.

One way He tried to explain this love relationship to you was by creating marriage. When God made Adam and Eve, He intended their marriage to be a picture of the relationship between God and His human creatures. That explains some things. For one thing, it explains why our God describes Himself as a jealous God. To some folk that seems wrong, beneath God, even just plain weird. But consider a husband and wife. If their marriage is going to succeed, both need to be jealous for that marriage. They need to forsake all others. A marriage of three will never work. It can’t. It was designed to work with two and only two. So, a proper jealousy for the marriage shows as each says, ‘I give myself, body and soul, to you and only to you. And I expect you to give yourself, body and soul, to me and only to me.’ Idolatry is trying to have a marriage of three. And the issue isn’t about behavior. It’s not about someone bowing down to some stone statue or the like. Marriage is first and foremost, a matter of the heart. ‘I give myself to you, body and soul.’ Getting a gift from your spouse is neat. But what good is it if you know that he or she has been pursuing another, a third? And this third doesn’t even have to be another person. It’s just some other to whom your spouse has given a portion of his or her heart. If idolatry is going to be avoided, then hearts will be given – completely given – to the one true God. Anything less is allowing some third into the relationship, some third who will steal away the affections. And so, you see why our God is a jealous God. He wants you all for Himself even as He wants to give all of Himself to you. A good marriage is just a faint picture of that.

So, do you see what’s going on? First, our Creator is good to us, so very good. He has made us to respond to that goodness, to acknowledge that to Him and to declare it to others. This is simply living according to what is true. And then, secondly, God – Father, Son and Spirit – has graciously created us to enter into an eternal love relationship and to enjoy that love forever. This is why we exist.

Now, all of that has been ruined because of sin. We should never cease to be amazed at the destructive power of sin. We refuse to fulfill our purpose of making God look as good as He is. Instead, we look for good to come from elsewhere. And because we look to our idols and thus fail to receive the good that we truly need, we learn the habits of worry and fear. We also learn to compensate by trying to fill in the gaps left by our idols. We try to be married to multiple others who have promised much and yet never really come through. No wonder we have a hard time really believing in the love of the true God. The sin of idolatry has taken something that could have been oh so beautiful and turned it into something that is not just ugly but repulsive. We are idolaters, all of us. We have broken the first and most important Commandment and breaking the other nine simply follows suit, over and over and over again.

Is it any wonder that the God whom we have spurned is so angry? We reject His purpose for our lives. We reject His invitation to love. We reject Him. We are creatures who have despised the one who has created us for His good purposes. And so, justice is coming. That’s when the Creator will deal with His wicked creatures. Justice is coming for all of us idolaters. And it would consume every last person except for one thing: Jesus has come first. He has come to rescue people who love their foolish and worthless idols instead of the God who is so good to them. He has come before final justice has come. And He will rescue all who admit the evil of their idolatry and the reasonableness of God’s justice. Those who are honest about their idolatry and then believe Jesus’ promise will be cared for. These will be forgiven their heinous sin. And that is a glorious truth. Jesus has provided forgiveness for awful idolaters like us.

But understand: even as Christians, we still fall into idolatry. But, thankfully, Jesus’ work isn’t limited to dealing with justice. It’s not just about forgiveness. It’s also about change. Jesus has also come to change idolaters like us into people who worship but one God. Jesus has sent His Spirit to renew us to our original purpose, that we may fulfill the reason for our existence. And one day, the Spirit will finish His work. We will enjoy the goodness and love of our God and make much of His kind goodness. We will make God look as good as He really is. And as we do that, we will enjoy the sense of peace and satisfaction and all the rest that fulfilling our role was intended to produce. Restored to this relationship of love, we will give ourselves fully to our God and to no other. This will be a marriage truly made in heaven because that’s where we’ll be once heaven is again restored to earth.

I mentioned earlier that there was one particularly interesting question at our Bible study. I was asked what I thought your idols are. The answer I gave was only so-so. But I’ve had some time to ponder that question. So, I’m going to expand upon what I said then. Let me start by saying that I don’t know what your particular idols are. But I do know that you have some. So, while I don’t know your idols, I do think that it’s important to give you some help so that you can identify them and then deal with them.

So, first a principle. We are affected by our culture. Anyone here normally wear a kilt or a sari? No. That’s because we live in America and not in Scotland or India. Likewise, our choice of idols is influenced by our culture. So, it makes sense to look at the culture around us to see the popular idols of our day and then to see if we have adopted any of them. Second, let’s use what happened in the Garden of Eden as a guide. After all, the temptation there was all about idolatry. So, it’s appropriate to begin by asking, ‘What were some of the idols that Adam and Eve were pursuing?’

Let’s first look at knowledge. It was, after all, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What was Satan’s lure? ‘If you eat, you’ll know. And then, you’ll be like God.’ The lure was power, godlike power, the power of knowledge. Today, there is still the temptation of trying to gain power, control or even a sense of security by gaining knowledge. Why do your neighbors send their kids to college? If you were to ask them, what would they say? They’d talk about a better job, better options in the future and therefore a better life. What’s that but more power over what happens, more control, more security. Is going to college evil or is gaining knowledge evil? These things are not more evil than eating a piece of fruit. But remember, idolatry is first a matter of the heart before it becomes a way of behaving. So, the question of ‘Why?’ becomes important. Adam, Eve, why do you want to know? Is it to be able to acknowledge God’s goodness better? That would have been fine. But that wasn’t it. Our culture is very much given to the seeking the power of knowledge and making it into an idol. Control is an idol of our culture.

Then there’s this: ‘If you eat of this fruit, you’ll become wise.’ Now, wisdom is a skill that can be very helpful. But, again, it depends. Have you heard of someone being ‘street wise’? He knows how to how to use sin and crime to survive and succeed according to the rules of his community. Does that have anything to do with declaring the goodness of God? Those of higher social standing do the same kind of thing except it’s not about being street wise. It’s about someone being able to win and be seen as a success according to the rules of his community. It takes a kind of wisdom to achieve that. Again, success is no more sinful than knowledge or college or eating fruit. But it’s all about why you want it. Succeeding according to the rules of the community is an idol of our culture.

One more: Adam and Eve noticed that the tree was good for food. Obviously, food is a gift of God. But even this gift can be twisted. It’s one thing to enjoy a good meal and quite another to stuff your face. We live in a culture that is so very given to pleasure or better, it’s abuse. Another word for pleasure is comfort. We do not tolerate pain very well. And so, when there is a business downturn, for whatever reason, we look to our federal god to make sure we don’t feel any pain. When there is physical pain we expect some doctor to wave his wand and make it go away. When there is emotional pain there must be some pill that deadens it. Anything but pain. Comfort is an idol of our culture.

Behind all of these stands this suggestion by the tempter: ‘God isn’t going to come through for you. He doesn’t really love you. So, you’d better watch out for yourself.’ So, there’s always a Plan B – just in case – because you never know.

These are some of the idols of our culture. Whether any of these are yours is something that you and the Spirit will have to decide. But whether these or others, you have idols. That’s just a fact. But don’t despair. Jesus has come to free us from our idols. That also is a fact. And so, rejoice. One day all your idols will be gone. That’s Jesus’ promise.