Foundational Treason Part 2, began with a quote spoken by David Foster Wallace who said, in reality there is no such thing as Atheism because everybody worships something. (paraphrase)
I believe that is true; do you?
Wallace concluded, “The only choice we get is what to worship.” (emphasis mine)
Q: ‘What’ do you worship?
John 4:1-26, records a verbal discourse between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well at mid-day.
Near the conclusion of their conversation, Jesus says (vs.21-24), “…Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither worship on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But* the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (NKJV) (emphasis mine) [italicized mine]
Jesus made it clear Who is to be worshipped, God, the Father.
Q: *BUT do followers of the Lord Jesus Christ worship God, the Father, “in spirit and truth”?
If there is an idol (a what) in your life, a literal, hand made object; or an idol of the heart, then that prevents you from worshipping God “in spirit and truth”.
Why?
Because worshipping an idol represents the sin of treason against God. (See Foundational Treason! Part 1.)
At the conclusion of the previous post, the following statement was made. (Foundational Treason! Part 2)
God, the Father, is seeking your ‘unshared love’.
Q: What does that mean?
In order to worship God “in spirit and truth,” there cannot be any other gods (idols)in your life that you are ‘seeking’, ‘desiring’, ‘coveting’, ‘pursuing’, or ‘worshipping’.
As a Christian, any attention given to an idol is sharing your love and affection between that idol and God.
Why?
Because, idols are other ‘gods’.
Remember Satan’s words of Adam and Eve, “you shall be like God”, and because of their treason against God, mankind has become their own god, a , self-god , independent of God. (Genesis 3)
Peter Nittler, a Christian, realized that he ‘worshipped’ words first thing in the morning.
He said that habit in his life set a mood and tone for him as he began his day.
Q: Do you have a habit that sets the mood and tone for your day?
Q: Is that habit good or bad for how you start your day?
Having a routine to start your day is not necessarily bad.
The question is, what is your routine centered on?
Q: Is God, the Father; God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; God the Holy Spirit setting the mood and tone for your day?
Q: Or, do you have idols in your life that set the mood and tone for your day?
Referencing Tim Keller again, I recently heard part of a sermon in which he was talking about idols in the lives of Christians. (emphasis mine)
He called them ‘conservative idols’.
[Personal thought: Interesting choice of words, I did not hear any explanation why he referred to them as ‘conservative.’]
The first was money [wealth]; the second was women; and the third was work. (Insert mine for alliteration)
Sunday morning, June 7, 2026, Dr. Gifford,* was sharing from Ephesians 2:1-3:10 at North Creek Church**. (Bibliography)
Dr. Gifford alluded to the same point that Tim Keller made.
Dr Gifford taught that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can pursue goals in their lives that are in reality idols because they desire “possessions, accomplishments, pleasures, events, etc to edify themselves.” (emphasis mine)
[Personal thought-those words all sound ‘conservative’ to me.]
Pastor Keller taught that believers ‘share’ their love for money (wealth), women, work, with God.
That implies that they do not have an ‘unshared love’ for God, alone.
God doesn’t say you cannot be rich; but His word does warn us about the deceitfulness of riches. (Matthew 13:22; I Timothy 6:10; Matthew 6:24)
God’s word encourages us to have a fulfilled marriage relationship-one man, one woman; but ‘having a perfect marriage’ can be idolatrous.
John Piper says that if our “affection and time serving or focusing on our spouse diminishes our time spent with our community, personal growth, or spiritual life, then it can be idolatrous.” (See Desiring God, Has Marriage Become My Idol? September 1, 2017)
God has a work for each of us to do(Ephesians 2:10); but are we pursuing the work, that God called has called us to do; or are we working our way up the corporate ladder at all costs.
John Piper comments that, “Your work has become idolatry when it is the root and not the fruit of your acceptance.” (See Desiring God, “When Has My Career Become My Idol?, November 4, 2019)
Can you visualize the intersection of money (wealth), women, and work converging to create one large idol that controls your life? (insert alliteration)
To maintain such a lifestyle will require us to focus upon ourselves so that we ‘look good’, ‘feel good’, ‘be right’, ‘stay in control’, seek personal gain’, have a hidden agenda, ‘be uncaring of other’s needs- living totally independent apart from God. ( The Agape Road: Journey to Intimacy with the Father, by Bob Mumford, 2006)
Q: What is the source of that lifestyle?
We are focused on ‘self’. (See Mark 8:36; Luke 12:16-21; Luke 18:9-14; Luke 16:19-31).
As a Christian , God is present in your life; but you cannot worship Him in ‘spirit and truth’ if you share your love between idols and God.
It will not work!
Why?
Our God is a Jealous God.
Exodus 34:14 , NKJV (context Exodus 34:1-17)
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.)
__________________________________
Why is God jealous? Because of His LOVE for His people (all humanity)
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJV, context John 3:1-21)
__________________________________
Adding to Tim Keller’s three ‘idol‘ words; I add Nittler’s’ ‘idol‘, ‘words’.
We now have four ‘idols’.
Wealth, women, work, words.
This is not an all inclusive list; but they represent the problem.
Q: Are any of these ‘idols’ present in your life?
Referring back to Nittler’s idol of ‘words’, his physical idol was his cell phone.
It is not true that the cell phone has become an ‘idol’ of humanity?
At the beginning of the New Year, 2026, Pastor Kent at NCC** continued teaching from the Book of Isaiah.
In Isaiah 42, God speaks to His people regarding their idols.
For several sermons, Pastor Kent talked about idols in the lives of humanity, especially Christians.
One of the idols he brought to the attention of the congregation was ‘cell phones’.
I have found it interesting that since January, how many other writers, ministers, and teachers, I have have heard or read addressing the topic of idols in the lives of Christians.
Cell phones and computer hardware have become idols in the lives of believers and non-believers.
They represent a ‘what do we worship’ just like David Foster Wallace said in his Commencement Address in 2005.
Studies have shown how detrimental being obsessed with a ‘cell phone’ can be in your life.
Pastor Kent strongly challenged the congregation regarding the use of their cell phone.
Q: Are the words you read and hear on your electronic devices more important to you than the Word of God?
Q:As a believer in Jesus Christ, do you spend more time with your electronic devices than you do with God?
If you answer either or both questions in the affirmative, then you do not have an ‘unshared love’ for God, alone.
Q: Are you willing to practically and prayerfully examine your relationship to your cell phone?
Sounds awkward right? but necessary!
What do I mean?
Nittler understood that his cell phone was a personal idol in his life.
Q: Is the cell phone a personal idol in your life?
Q: Are you willing to confront the possibility that you, as a Christian, have an idol, or idols in your life; therefore, you do not have an ‘unshared love’ for God alone.
Remember, God is a jealous God.
In reality, your ‘cell phone’ may not be a ‘what’ in your life at all.
I have had to come to grips with idolatry in my own life.
I realized that the ‘cell phone’ did dominate my attention; therefore I curtailed its usage.
Many years ago, golf was an idol of my heart.
I am thankful that the Lord removed that idolatry from my heart.
__________________________________
Here is where the ‘rubber meets the road’.
Nittler says in his short article, “You might bristle at the idea that you worship the news. Me too. But read that first paragraph again (Wallace’s quote) again. I’m giving the news the best part of my day, the keys to my hope, and letting it tell me what is true, right, and beautiful. At a certain point, you gotta call a spade a spade. I’m not just consuming the news; I’m bringing myself to its altar.”
Nittler is being transparent.
He recognizes that his cell phone is his idol.
Where did Nittler say his day began?
Using his cell phone, Nittler said,”I am not just consuming the news; I’m bringing myself to its altar.”
Nittler, is worshipping at another altar; therefore, he cannot worship God in ‘spirit and truth’.
Very strong words.
Stop and ponder this truth.
Nittler is saying that he is controlled by the news, and seeking its headlines before he thinks about coming to God in the morning.
Q: Is there an idol, or an idolatrous habit that is controlling your life?
You may not personally have a ‘cell phone altar’ but ‘what’ altar do you present yourself to, before you seek the presence of God, or even consider seeking God’s presence?
If you are a Christian, I strongly encourage you to consider these acronyms for the word I.D.O.L(s):
- Idols Deceive Our Lives .
- Idols Destroy Our Lives
- Idolatry Destroys Our Life Spiritually.
What many are experiencing with their ‘cell phone’ is just the tip of the ice berg regarding the impact that personal idolatry is having on the life of a Christian; a husband and/ or wife; a father and/or mother in their family; and as a member of the Body of Christ.
Why?
Because you cannot worship God in ‘spirit and truth’ with an ‘unshared love’.
If you are worshipping your idol and at the same time seeking to worship God, that is called ‘mixed worship’.
_______________________________________
Remember, God is a jealous God.
The reality is, whether we consciously know it or not, the world watches the Church.
People in the world watch the people of God.
Non-believers watch believers.
Christians in the Church watch other Christians in the Church.
Q: What does your lifestyle tell another about your relationship to God, the Father?
The people in your life know whether or not the Lord Jesus Christ is your first love, or if you have a ‘shared love‘ in your life.
If you are married and have a family, ask your wife and your children, they will tell you what’s true.
As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have an idol in your life, then you are sharing your love with that idol and with God.
That is called ‘mixed worship’.
Remember Tim Keller’s three conservative idols–wealth, women, and work, and Peter Nittler’s personal idol-words?
Idols are not new; there have been idols throughout the history of mankind.
Q: What did the Apostle Paul tell the Corinthian Church?
Read II Corinthians 6:14-18.
I wonder, if the Church at Ephesus, had idols? (Revelation 2:1-7)
Why do I ask that question?
Jesus said that they had ‘left their first love’.
This sounds like to me that they were sharing their love between something else(idol) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus was to be their first love.
Q: Is Jesus your first love?
The Church in Ephesus didn’t have ‘cell phones’ so it had to be something else.
At the end of each of the seven letters to seven Churches in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 2,3) the following statement is made:
“He who has a ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”.
I encourage you to stop; seek the Lord; ask Him to search your heart, and see if there be any wicked way in you? (Psalm 139:24, context Psalm 139)
God is gracious.
His mercies are renewed every morning.
He loves you more than you really comprehend.
He is a loving heavenly Father that delights in you.
God, the Father wants you to mature as His child.
God asks you to repent and turn away from the sin that so easily besets you.
God desires for you to be changed from ‘glory to glory’ into the image of His Son.
God is saying to you, come to Me, just as you are, and I will be your Father, and you will be My son/My daughter.
God loves you very much.
Seek the Lord while He may be found….
blessings, your brother in Christ, deo
[Bibliography: * Dr. Gifford, Associate Pastor, at Faith Community Church, Santa Clarita, CA; **NCC- North Creek Church, Walnut Creek, CA.]
Living Words of Encouragement 