Idols

During the summer, us Sleadd guys went to a men's lunch group every Wednesday at the Sub Shop in Grants Pass. Mr. Emmons, Pastor Dale, Tim McGilvreay, and some others guys went. We went through the Proverbs and talked about them so forth.

On one particular meeting, Tim McGilvreay, who if you know well, is a theological genius; anyway he had recently been listening to some C.J. Mahanay cds about idols.

Tim shared a quote by Mahanay that was something like this, "It's not so much that what we desire is wrong, it's when we desire it too much."

This really made me think about what idols I might have in my life. Before, I had always imagined idols as being obvious. Such as bowing down to statues or worshiping animals, or deifying celebrities....something that was obvious. But according to C. J. Mahanay it's not really the object that makes it an idol, it's how much we desire the object that makes it an idol.

And many times the things we desire are not bad, in fact they might be very good things. What makes an object an idol is when we desire it above God. When we seek satisfaction in that object rather than in God.

One of the examples shared was how a father can desire to be respected by his family, which is a perfectly legitimate thing to be desired, yet if he desires it to the point were he is yelling at his family to get it, than it has become an idol.

You see how desiring something good too much immediately turns it into an idol?
It could really be anything. It might be desiring a good reputation too much, it might be desiring to see your friends over God, it might be(in my case) wanting to get a driving license and a car too much. :)


In Conclusion,
After having this discussion at Men's group it really helped me to understand why at times I would feel frustrated and dissatisfied when things didn't happen my way. It was because I was desiring things too much. Even good things. Idolizing them over God.

Some questions to ask yourself-

• What are my idols?
• Am I desiring things above God?
  
• Do I seek satisfaction in things other than God?