Saturday, November 14, 2009

Idolatry

Tim Keller and others have done us a great service in helping us to understand sin, not primarily as doing 'wrong' things, but rather making 'good' things 'ultimate' things. As a Youth Pastor I have profited from this approach to sin, not only personally but also with regard to teaching. I regularly have High Schoolers sense that they are making something 'good' (usually sports) into something 'ultimate.'

Even better than how accessible it is is how true it is. When you turn something 'good' into something 'ultimate' then you walk a path of destruction and depression. This is well articulated by Chris Lukezic, a professional runner who has just recently retired. Here's how he words it:

"I think the year that I had my best races, so many things were going on in my life that running was just something that I was doing. It wasn't everything to me. And I really built running in to my entire world, which became a detriment. If there's anything I can blame, it's myself for making running such an important aspect of my life - making it way too important. And that really hurt me, because when I had a bad race, I took everything so personally."

Whether Christian or not, he explains the reality of what happens when a 'good' thing becomes an 'ultimate' thing.

3 comments:

Timothy Dyk. said...

i like the way you've articulated this idea so simply...definitely something i could afford to ponder in my living.

...i've been recommended recently to read tim keller. where would you recommend starting?

cheers, timothy c dyk

pete said...

Tim Keller helps me so much. I don't know where I would be without Tim Keller. I mean anytime I don't understand something and I can't find Tim Keller's explanation for it online it really hurts me. I take it really personally ...
... little joke. Good stuff Bryan.

Bryan Halferty said...

Tim, you could read his most recent book sex, money power... or something like that.

Maybe the best place to start would be with the free sermons at Redeemer.com