Putting the Cart Before the Horse

Is our problem that we love the wrong things, or that we love the right things in the wrong order? Becky Pippert shared a story of her friend Theo who was heartbroken after a relationship ended, because he had ‘worshipped’ his partner. As they spoke, he asked her about her Christian faith and she responded:

'We have been created to love and worship God. We have worshiping natures. Where we run into trouble is when we try to worship something other than God; when we put something else in God’s place. It can be good things or bad things, but God-substitutes will always fail us, because they aren’t big enough to ultimately build our lives upon… God-substitutes are seen as sin in the Bible because we are demanding they give us what only God can give: identity, purpose, being totally understood and perfectly loved.’

Theo was initially afraid of being judged by Pippert but left the conversation with a better understanding of God’s love for him and his need to put God first in his life.

As we continue to ask God to give us a new heart and a new Spirit so that we love others with the love he has given to us, it’s important that we know how to speak to people who continue to experience the consequences of giving themselves to things that are not God.

This reflection introduced the Sunday 26 March teaching How to Talk About Sin, looking at Ephesians 2:1-10. Another related article When No One Feels Guilty was posted on 31 March.