07/14/19 - American Idols - 1 Corinthians 10:1-14

Saint Augustine said, "The essence of sin is loving anything more than God." In my opinion, this is one of the most profound and insightful statements ever made by a human. We often think of sin as those things that are dirty and ugly and really, really bad. Augustine gives us a different perspective. He tells us that we make idols out of good things when we make them ultimate things. This is a disordered love. Money, power, career, spouses, children, social causes - all good things but we must be careful to keep them in their proper order of love. When our love of career exceeds the love of family we have a disordered love. When our love for family exceeds our love for God we have a disordered love. 

The Corinthians had every gift, they lacked nothing. They were richly blessed by God. You know what happened? They turned the blessings of God into their own self-confidence. They took credit for what God provided. How do you know if you've turned something into an idol? Ask yourself this: Would I think life is no longer worth living if I didn't have it? Idols are functional saviors attempting to replace the real Savior Jesus Christ. They will always lets us down, Jesus never will.