Functional gods

Tim Keller and many others are fond of saying, "Everybody worships."  The question is not "Do you worship?" but "What or who do you worship?"  It's not only religious people who worship.  We are all worshipers by nature.  We all will give our devotion, time, money and allegiance to something or someone-money, popularity, respect, image, possessions, comfort, business, sex, family, spouse, buying things, the weekend, vacation, work, children...the list could go on.  To what do you give most of your time, thoughts and money?  What do you value the most?  What, if you lost it, would devastate you.  Not just disappoint you, but make you lose all hope in life? 

I think it's true to say, as many have said, that whatever it is that we answer those questions with exists as a functional god in our lives.  It occupies a place in our lives that God alone is meant to occupy.  Jesus said, "Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Mt. 22:37).  What do we love with everything that is inside of us.  What do we delight in and enjoy more than anything else?  It is either God or a functional god. 

I like to use the analogy of the children's game King of the Hill.  In a way, life is a continual battle to keep God on the top of the hill of our lives.  Many other things are constantly vying for the throne of our lives and devotion; we are constantly allowing God to be pushed off the throne and giving our affection to other things.  But God alone deserves to be the King.  We were made to worship Him alone and will find our greatest joy in worshiping him alone. 

We all have our functional gods that seek to push God off his rightful throne.  The good news is that Jesus died for idol worshipers like you and I.  He died to free us from our self-imposed slavery to our idols and draw us to himself.   He died to free us from our devotion to things that lead to death (even good things that become ultimate things) and call us into devotion to the one thing that leads to life-Himself.  It's God's mercy, patience and kindness that lead us to repent of our idol worship and turn to Jesus as Lord (most valued) and Savior (most needed).

For further reading on this subject, see Tim Keller's book "Counterfeit Gods."