fakes: a penny for my thoughts.

{this is the 3rd installment of my blog posts on the fake gods in our lives. if you would like to learn more about the topic, i strongly suggest picking up Timothy Keller’s book entitled “Counterfeit Gods”. the artwork for this post is brought to you by my lovely friend Jenipher. she draws and makes wonderfully cute things. you can follow her on twitter here: twitter.com/JenipherLyn and check out her website here: http://www.cherryrunway.com}

i didn’t want to write this post.

don’t get me wrong, i love writing and i love this blog but the topic of money? it doesn’t really excite me. i have what i need, i try not to spend too frivolously. i don’t feel like money really has a hold on my heart (i am wrong).

i mean, who worships money anyways? i just envision someone rolling around on a pile of money or any scene from “Blank Check” (reminder to self: install water slide in bedroom).

but the things money buys- a roof, food in my belly, clothes on my back, gas in my car- well, those give me security. those give me control. and when i don’t have money-i feel helpless.

now, THAT makes me think that money has a bigger hold on my heart than i wish it did. i need to trust God’s power over my life- not the false sense of security I get from money (because that could be wiped out in an instant). everything you own that money has bought can be taken away.

so, then, i’m at risk for making money my god, all the time. i don’t want money to rule my heart.

the great thing is that our Father knows us. God knew i would struggle with this. so- He instructs us to tithe.

because the best way to rob money of its power is to give. it. away.

you’ve heard it in your church pews and in your bible studies but i’m going to say it again- you need to tithe. and not so your church can buy a new building or so your pastor can send his kids to college. you need to tithe for you.

this simple act of worship reminds us always: what is ours is ultimately God’s. every blessing we have is because of Him. every single one.

it also allows you to be part of something greater. by giving ten percent of your money back to God, you allow more work to be done in his Kingdom here.

but life gets in the way. things stop working, someone gets sick, a dress we love goes on sale- we need the money. well hold onto your hats. because tithing is the only thing in the Bible that God tells us to test Him on. for all my book nerds out there, that’s Malachi 3:10.

God is going to take care of me. even if I lose my job.

God is going to take care of you. even if your house gets flooded.

God is going to take care of us.

when we are poor and when our circumstances are troubling, we know we can depend on God. we know that when we tithe, He will bless us.

but once you get the new job, once you have the new house- don’t forget that God will still bless you with your tithe. because acknowledging God with your finances will direct your heart to the only security in this world you will ever need.

fakes: romantic love.

this. this is the undercurrent flowing through most of our hearts. it’s pushed through our heads by the media, our families, our friends, and unfortunately ourselves.

all we need is love. if, when you hear this, you hear “all you need in life is the love of Christ” then you would be right. that is a great starting point in building your life with Him.

but that’s not what I think of. this makes me think of a different love- more specifically, romantic love. the rainbow laden, you-hang-up-first, smile like an idiot, giggle like a psychiatric patient kind of love. and that kind of love? it’s great, it’s wonderful, it’s a miracle. but, I assure you, it is not all you need.

as humans, we have a deep desire to be known and to be unconditionally loved. when someone loves us romantically, we feel validated and our hearts feel whole. the danger, though, is in making the quest for romantic love or our significant other our god.

they. will. disappoint. you.

it doesn’t matter if you met them ten years ago or today. it’ll happen. maybe not at first. but eventually. (sorry to burst your bubble).

[and oh, you people out there who say “i’m done with love! my heart is broken and I’ve decided to never date again!” or as i so eloquently put it in an old livejournal entry years ago- “screw men, I hope they all go live in a cave and eat beef jerky and never bother me again” (i wish i was joking)- you’re guilty too. because you gain power and control by ruling out the possibility of finding love. you’ve made your alternative plans your god, leaving our God no room to work His plan. open up your heart enough to let God work- don't let your pain create a false idol out of singleness.]

it has been incredibly difficult for me to realize and remind myself that ONLY Jesus Christ defines me, not any man. my struggle in this arena has three chapters.

the first chronicles years and years of singleness. daydreaming, hoping, wishing for my life to begin. to date a man who would give me purpose, make me feel special, make me feel loved. i never knew that this laid the groundwork for sin, for heartache later on.

the second chapter. i start dating. seeking validation and finding it. temporarily. finding nice boys who i made my god. placing unrealistic expectation on them to fill up my whole heart and to make me feel special all the time. my expectation crushed them as they, obviously, could not play the role of God.

and now i am here, in this third chapter. realizing all of this, constantly reminding myself that no man (past, present, or future) can fill me up like my heart needs. none but God Himself.

the thing about most fake gods is that they are things that God designed for us. it feels natural to love someone romantically and it should. but we must never distort or overextend this love’s importance to make it be “all we need”. because if you do this, i guarantee you, your significant other will feel crushed by expectation and you will feel disappointed and empty.

{i read something, somewhere that will stay with me forever. i sincerely wish i remember where i read it but this is my half hearted attempt to tell you “this isn’t my original thought”. } imagine your heart as a cup- needing to be filled daily with affirmation and love. now, as each person in your life does or says something nice to you, you fill your cup up a little more- hoping to have a full cup (heart) by the end of the day.

what if instead.

your cup was already filled to the brim the moment your feet hit the floor in the morning?

by Jesus.

by what He has done and what He says about you. your heart is full already and you can avoid walking around desperately- begging for other things and people to fill your cup.

then, when someone does or says something to validate us- our cup overflows.

let’s not start our hearts on empty every morning. God already says we are worth it, that He loves us, that He knows us, that we are beautiful. so- if a significant other makes us feel that way- it is a bonus. NOT a necessity.

i come to you with a humble heart- i haven’t figured out how to master this fake god completely. but praying helps, being grounded in the Word helps, realizing that another person can’t fill me up helps. don’t be discouraged in this fight to put Jesus in his rightful place- i am right there with you.

{Timothy Keller has more on this in his book. He concludes the romantic love chapter perfectly writing: “Who can I turn to who is so beautiful that he will enable me to escape all counterfeit gods? There is only one answer to this question. As poet George Herbert wrote, looking at Jesus on the Cross: ‘Thou art my loveliness, my life, my light, Beauty alone to me’”. }

fakes: an introduction.

this is the beginning of a six part series i will writing on the fake gods in our lives. these posts are heavily influenced by  Timothy Keller’s book- Counterfeit Gods. i strongly urge you to read it if you get the chance or if anything i write strikes a chord in you over the course of the series. 

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we all have things we put before our Father. and normally these things are great, holy, and created with our joy in mind.

but something miserable happens when we displace God and we shove our own idols into His place. we end up restless, confused, and sorely disappointed.

nothing will fill our lives up like Jesus. nothing. because there is a God-shaped hole in our hearts. and it’s silly to fill it up with things the Creator makes instead of the Creator Himself.

i am guilty. so guilty- of trying to fill my heart up with earthly things. of making the mistake that romance or money or academic success is all i need to make me whole.

this introduction is my promise to you that i will be as honest as possible with my struggles in keeping God the only God in my life. i am doing this to promote honesty, discussion, thought, and ultimately- awareness.

i want us to become more cognizant of the fakes in our lives.

so we can put God’s gifts in their rightful places.

and so we can put God at the center of our universe – right where He should be.