“I”dolatry

A few weeks ago, I read an interesting term in an In-Touch Ministries devotional; “I”dolatry. I find that a challenging term. If I put myself on the throne of my life instead of God, that is idolatry. If I am seeking my will not His will, making my will more important than His, that is idolatry.

It made me think of Jesus in the Gospels. Even facing the cross, He prayed “if there is anyway this cup can pass, but not my will but your will Father”. In two of the early stories about Jesus, when He was in the Temple at the age of twelve and when He changes water into wine, He followed His mother’s wishes instead of His own will.

If we study Jesus’ life in the Gospels we will hear Him say over and over His role on earth was to glorify His Father. We cannot find a passage that shows Jesus focused on Himself. In contrast, we see passages where the Disciples would do things like asked to be given seats of honor next to Jesus in His Kingdom. We have the same kind of thoughts sometimes. Jesus answer to them, and us, was clear, “if you want to be first, you need to be last”.

Take some time to keep track of the focus for your thoughts. How many of them are about you; either taking care of your needs or wanting God or others to take care of your needs. Also, listen to your conversations with God. Who is the center of these request? Are they “Father please help me get what I want” or are they “Father may Your will be done in this situation”. Are you waiting for Him to do things for you or are you seeking what you can do for Him and His Kingdom?

When our daughter was young, she had a song that sang about “I trouble”. One of the paradoxes of Christianity is we have greater fulfillment and joy if we change from focusing on ourselves to focusing on others. The abundant life is realized when we are not self-focused.

God has impressed on me to try hard and “see” others through their “filter” of life. I am learning to focus on people and try to think what the world looks like through their eyes. What do they see in my actions and attitude. Is there anything I can do to help them see God’s Spirit in me? What would Jesus see looking at this person? At first glance, you might not see how they are really feeling. We struggle to know if the are they happy or sad; comfortable in their surroundings or uncomfortable? We can discern if we let the Spirit guide us. Is there a kindness we can show; a smile, a hello, a wavy, a listening ear, etc.

It is hard to take the focus off ourselves. After all, we can only actually see through our eyes and feel our feelings. It takes the Holy Spirit’s help to see with His eyes. If we dominate our thoughts with our self, we crowd out the Spirit and His sensitivity. What we are thinking about may not be sinful, but is it helpful in the Kingdom? Scripture can be misunderstood if we are thinking from a selfish point of view. Do we understand the “letter of the scripture” or the “heart of the scripture”? Do we let the Spirit give us the Kingdom meaning of the scripture?

As parents, we set the acceptable standards of family interaction. How we treat the kids is how they will treat each other. If our focus is on our needs and wants, they will learn to do the same. However, if we focus on them and try to understand the situation, it turns into a teaching moment that is focus on their needs; spiritual, emotional or physical. When a relationship is giving not taking, we live out 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs…Love never fails.”

The next time you feel uneasy about a situation stop and “test the spirits”. Discern who is “talking to you”. Decide which team you want to play on. I find it really works.