Author: David Griffith

What happens when the WHAT of loving my neighbor replaces the WHY of loving them?

That’s right: idol worship!

So this commandment, born out of the last six of the original Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, makes me ask two questions:

What is love?

The LOVE spoken of here is the same love with which the Lord loves us: Agape Love. It is unconditional in nature and does not ask for anything in return. When we love ANYONE in this way, we are glorifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit because that is how God loves us.

Who is my neighbor?

A neighbor is anyone God puts in my path to love with God’s love.

In Luke 10:30-37, Jesus gives us the answer in the story of the Good Samaritan. Reader’s Digest version: a Jewish businessman gets mugged and left for dead beside the road. Two different religious men, who were also Jewish, saw the man and passed by, unwilling to help him for religious reasons. But a Samaritan man, on a journey to who knows where, saw him, felt compassion, and helped him.

The Good Samaritan helped his neighbor because:

a. He felt compassion (God’s heart).
b. He stopped because that was who he was, who he BE in his soul.
c. He had a plan to help the injured man, which means he used his MIND to think through what needed to be accomplished.
d. He used what God had given him to help, so he used his God-given STRENGTH to help the man.

The Samaritan had a bent toward recognizing a neighbor in need and then acting upon that bent. He did not allow the act of service, the WHAT, to overtake the WHY of service.

So you may be asking, “How can a relationship become an idol?”

Relationships become idols when they become more important than God Himself. They become idols when we offer our love or friendship while expecting something in return. They become idols when we believe people can fulfill a longing, need, or provision that only God Himself can fulfill and has promised to fulfill. (Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.)

People become idols when we place burdens on them that they are incapable of carrying. When we do that, we end up crushing them under the weight of our expectations.

God calls us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We are called to love our neighbor with the unconditional Agape Love of Christ. And guess what? We are called to love ourselves with that same love.

I am going to finish this week with a reminder of how the Holy Spirit describes love through the pen of Paul the Apostle in his letter to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own,  is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…

Do you love this way? Or are you an idol worshipper?

As I have studied for this week’s Digging Deeper, I have been cut to the quick as my own sin has been revealed through God’s gentle Word. I write not as a man who has all of this figured out, but as a man who echoes Paul in Romans 7 when he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this body of death?” (v. 24).

I struggle with idol worship.

So I ask the Lord each morning to guard my heart, soul, mind, and abilities so that they may be used for His glory and His glory alone.

Then I ask this simple question: “Who will it be today, Lord? Who is my neighbor today?”

Perhaps today, it is you.

I love you so much forever!

This idol may be the most hideous and damaging of the five idol categories because it is so easy to hide inside of, if not behind.

Strength becomes an idol when we begin to rely on our own strength and power instead of God’s strength and power.

The businessman or businesswoman who climbs the corporate or entrepreneurial ladder quickly and begins to believe in, and bask in, the acknowledgement of peers. The pastor who believes that the sudden growth of their church is due to their preaching, teaching, and administrative skills. The parents who believe they are the reason for their children’s success, discipline, athletic prowess, or grades.

The list is literally endless. Just have success, take credit for it, and now it has become an idol.

For years, I took great pride in how I handled my late wife’s perpetual illness, accepting the heartfelt accolades of people for myself instead of redirecting them to God. And then I fell badly.

Then, because she was limited in what she could do as a mother, I jumped in to become “Super Dad” and took credit for that too whenever people acknowledged it, until I found out that my kids resented me in so many ways.

Strike two.

Slowly, I have learned, as my good friend Terry Cash says, “There is nothing good in me; it is all of Christ!”

Here is a very, VERY limited list of verses to explore that reiterate Terry’s encouragement: 1 Chronicles 16:28; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 28:7; Psalm 29:1 (and this truth is found throughout the Psalms); Isaiah 40:31; Jeremiah 16:19; and Ephesians 6:10.

Look up these passages and be reminded that any strength we possess is from the Lord and nothing else. We cannot even take our next breath without His strength holding our atmosphere together.

So the next time you begin to feel giddy about some accomplishment, take a step back and give God the glory He rightly deserves. Take yourself off the perch and put God back where He belongs.

Ask the Lord this morning to show you where you have taken credit for literally anything, and repent before Him. Be consumed by His forgiveness and comfort. Then be on the lookout for the enemy the next time he tells you how awesome you are.

Pride is Satan’s sin; it does not need to become ours!

Tomorrow we look at the Idol of Relationships (neighbors)!

So where does the sin of idol worship begin?

That is correct: it begins in the mind! What we think about, who we think about, and how we think all matter.

And how do we combat sinful or evil thoughts? Right again, by renewing our minds with God’s Word!

Romans 12:1-3 is, to me, one of the most complete battle plans for facing the Idols of the Mind. It says:

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to THINK more highly of himself than he ought to THINK, but to THINK so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

A complete study of Psalm 119 will also shore up our mental defenses, as all but four of its 176 verses speak of God’s Law, God’s precepts, or God’s Word. But verse 11 is particularly helpful as it reminds us, “Thy Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.”

How did the enemy attack Eve in the garden? By putting doubt in her mind concerning the goodness and reliability of God.

And what did Satan use against Jesus when he tested Him in the wilderness? He used half-truths and twisted Scripture in an attempt to tempt Jesus to sin. But God the Son used His Word to combat the enemy and cast him away.

Our minds are the most brilliant computers ever created. And like computers, they can be used for both good and evil. Our minds themselves can become idols when we place intelligence and knowledge on the pedestal of our lives.

Our minds are only good when we use them for God’s glory, not our own!

Do you think of yourself as smarter than those around you? Worse yet, do you sometimes think of yourself as smarter than God Himself? Do you KNOWingly sin against Him? Do you THINK about the sin and then do it anyway?

Then your mind has become an idol that you worship instead of Jesus.

On your knees before the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to help renew your mind. Make a promise to Jesus that you will spend time in His Word every day so that renewal can happen. Repent of the pride of Bible knowledge for knowledge’s sake instead of pursuing a relationship with the Son.

Tomorrow we will look at Idols of Strength!

I believe Scripture is very clear that the SOUL speaks to the essence of who we are eternally. Our soul is what the enemy wants to destroy and what Jesus came to redeem. The soul is who God created in eternity past to serve Him now and for all eternity future. The soul is our BEing. It is what we BE.

In Mark 8:34-37, Jesus summoned the multitude with His disciples and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his SOUL? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The word translated LIFE and SOUL is the same word: psyche. It is where we get the word psychology. Our life, our soul, our very who-ness is described in this word.

So how do we make our soul an idol?

Based upon this passage in Mark, I believe we idolize our souls when we idolize ourselves.

Here is the question I believe God is asking us: “What do you think is so special about your life apart from Me? Your life was lost until I found you. Only then did I make you alive in Christ and give you a purpose” (Ephesians 2:1-10). “So why do you strive in every area of your being as if you do not have an Advocate, even My Son?”

The idol of the soul is, I believe, the most all-encompassing idol. It permeates everything we do and everything we are because we fear losing it. Jesus assured us that we never will so that we could finally rest in His grace and lose our lives in Christ (1 John 5:11-12).

Worshipping the idol of the soul is the ever-present death grip on all that is important to us.

Let go.

And by doing so, find that Jesus is holding all things together according to the counsel of His will.

Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Most people do not know that the Greek word for ALL actually translates to… ALL!

There is nothing in my life or yours that is outside of God’s sovereign control.

So this idol of the soul is really the idol of unbelief; a lack of faith, a lack of trust in the God of the universe who sent His Son to hold on to US through ALL of life.

Are you ready to let go completely and fall into His nail-pierced hands?

Go to Him in prayer and ask God to reveal where you have blisters and callouses of the soul. Ask the Holy Spirit to gently help you release your grip on this life He paid the price for.

Tomorrow we will look at idols of the mind!

Jesus was asked this question in Matthew 22:36: “Teacher, which is the great (or greatest) commandment in the Law?”

Why did this Pharisee lawyer ask Jesus this question? Because the religious leaders of the day had just heard that Jesus had totally humiliated the Sadducees, and they wanted a crack at the untrained, uneducated Rabbi who was challenging the law they held so dear. So they got a lawyer to ask the question.

And Jesus did not disappoint.

He said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, and with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (See also Luke 10:25-27 where ‘Strength’ is added).

When I look at what is going on around the world today, I am amazed that anyone would think the days are not evil or that it does not matter how we live our lives. Paul the Apostle refers to the way we live as our walk.

I am called to walk as a wise man, and this wisdom walk takes time, energy, and priority. So I was forced to evaluate my walk on a daily basis and identify those elements, outside of necessary labor, that were consuming my time. It was not pretty.

My walk starts at 6:00 a.m. with a pre-workout drink, followed by 60 to 90 minutes in my home gym exercising. Of course, I am watching a Christian podcast or sermon, something from Mike, or Matt, or John, to make the time somewhat profitable. I come upstairs, take my supplements, and eat some protein. I have to keep the temple operating at peak level. A shower follows, often much too long, and then a big breakfast of foods that are good for me. Again, the temple must be protected.

Only then have I been getting into God’s Word to prepare for the spiritual battle ahead, if I have time.

You see, lately, as I confessed to my small group recently, my time with the Father has been relegated to “if I have time” territory on the calendar. I am convicted and ashamed as I write this. But confession is good for the soul, or so I have heard.

This does not mean that I do not spend time with my Lord, because I do. I have time on most days, but He has not been first and the weights second. How pathetic for a man who intimately knows the sacrifice of the Godhead for my very soul.

As a result of this introspection:

• I will make my heart’s desire for Him a priority each morning.
• I will nourish my soul with His Word and with praise on my lips daily.
• I will strengthen myself with the armor of God that He provides for the battle against the evil one.
• I will renew my mind so that no weapon formed against me shall prosper.

I will make the most of my time so that my walk is wise and not foolish. How about you, my friends?

Lord, come alongside our family at NorthStar Church as we walk out Your purpose of loving You, loving people, and living sent. May we surrender our priorities and embrace Yours. Amen.

Is time with Jesus being crowded out by the worries of this world, primarily economic worries?

This passage about anxiety hits particularly close to home for me personally. I am dealing with a business situation that I have no control over. It seems that those in authority over me are blind to my pleas for reason, at least in my opinion, and I am at their mercy. I am self-employed, but we all have masters.

I am not handling it as well as I would have hoped, and I am anxious. I am writing this DD just two days before having to appear in court over this matter, and my Father is asking me, “Dave, why are you so worried? Do you not trust Me?”

Yes, Lord. In my head, I know You are in control and not them. It is my heart that is having trouble. I am like the father who said to Jesus, “Yes, I believe. Help me in my unbelief” (Gospel of Mark 9:24).

The problem with my unbelief is that I have been seeking the world’s solutions instead of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, and then secondly going to work on a personal solution.

My heart has not been seeking wisdom from His Word.

My soul has been panting from worry rather than pursuing Him in praise.

My strength has been failing because I have chosen not to rest in Him alone.

My mind has wandered to the finite instead of focusing on the infinite.

Because I truly love Jesus, I will believe God’s Word where He says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” Psalm 27:1, and the rest of the Psalm.

Please come to my aid, and to the aid of Your children who are in need today. Amen.

Is time with Jesus each day taking a back seat to worldly priorities?

Here, Paul the Apostle is reminding the church at Thessalonica that there is a difference between His children and the world. We are to be sober minded about the time that remains to serve Him and to know Him. The two go hand in hand, do they not? The better I know Him, the more I want to serve Him.

Why? Because the better I know Him, the more I love Him. And who does not want to serve someone they truly love?

Jesus invites me to spend my time with Him in His light. Think about that for a moment. There are so many dark places where my mind can go and where my time can be spent. If I choose to spend my time there, then I am choosing to be caught off guard at His coming.

But I am not of the darkness, and neither are you. We, brothers and sisters, are of the light because He has drawn us into His light.

Is my heart thrilled by the light of His Word each day?

Is my soul stirred and warmed by the fire of praise?

Is my inner strength sufficient for what He has called me to do?

Is my mind’s eye fixed on the light of His glory?

If I truly love Jesus, why do I sometimes still yearn for the darkness?

Holy Spirit, pursue me with the light of Your glory so that I may shun the darkness. Amen.

Is time with Jesus a priority on my schedule each day?

In this Psalm, I am reminded of just how brief our life truly is. My father died two months shy of his 80th birthday. That was almost nine years ago, and it still seems like yesterday. What he left behind was not much to show for 63 years of labor, toil, and life.

And I am concerned that I have not yet fully learned that lesson of numbering my days so that I may grow in wisdom every day.

My ultimate goal each day is to love God and love people, but my calendar does not always support that goal. If I were put on trial for spending too much time with Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict me?

Do I have a holy fear of God? Do I understand His wrath and fury, not toward me, whom He has saved, but toward the things of this world that separate me from Him? Do you?

Is my heart changing toward Him because of time in His Word?

Is my soul on fire with praise when I engage my Savior in prayerful dialogue?

Is my strength growing as I give to those in need and fast in holiness?

Is my mind being renewed daily through all of the above?

Or am I just drifting through life, content to simply be “one of the kids”?

If I truly love Jesus, I will ask myself these questions regularly, with a humble heart and a contrite spirit.

Lord, teach me to number my days so that I may present to You a heart of wisdom. Amen.

Is Jesus on my schedule every day for a little personal time?

During this week, we will study together how to prioritize time with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and how doing so will free us to love people and live sent.

In the passage above, Jesus shows us, as His children, how to use our time wisely in the midst of unimaginable pressure and demands, caring for the one and the many, while still making time for His Father. We will also consider how to lead lives that are pleasing to the Father, with a prescription for success that comes straight from an interaction with Jesus.

When asked what the secret was to eternal life, Jesus responded to the lawyer asking the question, “What does the Law of Moses say?”

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

In reality, this verse, along with the companion verses in Gospel of Matthew 22:37-39 and Gospel of Mark 12:30-31, may be among the most important verses in all of Scripture. Jesus is being asked, partly out of curiosity and partly as a test, “How then shall I live?” Jesus takes the Ten Commandments and summarizes them into two parts: the first four commands, which concern how we relate to God, and the last six commands, which concern how we relate to people. He states them plainly in two simple principles: Love God. Love People.

When I make decisions based on these two principles, I make very few bad decisions.

Will doing this cause my love for God to grow? Yes? Then do it.

Will doing this hurt those I love? Yes? Then do not do it.

It seems easy enough, but is it? Actually, why is it not?

I believe, from personal experience, that the reason I do not always make righteous decisions is because I am not spending enough time with my Father in His Word. I am not renewing my mind (Romans 12:2). This affects my heart relationship with Him.

I believe I am not spending enough time in solitude, prayer, and praise (Luke 5:16). This affects my soul.

I am not spending my time looking for those I can serve in the name of Jesus. This affects my spiritual strength.

Altogether, I am not spending my day renewing my mind. What I put into my mind is what I will eventually pour out into the world God has placed me in.

Father, help me truly see and believe that my time with You every day is the most profitable investment I can make. It will make all my other interactions and decisions more fruitful. Amen.