Idols and IdeologiesSample

IDOLS AND IDEOLOGIES

Tim Keller describes an idol as “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Idols are anything we place before God. Idols can be good things that are in improper order before God. Idols can be superficial and glaringly obvious, or they can be hidden and deep.

They may be commonplace and familiar things, yet their grip and distortions may run deep in our lives and cultures, distorting our very ability to embody and reflect the image of God.

Idols can pervade our culture, leading to a disregard of external authority like God, the casualisation of sex, making choices that cater more to our convenience than God’s will and pursuing temporary things over eternal.

However, there is a remedy. For the next three weeks we will be walking through three key idols: self, lust and greed, and each week we will be exploring what the idol is and the Christian virtue we should pursue to help us resist that idol. As Peter encourages us, “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue” (2 Pet. 1:5) Virtue is like the middle road, not too much and not too little—but a balanced life, focused on the truth, goodness, and beauty of God as our creator and author of life, not simply focused on the avoiding of extremities.

Focusing on the virtues each week will help us to be more effective bearers of Christian character and spiritual fruit.

Scripture: For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. - 2 Peter 1:5-8

Prayer Point: Lord, as we journey through these idols I pray that you would open my eyes to see where these idols have been raised above you in my own life. Help me to repent of the idols that need to be removed and re-instate the virtue that you are teaching us each week.