When You Make Idols, You End Up Like Them - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - August 14, 2020
2020Aug 14
When You Make Idols, You End Up Like Them By Rick Warren
“Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them”(Psalm 115:8 GW).
Even good things—like our marriages, our families, our hobbies, the people we admire, or even our ministries in the church—can become idols if we place a greater emphasis on them than on our relationship with God.
Anytime you think fulfillment comes from who you’re with or what you do, you’re setting yourself up for a deep disappointment. Created things simply cannot give us meaning in life; only our Creator can do that.
The Bible says, “The poor, deluded fool . . . trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask: ‘Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?’” (Isaiah 44:20 NLT).
We want to live in the truth of God’s reality, not in the lie created by our own hand. These idols won’t just stop after they’ve disappointed us. Eventually, they will control us.
The Bible says, “Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them” (Psalm 115:8 GW). Whatever you value the most in life, you’re going to become like. If you value money, you’ll eventually become materialistic. If you value pleasure, you’ll become hedonistic or self-indulgent.
On the other hand, if you value Jesus above all else, you’ll become like him.
So if putting something else first in our lives warps us, why do we do it?
We want a god we can control. We want to be able to manage him. But why would you want to follow a god you can control and manage? That’s no god at all.
Guess what? You don’t have to settle for that kind of god. You can choose to give yourself over to an all-knowing, all-powerful God who can take you places far beyond where your fantasies and idols ever could. And that’s a reality that won’t leave you feeling disappointed.
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Build a Firm Foundation of Prayer in the Next Generation!
“Perhaps the most important role you can play in the life of a child is teaching them to trust God through prayer. It’s the key to living with hope.” —Pastor Rick
That’s why it’s so important to strengthen the hope of kids by introducing them to Jesus’ model for prayer at an early age. And we’re excited to help you do that with Pastor Rick’s children’s book, The Lord’s Prayer: Words of Hope and Happiness.
Filled with thoughtful insights from Pastor Rick as well as stunning illustrations from award-winning artist, Richard Jesse Watson, this book brings the poetic scripture from the King James Version alive for readers young and old. It’s sure to become a meaningful bedtime ritual, a treasured memory, and by God’s grace, a legacy that bears good fruit for generations to come.
This book is a perfect way to share the beauty and richness of The Lord’s Prayer with the children the Lord has placed in your life. And it’s our thanks for your gift below to help Daily Hope take the Good News to more people everywhere. So please request a copy for yourself or a friend today, and thanks for your generosity!
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