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American (Career) Idol?
Recently, my pastor has been doing a series on idols. (Just in case you’re wondering - he’s on the “against” side of the argument…)
He’s been talking about what exactly idols are and how many different things can become idols in our lives. Nature has always been popular, for instance. The sun, moon, and stars are also common idols, even today (astrology, anyone?)
But he started to talk about other things that could be idols to us today that we might not think about. Other people, money (also on the all-time biggies list), cars, fashion, electronic gadgets, video games, and sex are all also possibilities. Oh, and your job.
As many of us did, you might be thinking, “A video game can be an idol? Are there people bowing down and worshiping their XBox? I mean, other than the people that wait in line for 3 days to get the first one out the door…”
The answer is yes. Allow me to explain…
WHAT IS AN IDOL?
So, let’s start with what an idol really is. Is it something that you worship and/or bow down to? Sure. That’s an idol.
But it’s also loving the “things of the world” more than you love God:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
So, the answer to “How can video games be an idol?” is when we love them more than God.
The way my pastor put it was that an idol is anything that takes away from what we owe God: worship, honor, respect, first place in our lives, etc.
In short, any false thing that takes the place of God in our lives:
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we mayt know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Crist. This is the true God and eternal life.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
-1 John 5:20-21
OUR JOB / CAREER AS OUR IDOL
It may sound strange coming from a guy who makes his living on other people’s careers and continues to dole out job-seeking and career advice every day, but we have to be careful about just how much importance we attach to our careers.
When I talk about your career as an idol, most people envision the “workaholic” for whom his career is absolutely everything in his life. He neglects everyone and everything for his career and spends most of his time there.
Certainly it is probably true that this man has his career as his idol (although most of them I have spoken with talk about, “providing for my family” as the reason for their dedication - which is using Truth [providing for the family] for evil [an excuse to avoid / neglect his family]).
However, those are the obvious cases. I’m talking about the less obvious cases of your career becoming your idol. I’m talking about the thing that most people (or, at least, most men I know) do to make their career into their idol.
And that is turning away from God to see their career as their provision.
THE CAREER AS GOD
Before you say that I’m crazy, let me start from the beginning.
We are taught that God provides for us, right?
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
But what happens - especially when we’ve been laid off - is that we show our true colors. I’ve been there. Especially us men get very cranky (but in a holy way - at least in our minds) because we’re supposed to provide for our family and, “how can I do that if I don’t even have an opportunity to work!?!”
Ignoring the fallacy in the argument, this statement reveals what is in our hearts: It is the job that provides, not God.
Did you know that God will provide for you even if you didn’t have a job? And, what’s more, until you fully believe that, it is likely that you’re still hanging on to your job / career as an idol. I know I did. For a long, long time.
Perhaps the verses that helped me to see my own idolatry can help you, too. Read / say / shout these words in the morning and see if it helps:. And - hey - stop worrying! God knows.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:25-34 (emphasis mine)
Enjoy the search,
Dan
Photo by: ground.zero
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