Archive for February, 2010
California Idols: The Body
Take a trip to the beach, the gym, or even to the supermarket and it doesn’t take long to see that our culture has made an idol out of “the body.” People spend hours trying to make their body look chiseled, tanned, blemishless, the right shape, and fit. From the rave of 100-Calorie snack packs in grocery aisle to the surge of gym-memberships every January, people are concerned about their bodies.
Now I’m not against working out, gym-memberships, or trying to eat healthy. In fact, I believe that as Christians, part of our obedience to God is taking care of our bodies. God made us to have physical bodies. In fact, when we go to heaven, we will not float around as spirits, but will one day have perfect physical bodies. God loves the human body…after all, He made it! It’s His greatest work of art…His greatest masterpiece on earth…the highlight of creation! Even though our current bodies are growing older and weaker because of sin, we are still to be good stewards of our bodies and seek to live as long as we can to achieve the mission God has given us. Rather than making an idol of the body, Christians have sometimes valued the body too little. Many Christians have developed the mindset that only what is spiritual matters and therefore have let their bodies go to waste. This is just as wrong as making an idol of the body. We should care about our physical bodies because God cares about them!
However, in Southern California, it is also very common to see our human body, its health, and what it looks like become a big idol. Here’s how it happens:
- “I will be happy and find acceptance if I can just get that six-pack.”
- “I will be happy and feel like my life is worth living if I can look like that model.”
- “I will be happy if I can just eat in a way that will keep me healthy.”
- “I will be happy if I can live till I’m 95 years old.”
Is it wrong to desire beauty, good health, or strong muscles? No! But the problem comes when gaining these things become the ultimate source of happiness and meaning in life.
This drives many young girls to seek for the perfect body…often developing disorders and distorted views of themselves. The magazines, tv shows, and commercials all propogate (sometimes unknowingly) a lie: look like this and you will be happy. Be this strong, and your life will have meaning.
We need to fight these lies and call ourselves to believe what’s true…that God is our ultimate source of joy and meaning and happiness.
What do you Think?
What other ways has the “body” become an idol?
What “core/root” idols are people sometimes seeking when they make their body an idol? (i.e. “acceptance from others”, “control over their life”)
Why should we take care of our bodies?
The Question-Box App
Friends,
We want to know the questions that you have! We know that you have some important questions that your not sure how to think through…ask us and let’s work through these as a community.
To ask a question, go to: www.danielmaddie.com/box
There’s also always going to be a link to the right hand side of the page under “Links” called “SH Question Box”.
Thanks!
California Idols: The “Idol-ometer”
So…
This week’s blog will be a little bit shorter than last weeks. I got a little bit carried away last week and ended up writing a novel instead of a short thought for the week. I’m not sure if anyone actually endured the word-onslaught to read the post…way to go if you did! All that to say…I will be attempting to keep these posts shorter, sweeter, and more digestible.
This week I want to take a break from focusing on specific idols and talk a bit about how to find out what our idols actually are. Assuming that we desire to find our joy, meaning, and life in God (rather than some idol), how do we find out if something has become an idol to us? How do we know if the facebook is our way of seeking the idols of comfort or control?
I would like to suggest (actually, I will suggest) that the discipline of “Fasting” can work as an “idol-ometer”, revealing to us whether or not something has truly become an idol to you.
Fasting (abstaining from something good) forces us to test whether or not “God is truly my life and happiness.” If I can’t fast from something (which means I can’t let it go), then it may be, and probably is, and idol in my heart.
Do you want to know if facebook has become a way to get your idol? Fast (abstain) from it for a week…or even a month! Do you want to know if you truly believe that Jesus is your life and your source of joy? Fast from the good gifts God has given you and see if you can still have joy.
What do you think?
What do you think about this “Idol-ometer”?
What things would you choose to give up for a while? (fast)
If you couldn’t give up facebook for a period of time, what do you think might be the root idol you are seeking to gain through 3 hours a day on facebook?
Forty Days of Water
Join the Sr. High community at Northpoint as we cut back on our Starbucks/soda/energy drinks/and more to be able to help bring clean water to our friends in Uganda.
Together, we will be cutting out drinks we don’t need so that we can set that money aside and give it to “Blood: Water Mission”, a non-profit organization that is helping to provide clean drinking water to thousands in Uganda.
We will begin this project on February 17th and ending on April 3rd.
California Idols: Success
The movie, “Chariots of Fire”, is one of my favorite movies. It makes me want to go run every time I watch it. This movie tells the true story of runner Eric Liddell, a man who loved God and was a gifted runner. Liddell is known for refusing to run on a Sunday during the 1924 Summer Olympics…a decision which cost him the race, but which God blessed by giving him the opportunity to run another race which he won. On the same English team as Liddell is another runner, named Harold Abrahams. Although they are good friends, Abrahams is not a God-worshipper and stands in stark contrast to Liddell throughout the whole movie.
Basically, Harold Abrahams runs with a chip on his shoulder…through running, he hopes to prove to his father, to his peers, and to the world that he is successful. As a Jew in the early 20th century (who many people wrongly hated), Abrahams was out to prove himself and be seen as successful. He believed that if he was seen as successful, he would find meaning in life and have joy. Success was his idol…and it owned him.
Part-way through the movie, a lady names Sybil asks Harold Abrahams if he loves running. Abrahams replies, “I’m more of an addict. It’s a compulsion within me, a weapon I can use.” Sybil asks him, “Against what?” Abrahams replies, “Being Jewish I suppose.”
Later in the movie, as Abrahams prepares for a huge race in the 1924 Olympic games, he confesses this to his teammate Aubrey:
“And now in one hour’s time I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor; 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But WILL I? Aubrey, I’ve known the fear of losing but now I am almost too frightened to win.”
It’s pretty clear that running was Abrahams’ tool for gaining success. He believed that if he gained success, he would find happiness, joy, and life. He states this really clearly when he says, “with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence.” Abrahams believed that meaning in life would be found in the success of winning a race. Success was Abrahams’ controlling idol. It owned him and drove him to train harder than anyone else to gain it.
The sad reality is that when Abrahams gained success, it didn’t bring true life and happiness. He was still left feeling empty and hopeless and driven to win more races, thinking that would bring life and joy. Because Abrahams worshiped success, believing it would make his life meaningful and give it joy, he was never able to enjoy running. He never felt the true joy of running, but instead was an addict to it and was so scared that he would lose. Instead of bringing joy and making his life meaningful, this idol brought fear and did not allow him to enjoy the gift of running that God had given him.
In contrast to Abrahams is the runner Eric Liddell. Liddell worshiped God above all else. He found his life and his joy in God and not in the success of his races. When asked why he runs, Liddell replies, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Liddell did not run to gain success, he ran out of worship to God. He saw that his gift as a runner was a gift from God and he used that gift as a way to worship God. The need to win the race or have success did not own Liddell like it owned Abrahams. In fact, he was willing to forfeit a race when it would have required him to run on the Lord’s Day. Liddell later went on to give up running in order to go and serve as a missionary in China. Because Liddell worshiped God and not success, Liddell was actually able to enjoy running!
So, what’s the point?
If you believe that “Success” will bring you joy and give your life meaning, then it is your idol and it will own you. This will mean…
- That you will do anything to gain this “success.” You will make it the priority, giving up everything to gain it. It will occupy your thoughts and your time.
- You will give up important things like gathering with the church family in order to pursue this idol. Maybe you will constantly forsake gathering with the church in order to pursue academic success, studying for hours and hours. Maybe you will stop reading your Bible because you don’t have time with all the sports training and practices you are doing.
- You will be fearful of not gaining success. Fear of losing a game or failing a test will grip you and control you.
- You will not be able to use your academic and athletic gifts for God and you will not be able to enjoy them.
- You will constantly chase after something, but never gain it. Harold Abrahams said it well, “I’m forever in pursuit and I don’t even know what I am chasing.”
If you believe that God is your ultimate source of joy and He gives your life meaning… And, if you trust that your life has meaning and you are justified through Jesus, not your own actions, then…
- You will be willing to give up a grade or a sport in order to follow and obey God. (just like Liddell chose not to run on Sunday).
- You will be able to use your gifts (athletic, academic, acting, etc..) to serve God and to worship Him.
- You will actually be able to enjoy the sport you play or the classes you take or the play you’re in.
- You will be okay if you don’t get the grade you wanted, make the team, or win the game. You won’t lose hope and go into despair.
What do you think?
What do you think?
What are other ways, besides running, that we pursue the idol of success?
How do you know if you chasing after the idol of success?
Californian Idols
No…I’m not Simon and we’re not singing about anything on the ground.
“Californian Idols” is the name of a weekly series that will show up on this blog. Every Monday, we will be focusing on a different cultural idol: Success, Money (a.k.a. “cheddar”), Sensuality, and More. The goal of these blog posts is to think as a community about what idols our culture is holding out to us and saying: “Worship This!”
Every culture has certain idols that it worships. Although one culture may look better or cleaner than another, they all hold onto idols that they believe will grant them life and joy. There is no culture that is “for God” or “God neutral”. Instead, every culture has it’s own set of idols that it worships…and it calls to you and I and says, “Worship these idols, they’re better than God!” If we are going to fight this temptation, we must identify the idols and shout back to our culture, “I worship God, He’s better than anything you offer!”
In case you don’t know what we’re talking about when we say, “idol”, let me define it for you. Tim Keller puts it well when he says,
What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.
An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your hearts, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’
So there you have it…check back every Monday to see the latest installment…and take part in the discussion by leaving comments in the “comment section” and giving your thoughts!
First question…
What are the “Californian Idols” that you see around you and that cry out to us saying, “Worship me!”???