The god of comfort

When I think of idols and other gods, my mind always thinks of physical entities. I picture wooden statues, buddhas, hindu ornaments etc. much like the way they would have been manifest in Ancient Near Eastern cultures. In the context of where I live I don’t encounter these that often – there’s the odd mural but outside of that its a rarity. Instead what I often encounter are gods in the form of ideologies and entitlements.

As I was reading the book of Luke this morning I was reminded of one entitlement that is a huge god in our culture today.

Someone in the crowd said to him (Jesus), “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:13-15

I don’t believe that most followers of Jesus I have encountered are consciously greedy. That’s a sentence with a ‘but’ coming! However, (that feels nicer than a but) the expectation of comfort in life has become the god which greed often hides behind. Its interesting to note the things that we believe we deserve and how we will place those things before our God. That will be different for everyone but here are a few examples of things I have felt personally and heard from others;

  • When I come to church its my time with God so I don’t want to connect with others I don’t know
  • Surely God wouldn’t want me to be sad so why would I give up something I love?
  • I’ve worked so hard and I needed to treat myself rather than give to God – surely God would want me to do that?

Jesus is not saying we can’t have nice things or do things that are pleasing to us. He is not trying to stop us going on holiday, His desire is not to stop us doing what we enjoy. He is simply urging us to be careful and to watch when those things go from things we own and control, to things that own and control us.

The best way are can stop that process is by offering it all to God and placing Him first.

After Jesus says this He goes on to talk about a man who didn’t put God first when it came to what he had. This resulted in his life being demanded from him. Jesus goes on to say this at the end of this section.

This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12: 21

I guess my challenge to myself and anyone else reading this is whether or not I am being rich towards God. Am I devoting and prioritising my stuff to Him or He is receiving a lesser portion or importance when it comes to that? I want to ensure that the god of comfort is not one I worship!