My God – October 18, 2019

“No one can serve two masters.”
Luke 16:13

My God

Fifteen years ago, an author by the name of David Foster Wallace agreed to speak at a college graduation. Wallace was a secular man, wary of any kind of organized religion. And yet in this speech he surprised a lot of people. He said that in the trenches of everyday life, there really is no such thing as atheism because everyone worships something. It’s just a question of what. Then he gave some warnings. He said that if you worship money, you will never have enough. If you worship beauty and good looks, you will always feel ugly. Furthermore, as you grow older and beauty fades, you will die a million deaths before you actually die. If you worship power, he said, you will always feel weak. And if you worship intellect, then you will always feel stupid, and you will always feel afraid you’re going to be found out.

In addition, Wallace included this chilling caution. Be careful what you worship. Because nearly everything that one can worship will, in the end, eat you alive.

And so let’s put the question out on the table. Who—or what—do you worship?

More often than we care to admit, you and I have slipped into putting our best time, our best energy, our best passion into something or someone other than our relationship with God and his will for our lives. As a result, we have often skewed our priorities and hurt other people. For this, we deserve God’s abandonment.

But God has not abandoned us. Instead, Jesus came. In our place, he always put his heavenly Father first. At the cross, he washed away the sin of our every misguided priority. Through faith in Jesus, all is now forgiven. All is well between us and our God. This reality empowers us to follow the One who matters most.

David Foster Wallace warned that nearly everything one can worship will eat you alive in the end. But not the one, true God who is worthy of your worship. He will not eat you alive. Through Jesus He will keep you alive…eternally.

Prayer:
Lord, I love you with all my heart. May all that I say and do this day demonstrate my love for you. Amen.