Anchormen Ep27 Idols

Is God first in your life?

The first commandment says we should have no God's before our God almighty. 

So many men have many things that fight for our attention and that attention can pull us away from God. OR CAN IT?

The Anchormen wrestle with this topic and even the mention of putting something or someone before God can spark some thoughtful conversation.

Can we make idols for ourselves in our hobbies, passions, serving and even our church activities?

Join us in our conversation and let's explore what God's word has to say about these "idols" and are they, or can they become idols in our lives.

Reach out to the Anchormen by emailing us at anchoredbygrace@duck.com.

Listen or share our website to help spread the good news of being Anchored by Grace

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

In our walk with God, we often experience moments when our faith is tested. It's at these times that we truly discover what it means to be anchored in faith. Our faith is like a sturdy ship anchored in the harbor. It keeps us grounded when the waves of life toss us around. When we lean on God and His Word, we find the strength to persevere and trust in His plans. The anchormen remind us weakly that Jesus is our anchor, providing stability and assurance in the midst of our certainty. Together, let's dive deeper into the powerful words that encourage us. Hold fast in the faith of Jesus alone and not rely on our good words to be righteous. Once again, uh it's Bob and Todd here right now. Bob's or John and Todd here. Bob's gonna join us in just a minute. He's uh on his way. So I wanted to pose a question, or we we were opposed to discussion earlier this week. Todd and I started this and we decided we're gonna talk about it today. Yeah. Yeah. No, you're gonna talk about it, so you want to do it.

unknown 1:49

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

It's your idol. Hey, speaking of idols, Billy! I was thinking about him, but uh think about how to say a good point, good start. Well, think about that.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Billy was a rebel. He had a rebel yell.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

All right, bad. All right.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

And not only did he do it a little bit, but he did it more, more, more.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Oh, there's a little backstory behind that too. That trip we took to Carolina, supposed.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

I got video. I mean, I think video and audio. It was good. Well, we're gonna touch on the subject of idols, idol idolatry, and what can be considered or the thoughts, some of the things we do, are they considered idols?

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Can we have idols?

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Can we have idols? Uh being in Christ, we can have idols. Let's uh just start with prayer. And Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Uh thank you, Holy Spirit being in us. Thank you for all the thoughts that that he helps bring to our minds and and all the scripture that you bring to us so we can have our discussions here every week. Father, uh be with Bob as he approaches and be with Todd and I. Let the things we say be glorified to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

All right, was that prayer better than the last one?

SPEAKER_00 3:21

The one down south, yes. It was way better.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

All right, so what brought this conversation on was we've got a lot of friends and brothers and and uh even we s our wives and and sisters in Christ, uh they treat things sometimes as though they're they have to go to these things. Uh let's say, let's say a friend of ours uh is speaking, is doing a talk or speaking, and everyone feels like, oh, I gotta go there. Uh and it happens every time that that person that same person could speak over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Uh not say anything different.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Not saying anything different that we know of because we're not there. So I would I'm taking it's not anything different, but they go, these the other people go constantly. Is that a is that an idol? Can that be an idol or is it an idol? Do we make it an idol?

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Can we have idols again? Based on what we saw from Biblequestions.com. It uh it almost looks like um because of us being new creations in Christ and having a new heart, that our new heart can't have idols. Our flesh can do stuff, just like our flesh, you know, can still cuss, our flesh could still desire other things, you know, but um you know it's really really interesting because church world says yes, you can have idols, and they could be good or bad idols.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

But church world also for the most part is performance-based.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Well, before you get off the subject of church, church can be an idol, can't it? Can church be an idol if if you not say that you have to be a church, but let's say if you have to be at every function of the church.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Well, and if you think that serving, and the serving is for your own purpose so that you feel good, versus serving because you want to show Christ through you, the way that we were brought up and raised and talked to, it seems as though uh, you know, that would could be considered an idol as well.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

That could well, that definitely can be self-righteousness. You're looking to please yourself and uh look at me, what I'm doing, and let everybody else, let everybody around you know, look at me, I'm doing this. It it all depends on your motivation, I think.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yeah, I think that it's uh definitely a great topic to discuss because there are a lot of things that can come from it and come of it.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Hi, Bob. Hey. Good to have you with us again.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Good to be here.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

We're on the subject of idols. Okay. And what what can be an idol uh as for Christians we can still have idols, right? Or is it not or not?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

But that's what I'm what I'm saying. Yeah, that's our discussion. Um, you know, right here, so let's read this. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ. So just like all the other things that we talk about in identity, is idol an exception now?

SPEAKER_01 6:57

I think I don't know, I think not. What's your thoughts on that, Bob?

SPEAKER_03 7:01

So is the question as a believer, can we have an idol?

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

So we got the idol of things that people treasure. For some people, their idol might be their work or fortune or is that is that an idol or is that a priority?

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Misplaced priorities?

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Yeah, uh right. I I think it's it I think it's an extent, right? It can be a misplaced priority, but it can be to such an extent that it becomes an idol in their lives. Right. So I don't know about as far as you know you're talking about an idol, whether that means that somebody holds that above God or at the same level as Jesus. Is that what we're thinking about?

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Because Well as as Christians and born born-again Christians and believers in Christ, we we should have no idols before God. No no images or no idols before God.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

So, but the question is, so what if you do?

SPEAKER_02 7:55

Well, what would be an example of having an idol before God?

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Money. I all I care about is money, money, money. That's what I'm paying attention to. Money is is more important in people's perception or perceived minds of my life and the way that I live my life. Your career, your social status, um, certain forms of technology, comfort. But again, is that is that could could it be considered like law-based though? Because if we have a new heart, and this is what I I was looking at under Got Questions.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

So if it's taking God's place, I think it's an idol. If it's at the level of God or Jesus or and you and you have it to that level, but I think anything else is just it's just human life and human experience.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

I think what they're saying here is that because of us being a new creation and having a new heart, yeah, that having an idol is no different than any other sin. You're saying it doesn't matter if you have an idol. I don't know that it's a sin like any other it's it's the flesh acting out. It isn't our spirit, because our spirit is all good. Our spirit, it's change and it's all righteous.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

There is I think some people's idols suppress the spirit in them. You know, they get so focused on and bogged down by this thing, whatever it could be, it could be money, it could be a career, that they that they put it at a level of their faith. It's at the same level. I'm I might pray as much and think about God as much as I do that or this other thing more than that. But if you have no other God but our triune God, then I don't know what else would would rise to that level of that.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

So then anything else that we do besides we love God, we put God first, but do we put God first in all we do? Or is you know what I'm saying? You can you can do you can go to a baseball game every day, follow the stats, you know, or or basketball or football, whatever it might be, it can become like I know everything about it. But does that replace God?

SPEAKER_03 10:11

I don't think baseball does, but I I could think a relationship could. You could have a relationship with God, but you could also have some other form of relationship or some other focus that you spend more of your time and your effort on. And God's kind of like, oh yeah, and then I got God, but I got this.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yeah. You know, or whatever that this might be. Let me read this, okay? So my question was, can the church or ministry become an idol? And it said, short answer.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

Okay, before you answer that, you asked that question with what in mind?

SPEAKER_00 10:49

To find out because of perception of like my past, remembering how everything was about church and doing stuff at church, being part of the church, doing stuff at church. Okay. Um, maybe spending more time at church than with your own family when you have free time. And so, and then ministry-wise, you know, there's all kinds of ministries. Um, there's fight club, uh, our church goes on a canyon hike. Or a mission trip. Or a mission trip. And so if you value that above everything else, or value it above God, and that you felt like it's that important to you, can that become an idol? And so when I asked the question, it said, short answer, not for someone who's in Christ at the core level. If you've you've got a new heart that loves God, that's in Ezekiel 36, and you are united with Jesus, not divided between him and idols. So your identity and heart's truest desires aren't idolatrous. But can we let church or ministry distract our minds and choices? Yes. Distractions for sure. Right. Can we treat ministry outcomes, platforms, or busyness like there are life? That's not because our heart is idol-filled. It's because we sometimes forget where life really is and let the flesh and people pleasing call the shots. The cure isn't guilt or law. It's remembering who you are and where your life is found in Christ Himself. And so it's just it's really eye-opening. Because even up until we were gonna talk a half an hour ago, I was H E double hockey sticks bent that hellbent. Yes, that that you can have idols. Yeah. And now after I've read this and I'm starting to think, well, you know what? There's a lot of truth to this. You know, I I am a new person, I I do have a new heart. Right. And again, could idols be the same as other things that we do in life, other sins that we commit in life?

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Well, we have passions in our life. You can be very passionate about being a coach in the basketball, you can be very passionate about being a grandfather, I can be very passionate about going out and getting a bike ride in every week or every day, or it can be passionate, not necessarily an idol.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

A lot of that is in furtherance of our life, right? I mean, it's time with grandkids, you know, whatever you're doing. I'm a believer, I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a grandfather, I'm a friend. Well, we have many titles. Yeah, everyone's all how you how you live those out. I I don't think that a believer is gonna love something more than God. It might appreciate it, might focus on it, but you know, if you're a true believer, Jesus Christ is your first thought. It's your most important thought. These other things are might be how it manifests itself in your life, how you act it out, how you think you can share it or you know, share Christ through these other activities. Um but I I don't think, you know, an idol used to be something you prayed to, and it had the it had the impact of being like a god.

SPEAKER_02 14:16

There are some religions that have statues.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Sure, statue or a figurine or something that replaced God. That replaced God or was on the par with God. And those are things that you prayed to, not about, not focused on, but you prayed to, thinking that they would have some god-like impact in your life. And that's what I understand is certainly the old testament idol to be is you shall have no idol, gods or idols before me. I think they're on par with each other, a God and an idol. So if you believe that there's some people are very strong in their beliefs that certain things in nature can be like God. Sure. And they can pray to nature as opposed to praying to God in nature, right? And so I think you can get distracted or taken away from, or you can put a label on something and say, that's that's important to me, that's religion to me, that's faith to me.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

Okay, so as as Christ followers, we don't have idols. I don't believe so. Okay, so how would we categorize the person, or how would we approach a person that we don't know how they are with Christ? How would we approach that person and say, you know, you're spending an awful lot of time with this uh uh activity, or you all you know a lot about it, you're very entrenched in this. Is it becoming an idol for you? Uh and that person might snap back and say, no, it's not. But we definitely we can see it. You know, how do you approach that?

SPEAKER_03 15:49

Is it their new God, or is it just a fascination? Is it just a sharp focus that they want to spend a lot of time on? Yeah. And they like it and they talk about it all the time, and it's a huge part of their life. As long as it's not replacing God or on par with God, I don't think it's an idol. I think it's just an infatuation, an overly targeted focus on just one thing or one activity or one person, right, or one club you're in, or whatever it might be. But it also might be your best expression of your faith. You know, we mentioned Fight Club, we mentioned Anchorman, what we do here. The Great Banquet. Those are all things that are intended to bring unbelievers to the faith. And that's a calling we have to is to show God to others and to encourage others to know God. And so if those things are encouraging men to get a better focus on their lives and a better priority list of God first, family second, whatever it might be, you know, as opposed to my work, my hobbies, then my family, and then God sometimes. Um I think as our priorities that are mixed up that you have your you're putting all your focus on things that are things you should love, but they're not God.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

1 Corinthians 8 says, therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. We as believers, right. That's false.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

So I I would think that the the likelihood is that unbelievers are gonna be more prone to having some focus other than God because they don't understand God, they think God doesn't like them, they think they've run out of their chances.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

They're bringing up another subject too. Do you think people might be doing this to get favor with God? Well, I'm gonna go serve at the missionary at the church, or I'm gonna go to church.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

I think there's no doubt that that happens. Because I can tell you that I I know that there's been times where it's happened in my life. Yeah. And you know, I always have good intentions, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that, though.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to be closer to God by doing things that are activities. Um I mean, our it's a it's a form of prayer life. You can pray to God or you can you can do activities, and and I know if you think, man, God's really gonna be impressed that I did all this. I ran this isn't that self-righteousness. Yeah, I think it's more self-righteousness or pointing at yourself as opposed to pointing to God. And that can be a problem, but I don't think it's an item.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

Well, it can be, even if you're doing, hey God, look at me. Yeah. Yeah, look at me, look what I'm doing, look at me.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

But don't you think too, though, that that is for people that are early on in their walk? Because when you we learn what we've been learning through grace and our identity, we really we can't get closer to God.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

Right.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Yeah, you can do all kinds of works and he can't love us anymore. He likes us, right? He loves us unconditionally, right? And so there's no need to impress him. And I think he, you know, if your kids try to do a bunch of things to make you happier with them, clean their room and all these different things, and cut the grass when they did one ass doing all that. You want to do all you can to make somebody who's above you proud of you. So I think there are times where God smiles and says, You know, Bob, I know you're trying hard at that, and you know, bless your heart. But I don't think he thinks, boy, you're you're doing that to the exclusion of loving me.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

Well, see, as kids and even as adults, when I was growing up, yeah, I always wanted to please my dad. Sure. My earthly father. Sure. I want to hear him say I'm proud of you. Right. Is in in a way do we do that with God?

SPEAKER_03 19:44

Keep going with that because that's the whole thing. We seek the approval of our fathers. And in in our faith, we know we have the approval of our fathers. Right. Yes. It's a done deal. And it's it's eternal. And so we He's not gonna, he's not gonna let us down. He's not gonna make a promise and not come and you know, show up on time or not take us somewhere he promised, and and like earthy fathers do, because you know, we have human distractions, but God, God loves us for who we are and where we are, and I don't think he, you know, I don't think he's jealous. We don't have a jealous God of, I'm jealous that you love your father. He's saying that's the example I'm trying to show you, as my son loved me.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Yes. Don't you think too that with the idol stuff, that I think that religion, and I'm not talking about the church buildings, I'm just talking about religion and what people believe. Because again, how we've been talking about stuff the past couple weeks and learning about how people are always trying to perform in order to receive, because that's how the rest of the world functions that we live in. Yes, yeah, and because of that, I think that from an idol standpoint, there's a oh my gosh, you know, I think that I am putting this before God, and because of this, I need to do this and this now, which now it's becoming a work again.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

And a self-righteous one at that, because you're not at saying, hey God, I think I'm spending too much time on my phone with Facebook, guide me and and uh direct me and and you know, stay away from it or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

It could be pornography, it could be alcohol, it could be drugs, right? It could be anything. Right. Uh but I think it's important to have a group of men, like we have a brotherhood of men that you hang around with, you do things with. And if if like say if I depend on Bob or you to tell me, hey, John, you know, I see a pattern here. You want to be careful with that. Sure. I think it's good to surround yourself with it. And we do that, yeah. And that's what's good about the group of friends that we have.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

We say, you know, you you know I love you as a brother and I want uh the best for you, but I see you doing this, and I think that's hard. Harming yourself or harming your family, harming your life. Is there something I can do to help you? Is there something that I can do to make a difference?

SPEAKER_00 22:08

I can use the example that you did with me, with my wife. You noticed how I talked to her on the phone. Yeah. And that you know, I was talking to her, I was being very short and inconsiderate. While in your truck. Yeah. And and so I've really paid attention to that now. And I think that our relationship has gotten better now because I'm not doing those things. I would I was made aware of them, and not made aware of them by her, but made aware of them by a brother in Christ. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 22:40

Who wants the best for your rel your relationship and your spouse? And so, yeah, I I you know, I would my my experience, I think what I said to you is you wouldn't talk to your biggest enemy with that voice. Yeah. You know, angry and and and hostile and and defensive. And I said, you know, this is your wife. She deserves the best. And you said, you know, you're right. And so, and you know, you've approached me on things with my relationships. We've talked to John about, you know, relationship with his kids and you know, different things, and he's, you know, it's a balance, it's a weighing thing. Yeah. But if we ever talk to God like that, I don't think he would divorce us or kick us out, but I think he would understand that we're struggling. But we think, you know, I would never talk to God like that. But there are, I think, the Bible shows some people who were like pleading with God, like, why did you do this to my family? Yeah. Why did this happen? What's going on? It happens so often. You know, and and and and his point was, you know, you know, I love you, so maybe you're growing, maybe you're getting out of your comfort zone, maybe you're, you know, learning to do something different.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Well, there's there's so much we can we can talk about with this subject and get into, but uh time is getting away from us here. So any last words you want to say about it.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

You know, I I would say this that we are so blessed to have a primary focus that is eternal, that loves us, that forgives us without asking, and that and who's in whose presence we'll be in for eternity. That's just such a blessing. Everything else fails in comparison to that. And so when you talk about anything replacing God, you gotta be in a very poor relationship with God or misunderstanding of who he is in order to try to have something higher or greater than that.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

Alright.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

Well, those are my thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

Alright, good. Thank you. And uh let's wrap it up, guys. Talk to you later. See you next week. Thanks, guys. Thank you for listening to Anchorman Anchored by Grace Podcast. Please share, like, and listen each week right here on our website or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe to our podcast and never miss a new episode. Reach out to us at anchoredbygrace at duck.com. Thank you again from John, Bob, and Todd, your anchormen for Anchored by Grace.