“You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship.”

― N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

Introduction:

We all hold faith in an idol, we serve and worship that idol. You may call it a dream, or a desire, a plan or a loved one, and although it takes on different forms for different people, it acts as our god. We follow after the aims that god sets before us, placing our trust and faith in the direction the path leads us. I believe this is true and today I hope to discuss faith, and idolization as it applies to the modern secular man.

Additionally, I mean to explain the hope and joy my faith in Christ provides, and invite you to explore the path He sets before you today.

We all gaze in awe at something... | Faith & Idolatry

My pastor likes to say, if you don't know who you worship, show me your credit card bill and I'll tell you, because how you choose to spend your money conveys what you love most. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21 (ESV).

And as N.T. Wright said, this matters because where you place your awe and admiration ends up changing you, sadly, not always for the better.

One's admiration leads to desire, and we set the object of our wonder above all else. We let that wonder define our ultimate pursuit, or highest aim, and in that moment we begin making it an idol. Every day in a million little ways, we serve that idol, by making choices geared at reaching the goal set by it. We work longer hours to get more money, sacrificing family, or we lie about our accomplishments to seek fame and reputation, and with every act we move further down the path of service and worship to that idol, to our god.

Definition of idol:

1 : an object of extreme devotion a movie idol; also : ideal 2
2 : a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god

Examples:

• If money is your idol, then maybe you work 10-12 hours a day, striving for recognition, raises and promotions; ignoring your friends or family, even your own health.
• If children are your idol, perhaps you give your "all" to their care, no matter the cost. You will ignore your spouse to the point of divorce. You will deny yourself, to the point of fostering resentment in the children you worship, saying things like: "They do not appreciate me; if they only knew the sacrifices I've made for them!"

We all choose an idol, and each day in a million ways we serve that idol and if you understand this you are far better off, than those who don't. Why? Because, despite post-modernist critiques, truth is not subjective, and not all gods are created equal.

Understand also, that who we idolize, we necessarily place "faith" in. We therefore are all creatures of faith, not just those who attend church. We set our faith in an idol when we, through our actions, accept the path it lays before us and willingly walk it. As we aim at our idol, (i.e., money, fame, power) we declare with our actions that it is the highest pursuit and we commit ourselves to seeking after it, "serving it". All the while we trust, in faith that following after it will serve us best.

Definition of faith

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty lost faith in the company's president
b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions acted in good faith
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs the Protestant faith

We place faith in our idol as one places faith in a map, trusting that it will lead us to our desired destination, even though sadly, where we want to be is not always where we should go.

We worship money, when we place money above all other goals and aims, gazing at it with awe and admiration, in that moment placing our "faith", trust, and confidence that following after that goal (i.e., money) will lead to our desired aim, which could be happiness.

Who do you worship?

All men worship something, whatever it is, that thing is their god.

No one lives without faith, by default something is your focus, that focus is the core of your life; it will be the thing/person you spend most of your time, and money on. Often in today's culture it is the self, maybe you take "me-days", and "follow your truth", these are examples of making yourself the idol of worship. Or maybe you worship family, specifically your children; do you sacrifice all your time, your money, and maybe your marriage for the "betterment" of the children? Then you idolize family, and this is your god.

The Great Secular Lie: A Faith Denied

Do not let secularism fool you, you are never without a faith system, and not all faith systems are created equal. Faith is not an evil word, and living without faith is not preferential or even possible. But science?! Hasn't science clearly disproven the claims of Christianity, and done away with the need for metaphysical answers? No.

This is too great a discussion to satisfy here, but suffice it to say, there is room in life for both physical and metaphysical truth. Evolution and the big bang do not disprove God's hand in our creation or development in the same way that pointing at a hammer does not explain completely how the stairs in my home were built.

Science does not do away with a need for faith, as outlined above faith is a trust in a person or thing that leads your actions. And by this definition, one needs faith to activate the power of science because you cannot apply empiricism without "faith" in the reliability of your measurements.

My Faith: Physical & Metaphysical Reconciled

I have faith in scientific method, meaning, confidence and trust that it can reveal reliable truth about the physical world, and yet hold and see an obvious need for faith in metaphysical truth also. By definition the metaphysical is "not physical", meaning beyond the reach of empiricism. One cannot measure the weight of a soul with a scale, or the depth of a conscious with a ruler, nor explain the objective moral code that crosses cultures without calling upon something outside of us, outside the physical.

Each of these non-physical realities (soul, consciousness, and morality) demand metaphysical explanation and origin. Either that or you simply say, “They just exist, and it doesn't matter why”, but I reject that evasion out rightly. These are the most important questions mankind has ever encountered and they are worth our investigation, what’s more I am confident that the explanations are here for our discovery. We just need to seek and we will find. (Matthew 7:7)

Romans 1:20 English Standard Version (ESV)

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Christ is the Answer:

In Jesus Christ we see the answer to the metaphysical questions that linger. We see explanation for creation: His will be done. We see explanation for our soul: He breathed life into us. We see explanation for our objective moral code: he wrote it on our hearts before we were born.

2 Corinthians 4:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I cannot prove the validity of my belief in Christ by empiric standards, but I do have a relationship with the God I describe. He daily speaks in my heart and mind, calling me to be a better father and husband, and that was not there before I knew Christ. Also He stirs an inquisitiveness in me that is new, I care about questions like "where did man come from", and "where are we going". Most importantly, Jesus Christ has set me along a path which has imbued my life with indescribable joy, peace and most excitingly hope.

The Basis of my Faith: Jesus Christ

Does your god give you hope for the future? Joy in the moment? Peace for the day, even amidst terrible trials like disease and death? Mine does.

The bible tells us God stands with us in the flames and with us in the valley of death, and I experientially know this to be true. No, I can’t hold the proof in my hands and show you, but I am confident if you seek this peace, joy and hope, you will find it… Try.

I share all this with you, in the hopes that you would consider seriously my faith, and your own, because I believe deeply that it really matters who you worship.

Secularism tells us that we are here by chance, created from vacuum, born out of nothing, because of no reason and for no purpose. This is a dark and disappointing assertion and is poor solace as one’s daughter dies of cancer, or after listening to media accounts of terrible violence perpetrated daily. But in Jesus we hear an alternative; God made all things and is working all things, through love and wisdom, to a beautiful, glorious end, where creation and creator can be re-united. At the very least, you should want my faith to be true.

I take hope in the fact that Christianity says God cares, and is working all things for our good and uses even ashes to paint masterpieces. I find joy in the fact that I have seen a terrible event breathe life into a marriage, or a family, and I know personally that suffering can bring growth. And I am strengthened that in all my questions, and through all my doubts, I have had heard His response. Christ does live, and He still works, and most importantly He does let Himself be known… ask Him.

Worship Wisely, It Matters:

Both theistic and atheistic faith systems alike serve to order the universe and life itself so that we might move forward through time, making judgements about right from wrong, and best from worst, but again, not all faith systems are equal.

In Jesus we see a basis for hope and joy, none but Jesus offers and an answer to suffering and our deep need to see justice done. There is no hope in a secular world-view, we are just randomness unfolding. Without Christ, life has no hope, and suffering cannot be properly addressed since justice will never be attained...

Jesus demands everything of me, and one is right to question Him, to doubt Him, but I have found through all my doubts, as I honestly examine Jesus and His assertions, that there is truth in it. In Christianity I have found the most cogent, logical, and thankfully hopeful, explanation of life and reality that I have ever heard. I believe Christ is Lord, God, and Saviour, because I have felt the truth of that claim, but in part that recognition began as God called me to question what I thought I knew about faith as He is calling you now.

One final time, no one is beyond faith, and where you place your faith will change who you become as it changes the road you follow. Ask yourself, is your path leading you where you need to be?

My Prayer:

Lord help us to understand and admit, humanity needs faith. The question is not whether you are a person of faith, but what it is precisely that you put your faith in: yourself, friendship or family, a government, or God himself.

God knows I write these posts for my own sake first, but if anything I wrote here lands with you, please God let it be this: we all place faith in someone or something, and it really does matter, at minimum your life is on the line, and perhaps your eternity also.

Thanks as always for your time and attention. I really do appreciate your views, comments, and support. Thank you all.