Skip to main content

Desiring 'Stuff:' Idols of the Heart

I have been slowly plodding my way through Piper's When I Don't Desire God, which was recommended by a friend. I will extend that invitation to any Christian desiring to grow. The theme of the book is: How to win the battle of 'desiring God' in the flesh that naturally does not. Instead of detailing how to desire God (as he does in Desiring God) (amazing, i know), he deals with why we don't desire Him and how to desire Him as we ought.

In chapter 5, he discusses the vision it takes to see Christ in order to treasure Him as is our immense task. One section caught my attention specifically. It was entitled: "Blind By The Things We Make and Trust." A portion of this section to illustrate:
  • Those who make them [idols] become like them, so do all those who trust in them!' (Psalm 135:15-18) Make and trust a blind idol, and you become blind. Apply that principle to the modern world, and think of the idols of our own day. What do we make and what do we trust? Things. Toys. Technology. And so our hearts are affected and formed by these things. They compress the void in our heart into shapes like toys. The result is that we are easily moved and excited by things... But in this readiness to receive pleasure from things, we are ill-shaped for Christ. He seems unreal, unattractive. The eyes of our hearts grow dull. (p. 58)

This point may have hit home (pardon the cliche`) more so than all the others combined so far. If we are to desire God above all else, how is that accomplished in our life when there are other idols successfully competing with Him? It is not that He could not overthrow those idols, but rather He chooses not to. Let us not be a people who bow down to idols in our heart that crowd out our desire for Christ. We must desire God above all else!

Popular posts from this blog

Player Evaluation from game vs. Czech

I am extremely embarrassed and disappointed. This is to understate my emotions toward the game today. Saying that, I do realize that the Czech are a powerhouse. They are without a doubt a top-3 team in the world. Pavel Nedved was brilliant; Cech was barely tested. Here is a grade for each player based on performance. Feel free to leave comments to vent or dispute. GK - Keller: Only had one save in 4 chances (shots on goal). Not much to say here, all 3 goals were spectacular! [B- -] D - Eddie Lewis: Quite possibly the worst game i've ever seen him play. Never looked comfortable. He seems to have forgotten how to play the ball on the ground. Totally ineffective. [D-] D - "Gooch": Possibly our lone bright spot all game. He did have a defensive error that led to the first goal, but that mistake was shared by Pope and caused by Lewis (left his area). Overall, very impressive. Should see a big payday after the Cup. [B] D - Cherundolo: Even though he scared me to near death sev
Read more

Duck...Duck...(Oh Shoot!)

I don't often consider my life buzzworthy for personal stories, but I must make an exception for this one. I have worked lawn maintenance for 6 summers now, but no experience quite compares to this one. My crew was at the mall for the day to mow, trim, blow, pull weeds, and pick up 9 billion cigarette butts (which reproduce faster than an asexual insect). I was in the middle of a juniper bed, doing my best to weed-out wiregrass and the like. The juniper was almost knee-high. It was such a mundane activity that i didn't give it any second thought. Generally speaking, I am pretty aware of my surroundings. This time would prove to be an exception however. I was walking in the middle of the bed making my way to the far side, when as I stepped and reached for a weed, a UFO (denotatively, an "unidentified flying object") came from the juniper. A frighented moan ensued. (I'm not exactly sure how to describe the noise which proceeded from my mouth. I'm glad it was a s
Read more