Deceptively Good
We’re in a series at Cross Point entitled “Seriously” where we’re looking at some of the tough teachings of Jesus. This past Sunday (you can watch the message HERE) we talked about Luke 14 where Jesus says…
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.
Now clearly Jesus is not condoning hating those closest to you. He’s purposefully using hyperbole to help us understand that we must love everything else less. Following Him must be our number one priority. We can’t allow good things (even family) to become ultimate things.
As I meditated on this passage last week I felt God impressing this on me:
Your greatest temptation will not be to chase after what is ridiculously evil, but what is deceptively good.
I have a tendency to allow good things (money, success, family, ministry, etc.) to become ultimate things.
How about you. Where are you tempted to take something that is good and make it ultimate?
1. My family
2. Ministry
Both are good things, but if I am not careful they become “ultimate” or my own idols.
.-= Michael´s last blog ..10 Things That Have Suprised Me About Blogging =-.
In short, basically anything that can grasp my attention for more than about 3 seconds. Anything that can fascinate me that much, can soon become something ultimate.
I simply have too many answers to that question to try and answer it. Sad.
.-= Aaron Reddin´s last blog ..Faithbook of Jesus – Interview With Author Renee Johnson =-.
Ha, I’m with you! Mine might even be 2 seconds.
I don’t feel quite so bad now
just kidding….great post that serves as a great reminder that we must maintain awareness of where our time and attention are going.
.-= Aaron Reddin´s last blog ..It’s Not a New Song. It’s Just a REAL One. =-.
I always think about something my husband reminds me of when I get hyper-focused in a direction… which is often;
“Sometimes being the best can bring out the worst in you.”
this was great timing for me to read, Pete. Thanks!
.-= *~Michelle~*´s last blog ..A Great Design =-.
Everywhere.
.-= Lindsey Nobles´s last blog ..Distorted =-.
My wife takes center stage for me and I am sure it will be my children once they are here.
I think my wife and especially my children need God to be center stage. I have seen parents who make it all about there children and then their children grow up not in love with Jesus. They need to see us in love with Jesus, they need to see that we take our faith seriously. Other wise they will see every religious thing we do as just tradition and pointless.
.-= David Knapp´s last blog ..Japanese Baby Robot =-.
If I follow Christ I tend to love people more instead of less.
I’m with Lindsey, pretty much everywhere. But my primary area has been career. Your message Sunday was spot on to what I’ve been walking through for the past year. I’m learning to live open-handed and let go not only of what I’ve looked to my career for, but also what it represents: my dream for myself (a/k/a: my “ultimate”). In that process, I’m also letting go of the person I’ve tried to be in order to keep my dream propped up, and instead embracing who God created me to be. It’s beautifully painful.
.-= Grant Jenkins´s last blog ..My Story, Chapter 1: The Conflict =-.
God has to really keep me in check on my SERVICE to/for Him. I have a tendency to let the action become more important than One I serve. I do have a Martha Complex! And we’re dealing with it, God and I…
.-= Cindy Graves´s last blog ..Comfort Isn’t Always #1 =-.
I think anything that can be a source of deep satisfaction or joy runs the risk of becoming more to us than it ought because it would be really easy to find sustenance for our hearts there. Or perhaps it’s a sense of identity and value. There’s a part of me that wants to find identity/value/sustenance in the tangibles because those are easier and smaller than an invisible, omnipotent God who cannot be contained in all of creation.
For me, it would be any good thing that I want to hold onto. That is, any good thing other than Christ.
.-= Michelle Brown´s last blog ..Chained Glory =-.
This may sound wierd but for the longest time growing up I chased church like that. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that church was my drug. It was church this, church that, do this for church, do that for church. Church is obviously good, but can, and does get in the way of your relationship with your spouse, your kids and ultimately Jesus. It’s a little scary that in Revelation when Jesus said “I stand at the door and knock” he was standing outside the church trying to get in.
Of course, don’t misunderstand…church is very important. I’m definitely not saying to skip church altogether, just realize that there such a thing as too much. Sorry for the long rant, but just kinda came out of nowhere.
.-= A Boy Named Tracy´s last blog ..Become a Fan of A Fit Boy Named Tracy on Facebook =-.
Doesn’t sound weird at all. I’ve battled with making church ultimate on and off my entire life.
Same here… Church became a “drug” to me as well. To make it sound even more weird, I almost let it ruin my life. Now I am trying to find that balance. Tough stuff.
.-= Randy Wood´s last blog ..More than being……… =-.
The Lord was bringin’ this to me last week. The exact words from Luke 14. Ouch. Guess this is like His elbow jab!
We’re completing our family soon…meeting our 7 1/2 year old daughter in South Africa next week & making it all official. Staying up late stressing & worrying, because, hey, you KNOW that God needs my company & any help I can give!
To me, This is about Jesus. An obedience issue. We are doing this because He is first, and this is what He has called us to do. But it’s HARD on so many levels! But I’d rather have Jesus than anything. So, I choose Him. Such the better place to be!
I am constantly struggling with my life’s priorities. It is so easy to fall into letting something become an “ultimate” and elbow God out of the first seat on my priority list. Even as another poster said, something as good as church involvement.
I recently wrote my own post about this and published the priority list I try to maintain in my life:
God
Spouse
Child
Church Involvement
Non Church Activities.
Thank you for your post and for the reminder that God must take first place in our lives if we are to be His followers.
.-= Dusty Rayburn´s last blog ..Amazing Grace =-.
Finding happiness in things instead of happiness in God
That will preach Kyle!
I think Church, Ministry, Family, sometimes creep into the top spot of where Christ should be for me.
.-= Jim F.´s last blog ..The Will of God =-.
Wow, Pete!
“Your greatest temptation will not be to chase after what is ridiculously evil, but what is deceptively good.”
So much truth in that statement for me. Thank you. You’ve been a real blessing today.
.-= katdish´s last blog ..Reading Backwards =-.
Maybe I notice this more because I don’t have kids, but I think family can be one of the biggest temptations for idolatry.
To be certain, there is a precarious balance to be found. On the one hand, many (especially in vocational ministry) often struggle with serving those under care of their ministry before they serve their families, with their families consistently getting their leftovers. On the other hand, spending time with family can be a catch-all excuse for not serving.
Big church outreach on Halloween weekend? Sorry, my kid plays football/is a cheerleader. Can’t make it.
Servant outreach Saturday? Sorry, the whole family is going to the soccer game/gymnastics meet.
I’m not suggesting any of those things are bad, or that they should never take precendence over serving. However, for so many families this seems to have become the default, rather than the exception. “We will show up and serve as a family as long as it doesn’t interfere with our schedule.”
If we let these things–GOOD things–consistently take precedence over opportunities to make a difference in the lives of other people, then with our actions we teach our children more about where this Christ life is in our priorites than all the sermons and small group studies ever could.
.-= Hal Thomas´s last blog ..Small Business Uses Foursquare to Increase Sales 110% =-.
Agree!
And as the mother of small children, it seems like the church sometimes encourages parents (but especially moms) to worship at the alter of Everything Motherhood.
Being a “perfect mother” should never take precedence over being a servant of God.
True! And not just spending time with family, but the whole idea of “extra curricular” becoming somehow vitalto our existence. For instance, our son plays hockey. (Yes, I am Canadian!) Before we signed him up, we talked together about priorities as a family. And we all agreed on the deal. Which was: God comes first. So if you have to choose between going to church or going to a game or practice, we’ve agreed on the answer already. Really, it’s living our priorities in front of him and teaching by example. So cool to hear him remind me, when I plan something on a particular night, that it’ll have to be a mom & kaden night, because dad is working with the youth group!
Wow. This is a great conversation.
“Your greatest temptation will not be to chase after what is ridiculously evil, but what is deceptively good.”
I’m writing that down, on paper.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..It Started With Letters =-.
So, so true.
I think about Chariots of Fire when Eric Lidell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast…and when I run I feel his pleasure.”
I believe that God made me for a purpose, and he gifted me for that purpose, and he loves when I use my gifts with passion. But there is such a fine line between using them for his glory vs. using them for my glory.
That is what I struggle with so much, both in my career and my church work. I long for excellence. Do I long for it, for the right reasons?
Thanks for bringing this up.
What God wants me to do. People dont see but they will. I already know it may not be easy.But i’ll keep going. I have to sacarfice whatever it takes. This is what I have to do.I cant elt anything else get in my way.
It’s a slow and subtle slide into American idolatry. We may not be as blatant as the Israelite’s and make our own false idols out of wood or stone, but we allow other things to become our idols.
We fool ourselves into thinking we are okay, and it’s not that bad, but the truth is we have many idols that tear us away from God.
My struggle is putting my ministry before God! That’s just crazy!
.-= Rob´s last blog ..Sunday Morning Bombs =-.
agree. this is one topic that the American church nods yes its a problem, thinks about someone else, and nobody takes any action.
…sometimes… My friends… sometimes i spend more time with them, or thinking how to be with them or how to help them.
i search love in them, but i have to look at christ
.-= Mario Galindo´s last blog ..Cerca del fin =-.
Good post and one that most church goers dismiss as “not so bad sins”. I have had people get visibly angry at the mention of some of these “good things” posing a problem in your walk or within a church body. Even when you are talking about yourself… verse 33 kills me: So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (ESV)
I agree Cari. I’m afraid my own selfishness may get in the way a lot more than my family.
I think there is such a strong message in this. I’ve come to believe it’s more about recognizing Jesus is my BEING…not about priorities. If He is in me and with me in everything (family, work, friends, etc.), then I never need to worry if He is getting His share…because He is active in it all.
.-= Dawn Bryant´s last blog ..Blissfully Dependent =-.
Too much of anything, even good, has never gone well for me. I needed to hear this today. That’s a quote that I’m going to hang on to. Wow, you should write a book or something
“Your greatest temptation will not be to chase after what is ridiculously evil, but what is deceptively good.”
That is so true…
I dont have the perseverence to stay obsessed over anything. But, I do have a tendency to want whatever I do, to Be PERFECT(its a standard that is Flawed and Ridiculously high. I dont know how that has come about).
.-= Mysoul´s last blog ..Sacred Vows =-.
Unattainable Status Quo
Now that is an interesting combination of words, isn’t it?
I think there is a difference in being Kingdom Bringers versus Heaven-on-Earth Makers.
The Kingdom that we are to bring goes against the powers and principalities of this present reality. The Kingdom we are to bring shatters myopic visions of idealistic desires.
The Kingdom we are to bring shakes up the status quo.
I would go on but then I would have to write a post
.-= Tony York´s last blog ..Church Hunt Week 5 =-.
Pete…this message profoundly affected me. I spend way to much time doing things that are deceptively good, instead of being lost in the presence of the Ultimate Creator God. Nothing can replace or manufacture that. I want to thank you for being such a great example, mentor, and pastor to me.
Sincerely,
Blake
So true, the good always elbows the “best” in the nose. Add to that reality the war between my emotions and my rational mind. So I make Psalm 86.11 my daily prayer: “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
For me its School a lot, and just being a ‘christian’ i check off all the boxes of reading my bible, going to bible study, attending sundays, praying, etc. and that check list of doing it all get in the way ALL the time!
i focus on the vision rather than the One who dreamed it long before i did.
.-= alece´s last blog ..the greatest regret of my life =-.