Aug. 27, 2026
#49 - False Idols: What’s Competing for Your Trust in God?
False idols do not always look like idols. Achievement, approval, money, comfort, control, security, and even ministry can begin to occupy a place in our lives that belongs to God. In this episode of Mind and Faith Matters, Dr. Cory Potter explores what Scripture teaches about idolatry, how misplaced trust can develop without us recognizing it, and how God may bring it to our attention. Drawing from Psalm 115, Romans 1, Ezekiel 14, Matthew 6, and other passages, Cory considers what happens when something begins competing for our trust, loyalty, and devotion to God. He also looks at the role of awareness, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and the biblical response of repentance and renewed trust in God. What has become especially important to your security, worth, or significance, and could it be occupying a place in your life that belongs to God?
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What if something in your life has slowly taken
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on a role it was never meant to fill? Maybe it
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is comfort, financial security, success, someone's
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approval, or your need to feel in control. It
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could also be a relationship, your career, or
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even something connected to your faith and ministry.
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Most of us would never call those things idols,
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but they can become idols. When we hear the word
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idol many believers picture something like the
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golden calf the Israelites worshipped in the
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Old Testament Which can make idolatry feel pretty
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far removed from our lives today Our modern -day
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idols may be much harder to recognize because
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they often begin with ordinary things we value
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and care about And sometimes, what we can see
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on the surface does not tell us what is going
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on in a person's thinking, including our own.
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Or what part of life has that thing come to mean
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to them or us? Money, for example, may represent
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security for one person, status for another,
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and control for someone else. In the same way
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a career might be about meaningful work, But
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it can also become a way of pursuing approval,
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success, power, security, or significance. Even
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comfort can become so important that avoiding
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disruption or sacrifice begins directing the
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way we live. And this is part of what makes modern
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idols more difficult to recognize. And sometimes,
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We may not recognize how our own beliefs and
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priorities have shifted while everything is going
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well. For example, the career keeps progressing.
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The money is there. People continue approving
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us. Life remains comfortable. But when something
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changes, we may begin to see how important it
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has actually become. The career becomes uncertain.
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Someone's approval disappears. Financial security
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feels threatened, or is threatened. A comfortable
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life is disrupted. Something we thought we could
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control suddenly becomes very uncertain. Those
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experiences don't automatically mean we have
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an idol that we've uncovered, but sometimes disruption
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reveals how much we had begun, depending on something.
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And for Christians, that can become an opportunity
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to pay attention to what God may be showing us
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and to examine these potential sources of stress
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and emotional strain. You can ask yourself questions
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like, has this become more important in my life
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than I realized? What have I been looking to
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this thing to provide for me? And has something
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in my life begun taking a place in my trust,
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worship, or loyalty that belongs to God? You
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see, biblically, idolatry is sin. Scripture has
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quite a bit to say about what happens when God's
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people give something else the worship, trust,
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or loyalty that belongs to Him. In today's episode,
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we'll try to answer some of these important questions.
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What does idolatry do to our relationship with
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God? What can it begin doing to us? How can something
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good gradually become an idol? How do we recognize
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the deeper desire underneath something we may
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be pursuing? And when the Holy Spirit brings
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something like that to our attention, what does
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Scripture tell us to do about it? I'm Dr. Cory
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Potter and this is Mind and Faith Matters. Let's
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dig in. So what do we actually mean by an idol?
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Throughout scripture, God calls his people to
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worship him, trust him, obey him, and place him
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at the center of their lives. Adultery happens
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when something else begins taking a place that
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belongs to God. That can involve what we worship?
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love most deeply, where we place our deepest
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trust and loyalty, what influences our decisions,
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and where we look for security, significance,
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or identity. And God is not pleased when that
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happens. In the Bible the first of the ten commandments
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says you shall have no other gods before me.
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And the next commandment prohibits making and
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worshiping idols. In Romans chapter 1 verses
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23 through 25, Paul describes idolatry as an
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exchange. People exchange the glory and truth
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of God for created things, eventually worshiping
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and serving the creation rather than the Creator.
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And that gets to the heart of the problem. God
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is the Creator. everything else is creation,
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yet we take something God has given us and gradually
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give it a level of trust, devotion, or authority
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that belongs to Him. That is how even a good
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gift can become an idol, and that can happen
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much more quietly than bowing before a statue.
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Psalm 115 gives us a helpful picture of this.
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The psalm describes the idols of the nations
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this way starting in verse 4. And then the Psalm
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turns directly towards God's people. So there
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are two important things here for this conversation.
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The first is trust. The psalm contrasts trusting
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idols with trusting the Lord. But there's another
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statement we shouldn't move past too quickly.
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Those who make them become like them, the scripture
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says. That's important for believers who are
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trying to live for God to really think about.
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It suggests something worth considering for all
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of us. What we dedicate ourselves to can begin
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shaping our desires, our decisions. priorities,
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what gets our attention, and the way we live.
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That doesn't mean every important thing in our
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lives is competing with God. Scripture gives
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us plenty of reasons to care deeply about our
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families, our responsibilities, our work, our
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neighbors, and the gifts God has given us. The
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question is what place those things have taken
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and what we may be seeking through them. And
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this is where there is a connection with the
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recent episode I did on contingent self -worth.
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In that episode, we talked about how our sense
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of worth can become tied to things like achievement,
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approval, competence, appearance, relationships,
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or being needed. I don't really want to repeat
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the whole conversation here, but there is a connection
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when we begin depending on something to establish
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our worth. That may be a sign that this is an
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area of our life that deserves some reflection.
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Let's look at a few examples from life because,
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as I mentioned, the deeper issue is not always
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obvious from the way we're seeing things or the
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things we see on the surface. Achievement and
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approval sometimes overlap. Working hard, setting
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goals, developing our abilities, and accomplishing
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something meaningful can all be good. But I did
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something valuable can gradually become I am
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valuable because of what I accomplished. Approval
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can become part of that too, especially when
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we begin depending on recognition from others
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to reassure us that we are successful or worthwhile.
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Scripture gives us an important starting point
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there. human beings are created in the image
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of God. Our accomplishments do not create our
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worth, and neither does the approval of other
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people. That means we can work hard, accomplish
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meaningful things, and appreciate encouragement
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without basing our value on either of them. Money
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gives us a different example because two people
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can pursue it for very different reasons. Money
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is useful. Financial planning can be wise and
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providing for our families is responsible Yet
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in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says we cannot serve
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both God and money He uses the language of masters
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for one person Money may represent security for
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another it may represent status independence
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influence or control So the important question
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goes beyond how much money we live with or possess.
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We need to consider what we are seeking through
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it and how that desire is shaping our choices.
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Ask yourself, what happens when generosity conflicts
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with my desire to keep what I have? What happens
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when doing what I believe is right may cost me
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financially? I'll pause here and say I've had
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to leave jobs that were good paying jobs because
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something unethical was happening and it's hard
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because it affects your whole family, but sometimes
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you have to. What happens when financial security
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becomes so important that it begins influencing
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decisions that should be shaped by faithfulness
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to God? Those really are spiritual questions.
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because Jesus places money in the context of
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competing masters. And control is another area
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worth considering here. Planning, preparing,
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and trying to make good decisions can be wise.
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The concern comes when our need to control an
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outcome becomes a problem to us. It begins to
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have too much influence over our choices or our
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willingness to trust God. There are limits to
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what any of us can control. We can't guarantee
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what other people will do, that our plans will
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work, or what tomorrow will even bring. Psychologists
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use the term intolerance of uncertainty to describe
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difficulty dealing with unknown outcomes. And
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research has connected it with worry and anxiety.
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That helps us understand part of the human experience.
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But from a faith perspective, we also have to
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consider What to do when we have this uncertainty
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that remains after we've done what reasonably
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can be done? At times, our response when control
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disappears may show us how much we've been relying
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on it for security. And then there's our comfort.
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There's nothing wrong with enjoying rest, stability,
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or comfort. The concern is when staying comfortable
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becomes so important. that we avoid a needed
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conversation, resist making a sacrifice, or keep
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backing away from something that we believe God
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is asking us to do because we do not want to
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have the disruption in our lives. And my final
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example is especially important for Christians
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because it can look very spiritual from the outside.
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Ministry and service can become closely connected
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to approval, significance, influence, or being
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needed. Recently, I saw that Michael W. Smith,
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the Christian musician, warned entertainers and
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worship leaders and those that are singing worship
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music that they need to do a check on themselves
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that they're not at the center of what they're
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doing and that Christ is at the center. And I
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can sincerely love serving God and still become
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dependent on the role that service gives me.
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I can deeply care about the truth and become
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so invested in being right that admitting a mistake
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threatens how I see myself or how others see
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me. That leads to an important question. How
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do we become aware when something has taken that
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place? We don't always recognize these patterns
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while they're developing. God can bring them
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to our attention in different ways. Scripture
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may confront something in us as we read and study.
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Prayer can create space for greater honesty before
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God. A fellow believer or trusted believer may
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notice something, a pattern in your life that
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you may have missed. And sometimes a change in
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our circumstances gets our attention because
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our own reaction surprises us. We can use all
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these situations as prompts to look more carefully
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at what is happening in our hearts and bring
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them honestly before God. For a Christian, this
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is also where the work of the Holy Spirit becomes
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important. Jesus says in John chapter 16 that
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the Spirit exposes the truth about sin. As we
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respond to scripture, prayer, circumstances,
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and the wisdom of other believers, the Holy Spirit
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can bring areas of sin into clearer view. We
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may begin to see that the issue goes beyond our
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disappointment or stress and recognize that something
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has taken a place in our hearts that belongs
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to God. That realization brings us back to the
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biblical seriousness of idolatry. Romans 1 describes
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people worshipping and serving created things
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rather than the creator. Ezekiel 14 gives us
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another striking picture. God speaks about people
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who had set up idols in their hearts and he says
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those idols had estranged them from him. Idolatry
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can damage our faithfulness and fellowship with
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God. because it redirects worship, trust, loyalty,
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and obedience. Something created begins receiving
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devotion that belongs to the Creator. And that
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is why Scripture calls idolatry sin and Scripture
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calls us to respond when God reveals it. In Ezekiel
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14, God tells his people to repent and turn away
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from their idols. Paul tells the Corinthians
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to flee from idolatry and first Corinthians 10
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14 and in first Thessalonians Paul describes
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believers as people who had turned to God from
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idols to serve the living and true God I Love
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the direction in that passage. They turned from
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idols and turned to God That gives us a helpful
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picture of repentance Awareness allows us to
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recognize what happened. Repentance responds
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to what God has shown us. We confess the sin,
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turn away from the misplaced worship or trust,
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and turn toward God again. Repentance may also
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lead to practical changes because idolatry can
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affect our decisions and behavior. If money has
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become too important, repentance may change the
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way I earn. spend, save, or give. If approval
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has too much influence over me, faithfulness
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may require making a decision I believe is right
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even when someone is disappointed. If I've become
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dependent on control, I may need to acknowledge
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the limits of what I can manage and entrust an
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uncertain outcome to God. If comfort has begun
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shaping my obedience, repentance may mean accepting
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inconvenience, sacrifice, or a difficult responsibility.
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The practical response will look different depending
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on what God is revealing. Often the good thing
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itself remains part of our lives. Think about
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it. We still work, use money, appreciate encouragement,
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make plans, enjoy comfort, and serve. You see,
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repentance changes the place that those things
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occupy and reorients our trust, worship, and
00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:28.059
obedience toward God. And that brings us back
00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:31.900
to Matthew chapter 6. Jesus talks about treasure
00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:36.059
and where our hearts are. He talks about masters
00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:39.119
and tells us that we cannot serve both God and
00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.339
money. Then he talks about worry over life's
00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:46.309
needs and the future, food, clothing, our bodies,
00:18:46.490 --> 00:18:51.049
and tomorrow. See, these were real concerns for
00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:54.710
the people listening to him. Jesus reminds them
00:18:54.710 --> 00:18:57.309
that their Heavenly Father knows what they need
00:18:57.309 --> 00:19:00.950
and then he tells them to seek first the Kingdom
00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:05.809
of God and His righteousness. There's an order
00:19:05.809 --> 00:19:08.750
there that speaks directly to this conversation.
00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:12.470
God comes first and the other things we care
00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:16.539
about can take their proper place. So as you
00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:19.240
think about your own life, consider what has
00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:22.420
become especially important to you in your sense
00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:27.000
of security, worth, or significance. What do
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.240
your choices show about what you value most?
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.759
Is there something you are protecting so strongly
00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:38.650
that obedience to God has become secondary? When
00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:41.190
something important changes does your reaction
00:19:41.190 --> 00:19:43.710
point to a dependence you had not recognized
00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:46.470
and is the Holy Spirit bringing something to
00:19:46.470 --> 00:19:50.269
your attention that you need to confess and turn
00:19:50.269 --> 00:19:55.230
away from? Psalm 115 gives us a simple direction
00:19:55.230 --> 00:20:01.289
after describing the idols people trusted. Trust
00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:05.089
in the Lord. That is where this conversation
00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.779
ultimately leads. When God reveals an idol, we
00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:11.140
can make whatever changes faithfulness requires,
00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:14.079
turn our trust back toward the Living God, and
00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.500
allow the good things He has given us to take
00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:21.140
their proper place in our lives. Thanks for spending
00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.740
this time with me today. If you know someone
00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.259
who could benefit from this conversation, you
00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:29.220
can share it and you can find more information
00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:32.660
from Mind and Faith Matters at mindandfaithmatters
00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:36.349
.com As always, God bless and I'll talk to you
00:20:36.349 --> 00:20:36.849
again soon.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399
What if something in your life has slowly taken
00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:06.580
on a role it was never meant to fill? Maybe it
00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:11.240
is comfort, financial security, success, someone's
00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:15.720
approval, or your need to feel in control. It
00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.199
could also be a relationship, your career, or
00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.640
even something connected to your faith and ministry.
00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:25.280
Most of us would never call those things idols,
00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:29.649
but they can become idols. When we hear the word
00:00:29.649 --> 00:00:32.909
idol many believers picture something like the
00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:35.789
golden calf the Israelites worshipped in the
00:00:35.789 --> 00:00:39.670
Old Testament Which can make idolatry feel pretty
00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:43.670
far removed from our lives today Our modern -day
00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:46.469
idols may be much harder to recognize because
00:00:46.469 --> 00:00:50.149
they often begin with ordinary things we value
00:00:50.149 --> 00:00:53.439
and care about And sometimes, what we can see
00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:56.460
on the surface does not tell us what is going
00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.240
on in a person's thinking, including our own.
00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.420
Or what part of life has that thing come to mean
00:01:03.420 --> 00:01:08.120
to them or us? Money, for example, may represent
00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.500
security for one person, status for another,
00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:15.640
and control for someone else. In the same way
00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.840
a career might be about meaningful work, But
00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.340
it can also become a way of pursuing approval,
00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:28.519
success, power, security, or significance. Even
00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:32.579
comfort can become so important that avoiding
00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:35.939
disruption or sacrifice begins directing the
00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:39.739
way we live. And this is part of what makes modern
00:01:39.739 --> 00:01:43.959
idols more difficult to recognize. And sometimes,
00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.780
We may not recognize how our own beliefs and
00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:51.659
priorities have shifted while everything is going
00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:55.700
well. For example, the career keeps progressing.
00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.159
The money is there. People continue approving
00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:03.099
us. Life remains comfortable. But when something
00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:07.879
changes, we may begin to see how important it
00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:12.060
has actually become. The career becomes uncertain.
00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:16.460
Someone's approval disappears. Financial security
00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:21.319
feels threatened, or is threatened. A comfortable
00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.419
life is disrupted. Something we thought we could
00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:30.000
control suddenly becomes very uncertain. Those
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.199
experiences don't automatically mean we have
00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:35.259
an idol that we've uncovered, but sometimes disruption
00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:38.639
reveals how much we had begun, depending on something.
00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.979
And for Christians, that can become an opportunity
00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:46.460
to pay attention to what God may be showing us
00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:50.680
and to examine these potential sources of stress
00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:55.020
and emotional strain. You can ask yourself questions
00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:58.680
like, has this become more important in my life
00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:02.240
than I realized? What have I been looking to
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:06.800
this thing to provide for me? And has something
00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:10.300
in my life begun taking a place in my trust,
00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:15.479
worship, or loyalty that belongs to God? You
00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:19.979
see, biblically, idolatry is sin. Scripture has
00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.659
quite a bit to say about what happens when God's
00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:25.699
people give something else the worship, trust,
00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:29.199
or loyalty that belongs to Him. In today's episode,
00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.680
we'll try to answer some of these important questions.
00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.520
What does idolatry do to our relationship with
00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:41.879
God? What can it begin doing to us? How can something
00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:46.379
good gradually become an idol? How do we recognize
00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:49.780
the deeper desire underneath something we may
00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:52.900
be pursuing? And when the Holy Spirit brings
00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:57.080
something like that to our attention, what does
00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:01.370
Scripture tell us to do about it? I'm Dr. Cory
00:04:01.370 --> 00:04:04.830
Potter and this is Mind and Faith Matters. Let's
00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:11.349
dig in. So what do we actually mean by an idol?
00:04:12.689 --> 00:04:14.729
Throughout scripture, God calls his people to
00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:18.790
worship him, trust him, obey him, and place him
00:04:18.790 --> 00:04:22.769
at the center of their lives. Adultery happens
00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:25.610
when something else begins taking a place that
00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:29.490
belongs to God. That can involve what we worship?
00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.600
love most deeply, where we place our deepest
00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.399
trust and loyalty, what influences our decisions,
00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.899
and where we look for security, significance,
00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.740
or identity. And God is not pleased when that
00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:50.920
happens. In the Bible the first of the ten commandments
00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.439
says you shall have no other gods before me.
00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:58.540
And the next commandment prohibits making and
00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:03.160
worshiping idols. In Romans chapter 1 verses
00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:07.959
23 through 25, Paul describes idolatry as an
00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:12.079
exchange. People exchange the glory and truth
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.379
of God for created things, eventually worshiping
00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:20.139
and serving the creation rather than the Creator.
00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:24.660
And that gets to the heart of the problem. God
00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:28.509
is the Creator. everything else is creation,
00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:33.149
yet we take something God has given us and gradually
00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:37.410
give it a level of trust, devotion, or authority
00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:42.970
that belongs to Him. That is how even a good
00:05:42.970 --> 00:05:46.769
gift can become an idol, and that can happen
00:05:46.769 --> 00:05:50.689
much more quietly than bowing before a statue.
00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:55.980
Psalm 115 gives us a helpful picture of this.
00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.759
The psalm describes the idols of the nations
00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:34.540
this way starting in verse 4. And then the Psalm
00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:46.040
turns directly towards God's people. So there
00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:49.379
are two important things here for this conversation.
00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:53.000
The first is trust. The psalm contrasts trusting
00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.660
idols with trusting the Lord. But there's another
00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:59.160
statement we shouldn't move past too quickly.
00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:03.680
Those who make them become like them, the scripture
00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:06.699
says. That's important for believers who are
00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:09.740
trying to live for God to really think about.
00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.199
It suggests something worth considering for all
00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.699
of us. What we dedicate ourselves to can begin
00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:21.449
shaping our desires, our decisions. priorities,
00:07:22.149 --> 00:07:24.910
what gets our attention, and the way we live.
00:07:26.069 --> 00:07:28.189
That doesn't mean every important thing in our
00:07:28.189 --> 00:07:31.689
lives is competing with God. Scripture gives
00:07:31.689 --> 00:07:34.149
us plenty of reasons to care deeply about our
00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:37.649
families, our responsibilities, our work, our
00:07:37.649 --> 00:07:41.069
neighbors, and the gifts God has given us. The
00:07:41.069 --> 00:07:45.790
question is what place those things have taken
00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:50.579
and what we may be seeking through them. And
00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:54.019
this is where there is a connection with the
00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:56.480
recent episode I did on contingent self -worth.
00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.579
In that episode, we talked about how our sense
00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:04.019
of worth can become tied to things like achievement,
00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:09.300
approval, competence, appearance, relationships,
00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.459
or being needed. I don't really want to repeat
00:08:13.459 --> 00:08:15.699
the whole conversation here, but there is a connection
00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.379
when we begin depending on something to establish
00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:21.199
our worth. That may be a sign that this is an
00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:24.740
area of our life that deserves some reflection.
00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:29.100
Let's look at a few examples from life because,
00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:31.899
as I mentioned, the deeper issue is not always
00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:35.600
obvious from the way we're seeing things or the
00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.679
things we see on the surface. Achievement and
00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:45.159
approval sometimes overlap. Working hard, setting
00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:49.100
goals, developing our abilities, and accomplishing
00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:53.759
something meaningful can all be good. But I did
00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:58.000
something valuable can gradually become I am
00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.360
valuable because of what I accomplished. Approval
00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.960
can become part of that too, especially when
00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:07.980
we begin depending on recognition from others
00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:11.559
to reassure us that we are successful or worthwhile.
00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:14.460
Scripture gives us an important starting point
00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:18.100
there. human beings are created in the image
00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:22.240
of God. Our accomplishments do not create our
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:25.860
worth, and neither does the approval of other
00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:29.879
people. That means we can work hard, accomplish
00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:32.639
meaningful things, and appreciate encouragement
00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:37.360
without basing our value on either of them. Money
00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.980
gives us a different example because two people
00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:43.440
can pursue it for very different reasons. Money
00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:47.570
is useful. Financial planning can be wise and
00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:51.490
providing for our families is responsible Yet
00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:54.669
in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says we cannot serve
00:09:54.669 --> 00:10:00.970
both God and money He uses the language of masters
00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:04.970
for one person Money may represent security for
00:10:04.970 --> 00:10:08.169
another it may represent status independence
00:10:08.169 --> 00:10:11.710
influence or control So the important question
00:10:11.710 --> 00:10:16.330
goes beyond how much money we live with or possess.
00:10:17.590 --> 00:10:20.129
We need to consider what we are seeking through
00:10:20.129 --> 00:10:23.830
it and how that desire is shaping our choices.
00:10:25.470 --> 00:10:28.750
Ask yourself, what happens when generosity conflicts
00:10:28.750 --> 00:10:33.129
with my desire to keep what I have? What happens
00:10:33.129 --> 00:10:37.309
when doing what I believe is right may cost me
00:10:37.309 --> 00:10:41.399
financially? I'll pause here and say I've had
00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.980
to leave jobs that were good paying jobs because
00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:47.580
something unethical was happening and it's hard
00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:51.059
because it affects your whole family, but sometimes
00:10:51.059 --> 00:10:55.720
you have to. What happens when financial security
00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:58.019
becomes so important that it begins influencing
00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:00.960
decisions that should be shaped by faithfulness
00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:05.159
to God? Those really are spiritual questions.
00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:08.360
because Jesus places money in the context of
00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:12.299
competing masters. And control is another area
00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:15.360
worth considering here. Planning, preparing,
00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.820
and trying to make good decisions can be wise.
00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:21.860
The concern comes when our need to control an
00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:24.919
outcome becomes a problem to us. It begins to
00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.360
have too much influence over our choices or our
00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.820
willingness to trust God. There are limits to
00:11:31.820 --> 00:11:35.940
what any of us can control. We can't guarantee
00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:38.879
what other people will do, that our plans will
00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:43.059
work, or what tomorrow will even bring. Psychologists
00:11:43.059 --> 00:11:47.720
use the term intolerance of uncertainty to describe
00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:52.059
difficulty dealing with unknown outcomes. And
00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:55.179
research has connected it with worry and anxiety.
00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:59.620
That helps us understand part of the human experience.
00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:03.779
But from a faith perspective, we also have to
00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:06.879
consider What to do when we have this uncertainty
00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.840
that remains after we've done what reasonably
00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:13.980
can be done? At times, our response when control
00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:17.440
disappears may show us how much we've been relying
00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:22.840
on it for security. And then there's our comfort.
00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:27.080
There's nothing wrong with enjoying rest, stability,
00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:31.980
or comfort. The concern is when staying comfortable
00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:35.309
becomes so important. that we avoid a needed
00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:40.049
conversation, resist making a sacrifice, or keep
00:12:40.049 --> 00:12:42.330
backing away from something that we believe God
00:12:42.330 --> 00:12:46.950
is asking us to do because we do not want to
00:12:46.950 --> 00:12:52.289
have the disruption in our lives. And my final
00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:54.970
example is especially important for Christians
00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:58.690
because it can look very spiritual from the outside.
00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:04.330
Ministry and service can become closely connected
00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:09.350
to approval, significance, influence, or being
00:13:09.350 --> 00:13:15.330
needed. Recently, I saw that Michael W. Smith,
00:13:16.210 --> 00:13:22.590
the Christian musician, warned entertainers and
00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.649
worship leaders and those that are singing worship
00:13:25.649 --> 00:13:30.659
music that they need to do a check on themselves
00:13:30.659 --> 00:13:33.039
that they're not at the center of what they're
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:38.500
doing and that Christ is at the center. And I
00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:42.299
can sincerely love serving God and still become
00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:45.879
dependent on the role that service gives me.
00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:50.240
I can deeply care about the truth and become
00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.039
so invested in being right that admitting a mistake
00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:57.139
threatens how I see myself or how others see
00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:00.820
me. That leads to an important question. How
00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:04.799
do we become aware when something has taken that
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:09.000
place? We don't always recognize these patterns
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.779
while they're developing. God can bring them
00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:15.620
to our attention in different ways. Scripture
00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:20.899
may confront something in us as we read and study.
00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:25.100
Prayer can create space for greater honesty before
00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:29.940
God. A fellow believer or trusted believer may
00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:33.240
notice something, a pattern in your life that
00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:36.200
you may have missed. And sometimes a change in
00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.399
our circumstances gets our attention because
00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:42.519
our own reaction surprises us. We can use all
00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.240
these situations as prompts to look more carefully
00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.419
at what is happening in our hearts and bring
00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:52.559
them honestly before God. For a Christian, this
00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:54.759
is also where the work of the Holy Spirit becomes
00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:59.200
important. Jesus says in John chapter 16 that
00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:04.700
the Spirit exposes the truth about sin. As we
00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:07.919
respond to scripture, prayer, circumstances,
00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:11.019
and the wisdom of other believers, the Holy Spirit
00:15:11.019 --> 00:15:15.440
can bring areas of sin into clearer view. We
00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.379
may begin to see that the issue goes beyond our
00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:21.659
disappointment or stress and recognize that something
00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:24.600
has taken a place in our hearts that belongs
00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.519
to God. That realization brings us back to the
00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:32.860
biblical seriousness of idolatry. Romans 1 describes
00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:36.080
people worshipping and serving created things
00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:40.179
rather than the creator. Ezekiel 14 gives us
00:15:40.179 --> 00:15:43.080
another striking picture. God speaks about people
00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.100
who had set up idols in their hearts and he says
00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:52.059
those idols had estranged them from him. Idolatry
00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:54.559
can damage our faithfulness and fellowship with
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:59.159
God. because it redirects worship, trust, loyalty,
00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:03.539
and obedience. Something created begins receiving
00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:07.539
devotion that belongs to the Creator. And that
00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:10.620
is why Scripture calls idolatry sin and Scripture
00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:16.000
calls us to respond when God reveals it. In Ezekiel
00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:20.759
14, God tells his people to repent and turn away
00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:24.399
from their idols. Paul tells the Corinthians
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:28.440
to flee from idolatry and first Corinthians 10
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14 and in first Thessalonians Paul describes
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believers as people who had turned to God from
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idols to serve the living and true God I Love
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the direction in that passage. They turned from
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idols and turned to God That gives us a helpful
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picture of repentance Awareness allows us to
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recognize what happened. Repentance responds
00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:59.299
to what God has shown us. We confess the sin,
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turn away from the misplaced worship or trust,
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and turn toward God again. Repentance may also
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lead to practical changes because idolatry can
00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:15.180
affect our decisions and behavior. If money has
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become too important, repentance may change the
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way I earn. spend, save, or give. If approval
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has too much influence over me, faithfulness
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may require making a decision I believe is right
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even when someone is disappointed. If I've become
00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.960
dependent on control, I may need to acknowledge
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the limits of what I can manage and entrust an
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uncertain outcome to God. If comfort has begun
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shaping my obedience, repentance may mean accepting
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inconvenience, sacrifice, or a difficult responsibility.
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The practical response will look different depending
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on what God is revealing. Often the good thing
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itself remains part of our lives. Think about
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it. We still work, use money, appreciate encouragement,
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make plans, enjoy comfort, and serve. You see,
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repentance changes the place that those things
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occupy and reorients our trust, worship, and
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obedience toward God. And that brings us back
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to Matthew chapter 6. Jesus talks about treasure
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and where our hearts are. He talks about masters
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and tells us that we cannot serve both God and
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money. Then he talks about worry over life's
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needs and the future, food, clothing, our bodies,
00:18:46.490 --> 00:18:51.049
and tomorrow. See, these were real concerns for
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the people listening to him. Jesus reminds them
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that their Heavenly Father knows what they need
00:18:57.309 --> 00:19:00.950
and then he tells them to seek first the Kingdom
00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:05.809
of God and His righteousness. There's an order
00:19:05.809 --> 00:19:08.750
there that speaks directly to this conversation.
00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:12.470
God comes first and the other things we care
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about can take their proper place. So as you
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think about your own life, consider what has
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become especially important to you in your sense
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of security, worth, or significance. What do
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.240
your choices show about what you value most?
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.759
Is there something you are protecting so strongly
00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:38.650
that obedience to God has become secondary? When
00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:41.190
something important changes does your reaction
00:19:41.190 --> 00:19:43.710
point to a dependence you had not recognized
00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:46.470
and is the Holy Spirit bringing something to
00:19:46.470 --> 00:19:50.269
your attention that you need to confess and turn
00:19:50.269 --> 00:19:55.230
away from? Psalm 115 gives us a simple direction
00:19:55.230 --> 00:20:01.289
after describing the idols people trusted. Trust
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in the Lord. That is where this conversation
00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.779
ultimately leads. When God reveals an idol, we
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can make whatever changes faithfulness requires,
00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:14.079
turn our trust back toward the Living God, and
00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.500
allow the good things He has given us to take
00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:21.140
their proper place in our lives. Thanks for spending
00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.740
this time with me today. If you know someone
00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.259
who could benefit from this conversation, you
00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:29.220
can share it and you can find more information
00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:32.660
from Mind and Faith Matters at mindandfaithmatters
00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:36.349
.com As always, God bless and I'll talk to you
00:20:36.349 --> 00:20:36.849
again soon.
