Last night at TwoFour Dr. Bruce Ashford spoke on the passage of Luke 18 about the Rich Young Ruler. I've heard this story in numerous sermons, but i've never thought of it from the perspective he portrayed last night.
The rich young ruler is known for his love for his money being greater than the love he had for Christ. Christ asked him to simply give all his possessions away for the sake of Jesus, but he couldn't because his priorities and thoughts were completely off balanced. He loved Jesus, but not enough to destroy what had now become his idol, money.
Dr. Ashford last night brought up a few other areas in our own lives where we put Jesus aside just for our own personal pleasure, just for our idols. Dr. Ashford listed money, sex, approval, and success. Something hit me last night, I realized that i've had a problem sometime throughout my life with each one of these. Even now i still struggle with some of them.
Money. People in this world have always treasured money. Wealthy people- their life is surrounded by money. Poor people- their desire is to have money, to have what the wealthy people have. Adults work for their money day in and day out. College students don't have much money, yet they still want more and more of it. High school students like myself want the money to fit in. They want to have the latest thing and not be known as the lame one who can't afford the newest pair of shoes. Money isn't a bad thing when you carry it correctly. If you let it rule your life then you are worshipping it. Your own bank account has become your security when Christ needs to be your One and only security. I easily struggle with this. I'm a girl.. I like clothes and shoes. But this is something that i need to let my God rule over, it's His money. Not mine.
Sex. Okay so i'm not addicted to sex. I don't look at porn sites or anything close to that. But I know people who have. I know very strong Christians who I look up to like crazy who have struggled with keeping their eyes away from the 15 minute pleasure of scrolling through all of Google being pleased by the things they see. As a high schooler I don't crave any desire to have sex, if i'm honest. I know the importance of waiting until after marriage, and accepting that is perfectly fine with me. That's how God intends on sex to be carried out. So, I don't have a struggle with literal sexual interaction, but I have had a problem with accepting being single. Being single isn't bad at all. And it's taken me a while to figure this out. Yes, I do like boys. I'm interested in one at the moment. But following God's way with that is what I intend to do. I'm finally able to be patient with that. By saying this doesn't mean I don't ever struggle with it, but it does mean that i'm trying my hardest to do what's right and what the Lord wants.
Approval. I'm a high school girl. It's a given that I struggle with this at times. Everyone struggles with this at some point in their life. Everyone wants to be accepted. Being an outcast isn't so fun. But worrying about the approval and attention from others rather than craving the attention of the Most High God is wrong. We need to glorify God in all that we do. If that means people won't accept you from time to time.. then you need to decide if you truly love the Lord and will be able to give up the acceptance of just a few people for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Success. Success is a problem for all people. Each and every person wants to be successful. Each person doesn't want to have the big "L" for loser posted on their forehead. No one wants to hear some one say "Epic Fail" each time they try to do something. "The amount of success that you will ever have will never bring you the salvation you think it will." Dr. Ashford stated last night. This is so very true. We need to believe that statement to be true and seek the true way to salvation which is through God the Father and Jesus His Son.
As you see, each one of these has it's own way of becoming an idol. Each one has taken the spot in my life where Jesus is. The only way to keep Jesus above anything else is for you to do business with God. To let Him destroy those idols. You can't do that on your own. "If you want your idol to be smashed then it must be God who does it." Dr. Ashford also stated. Idols are false saviors and terrible lords. They will never, ever satisfy you like the love of Christ will. That's what I learned last night. That's what i was broken over last night. I've got some work to do on myself and how I prioritize my Jesus, and allow Him to be the number One priority in my life. Without Him i wouldn't even have life, so the least I could do is give back to Him what He was so gracious to give to me.
Oh how i love my Jesus! (:
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