Monthly Archives: June 2020

Idols Competing with Our Love of God

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“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

These are the words of Jesus in response to a scribe who asked what the most important commandment was. Loving God and the people he puts in our lives with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength was his answer. It is a consuming task. It impacts every moment and facet of our lives.

In Old Testament times, the idols people worshiped included false gods and their images. Today, our idols include entertainers, professional athletes, public officials, hobbies, careers, material things like cars, homes, jewelry, retirement accounts, etc. None of these are inherently wrong in themselves, but they can become idols if we make them so.

In the early years of our marriage, I took up golf and enjoyed the game and the camaraderie of the men with whom I played. I would play every Saturday morning, not getting home until 2 PM plus once during the week after work. There was also the occasional visit to the driving range. My wife was looking after our two daughters under five with no car since we only had one at the time. I was a young attorney who had to work late some evenings and travel from time to time.

I had made golf an idol that was taking an inordinate amount of time away from the love of my wife, family, and responsibilities that should have taken a higher priority.

A couple of years later, right after the Kansas City Chiefs had won Super Bowl IV, we were able to get season tickets as the Chiefs were moving from their old stadium into the larger Arrowhead stadium. At first it was exciting, but it grew to become a project every Sunday, on which there was a game, taking nearly the whole day with time for transportation, traffic, parking, etc. We had to get a baby sitter for our daughters for nearly the whole day. In addition to the time, it also became rather costly.

I had acquired another idol, a professional football team, again to the detriment of my love and responsibilities to the family. There is nothing inherently wrong with golf or being a fan of a professional football team, but when they detract from loving your spouse and young family, and expressing your love for God on Sunday, I was in danger of creating and serving idols over more important relationships and responsibilities – God and family.

The people of Israel seemed to suffer from this tendency when the Bible reports in 2 Kings: 17:41, “Thus these nations venerated the Lord, but also served their idols.” This eventually led to their exile in 722 BC, by the king of Assyria.

Do you have idols in your life that compete with your love of God and the people he has put in your life?

Changing Culture — A Long Term Project

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“Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.” (1 Co. 9:19)

Paul is saying that he has become all things to all people in order to bring them the gospel. To the Jew he became like a Jew to win over the Jews. To those under the law, or outside the law, or to the weak, he became like them to win them over for Christ. He established himself as a prototype for peer ministry and the example that missionaries have followed for centuries — build relationships, serve needs, be an example, and then share the gospel message.

Jesus suggested similar instructions when sending out the seventy-two. He told them not to move around from house to house, but stay in one house, extend to it your peace, serve needs like healing the sick, and then tell them that the Kingdom of God is at hand. (Luke 10:1-12)

Today, we live in a fast food, instant messaging world. In business, we look for “quit hits.” But changing lives and transforming culture are long term projects. Let’s look at a real life example.

Barbara worked as a clerk in the juvenile court for a city in California. While she was willing to witness to the Lord when she had the opportunity, she found it hard because of the negative environment stemming from the nature of the cases before the court, the people involved in the cases and the court employees. “Part of my prayer on my way to work every day was to ask that others would see Christ and his love in me,” Barbara said. “While I invited people to my church and shared stories about how God helped me during tough times, I did not see any results.”

When it came time for the court clerks’ Christmas party, Barbara did not plan to attend, but her fellow clerks kept insisting that she had to go. Finally one of them whispered in her ear, “You have to go. You have been elected ‘Clerk of the Year.’” At the presentation, Barbara learned to her surprise that Christ’s presence in her had come through. Some of the things said in her honor were:

“I have never heard her say anything bad about anyone.” “I know better than to bad-mouth people around her. She just looks at me and I think, ‘Oops! Can I reword that?’” “I know if I need help with my work, she won’t get mad or make me feel stupid.” “If you tell her something it won’t get spread all over Juvenile Hall.” “If I need advice, I know I can talk to her. She sees both sides and helps me see the other side too.” “I know she prays for me.”

Barbara was being all things to her co-employees at Juvenile Hall in order to bring God’s presence and the gospel message to the people there – a long term project.

Are you willing to build relationships to bring people to Christ and change the world around you?

Success – Pride – Downfall

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“But after [Uzziah] had become strong, he became proud to his own destruction and broke faith with the Lord, his God.” (2Ch.26:16)

How difficult it is to handle success without pride overtaking us!

Uzziah became king of Judah when he was 16 and reigned in Jerusalem for 52 years. At first he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He sought God through the prophet, Zechariah. He built up the defenses of Judah, raised a large army that defeated the Philistines and constructed public works. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

But the Bible reports that he then presumed to enter the temple to burn incense, a duty reserved to the descendants of Aaron. They challenged him, he became angry and as he was raging at them, leprosy broke out on his forehead, which caused him to be isolated for the rest of his life.

In my 38 year career for a large oil company, I saw a number of good men who experienced success, only to see a pride build up in them that led to overreach in the exercise of their authority. I too, struggled at times with pride in how I related to others, and in allowing my position to define who I was.

Even Jesus’ disciples, James and John, sought the position of sitting at Jesus’ right and left. The others became indignant, but Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mk. 10:43, 45) The reason Jesus said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the Kingdom of God is because of the pride that often accompanies wealth and success.

Our daughter, Emily has Down syndrome. I have learned so much about humility and the love of God from her. She does not presume any special position, only to love her family and friends and to experience our love in return.

One of the problems with how we handle success is its definition. The world views success in terms of position, authority, power and wealth, while God views success by whether we are fulfilling his will in our lives. If our focus is on seeking God’s will, we might be better able to handle the outcome, whether wealth or poverty.

In my morning prayer I sometimes recite a Litany of Humility given me by a friend. “O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, deliver me from the desire of being esteemed, loved, extolled, honored, praised, consulted or approved. Deliver me from the fear of being humiliated, despised, forgotten, ridiculed or wronged. Grant me the grace to desire that others might be loved more, esteemed more, chosen, praised, preferred and become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should.”

How do you deal with success and pride in your life?