Friday, 14 November 2008

• Watch Out For the "Little Gods" That Steal From You

  Guest post submitted by s_tennis

  

  I'm reading Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy, and it's a great read for us girls. The chapter that caught my attention recently was about our 'lil gods"...and we all have them. They steal our attention, focus, and time away from the One we should be looking to.

  "We wonder how to 'fall in love with Jesus Christ,' yet we conveniently forget about the scores of other lovers who have staked their claims on the territory of our hearts and constantly draw our attention and affection away from our true Prince"(pg 58).

  Whoa. So true.

  There are a select number of things, or "little gods" that I can readily think of that distract me from keeping my focus on Him alone. For starters, my xanga was up on my computer screen far more often than it should have been -hence my small "break" and me not being on here as much. Facebook too. It's great for keeping in touch with friends and procrastinating from that assignment due...tomorrow. But I need to constantly keep myself in check when it comes to my internet time. Same goes for being on the phone. Oi. Sports too.

  Each of these in excess can become, well...an addiction. Easily.

  "We aggressively try to meet the desire of our hearts by pursuing romantic relationships, popularity, comfort, material possessions, or achievements instead of truly delighting in Jesus Christ" (pg 65).

  Again, so true.

  Our culture has a great deal to do with this, but that is a separate tangent of its own.  All of those things are "little gods"; we worship them. And we wonder why our lives are the mess that they are: because we're chasing after things that won't last.

  What defines you? "Well, I'm an okay runner...I practice everyday..." That's nice. It's a gift, but that doesn't mean it completes you. Treat it as your defining feature and you may have it taken away from you...then what? If we pursue Him instead of these "little gods" (as we're commanded to -1st commandment: Have no other gods before me), then all our other needs will be met. He promises us this throughout the Bible.

  Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

  We're suppose to give it all up to Him...and have faith and trust in Him to take care of the rest; to build and refocus our lives entirely around Him.
  
  Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you,whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye, you can't be my disciple. Luke 14:33

  Jesus has, is, and always will be much more than enough.

  We all have "little gods"...with His help and control in our lives, we can begin to re-prioritize and re-focus our lives in the direction of where they should be: Worshiping the One Sovereign God and crushing the "little gods" under our feet.

  Reality check:
  "What do I do throughout my day that keeps me from fellowship with my Lord?
  "What consumes so much of my time and energy that it becomes the very definition of what I am?"
  "What do I cling to most tightly...that I can't imagine giving up or living without?"

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