Breaking Free from Modern Idols: A Spiritual Self-Check

What if your greatest blessings have quietly become your biggest distractions? In this honest conversation, the hosts explore how everyday things—sports, hobbies, even church attendance metrics—can shift from blessings to idols without us realizing it. Through personal stories and practical wisdom, they offer a roadmap for recognizing when good things demand too much of our hearts, and how to keep Jesus at the center of our lives, families, and passions.

Transcript

 Hello and welcome to the HOTLCast. I'm Cyle. I'm Ryan. 

I'm Matt. And I'm Cody. 

There's no Mark 'cause he's sick and fell asleep 17 times during our staff meeting. That's correct. He said take the day off, get outta here. And 

it wasn't the sleeping, it was the problem. It was the snoring. Yeah, that that's really, they really threw 

it off.

He wasn't snoring quite yet. I kept trying to get pictures of him sleeping. That's probably what we not should have not done that way. Yeah. Mark's not feeling great, but he is doing a great job with our youth and staying up late and hanging out, so, but also getting sick, so. 

Yep. 

Um, yeah, so pray for Mark.

Pray for Mark. By the time you hear this, he's probably healthy and well. So we told him to get vi more vitamins. That was our, that was our big, it's true. Big idea, but so yeah. 

Right. Yeah. We came up with that. We're the first people ever to say, go get vitamins when you're sick. 

Yeah. 

We did it first here, just vitamin, you heard it.

Vitamin 

this, this podcast, 

more vitamins. And he's like, I take my vitamin C gummies. 

They're F Flintstone shaped. 

Yeah, dude, don't, don't knock the f Flintstones. I love that. I love that gummies, man. Those were good things. So, you know, I, my mom likes to tell the story I got poisoned by, um. Bugs Bunny vitamins.

I remember hearing this. 

Yeah. I got, as a kid, I ate all the bunnies and I had to go have my stomach pumped. 

Was it only certain colors? 

Uh, yeah, it was because they had different flavors. 

Yeah. 

So it was all the good, the good flavors. I ate all of them and I was said, mommy, I ate all the gum. I was like, no, because it was like.

Back then it was the irons. I think it was like too much. It was like iron poisoning or something. Like you could 

have you, or one of your loved ones been affected by Bugs Bunny vitamins. You may be 

entitled to damages if that, if that class call the lav of morale 

and morale 

like, 

and we'll sort you out. 

I still love eating Flintstone's vitamins just because B deep, B deep, B deep.

That's all folks. 

Those are like the real chalky ones, right? Oh, they're so good. 

Yeah. Yeah. And then when 

Not the 

purple ones though. Those ones 

are nasty. Wait, wait. So you literally had to say, what's up doc? That's awesome. That's, maybe we should bring Mark back. 

Yeah. You're supposed to be sitting 

at. You sent him home.

You're 

supposed to be sitting at the computer. 

I'm not sitting at, I'm not doing that. 

You're supposed to be facing the crowd. 

No, listen, I am gonna be here and be You're a color 

commentator, not a participant. We 

like Statler and Waldorf at this point, 

but so, so seriously though, like when the Rock came out with his energy drink called Zoo, one of his flavors tasted exactly like Flintstone's vitamins, and I loved it.

It was so good. 

Mm-hmm. 

But I can't drink any drinks now because they can cause 

heart 

attacks. Heart attacks 

death. 

Yeah. We learned our lesson. 

One of the side effects is death. 

Yeah. Yeah. Not, not, not. I don't know how we learned that, but uh, we learned it. 

Yeah. If you drink enough of it, you actually can smell what a rock is cooking.

Yeah. And it smells like 

burnt toast and pennies for some reason. Why do I taste pennies? 

Heaven doesn't smell like burnt toast. 

No, 

I think that's the other place. 

Yeah. 

Is that what you smelled? Bird toast? Yeah. No. Um, but no, we, we j but uh, we, we've been talking about a, a series that we kind of are leading into called false idols.

I think it's good to talk about false idols and the idols in our lives. And you know, the reality is we have idols, like people have idols. And I think when I think the word idol, I always think like. Ancient world, um, third world, people who don't, who are not intellectual, who are not well versed in, you know, life and history.

And, but like, the truth is, that's not the reality. Like, it's not just something you see in a documentary. Like we all, we all still have idols in our lives. So, um, I mean, do you guys agree? Do you guys agree of idols in your lives? 

Yeah, I was gonna say, I think of American Idol, that's what I think of, honestly.

That's 'cause that's the most recent thing I can think of. Yeah, that's honestly it. But I mean, that's just propping somebody up, right? That's the whole idea is like an idol is something that you prop up. I think 

energy drinks can become an idol, to be honest with you. 

I, I would agree. 

Because you know what?

Since you had your heart attack, I've told a lot of people that you should quit drinking energy drinks and they won't. Cody had a heart attack, they can kill you. Like, and like, they're like, oh, no, no, no. I don't have a problem with it. And like, I'm not gonna stop doing it. I don't really care. But the issue kinda, we talked about on Sunday, if you're not willing to give something up, it's kind of an idol for you.

Yeah. 

So like. That, that's kind of, I know it's kind of a silly example, but it's an actual example. If you're not willing to give something up, it is an idol. It's a problem like, 'cause you should be able to give up anything to be better for the Lord. You should be able to say, yeah, I can, I can stop that. I can not do that.

And so, I 

mean especially, I mean, we're coming up on Lent. And like one of the things is people, a lot of times relentless will opt to take something out of their life that they feel like is dragging them down. Like I think that is a good litmus test. Like if you're not willing to get rid of it mm-hmm.

Then there's a good chance like if, if you're not, uh, free from it, you're mastered by it. There's like really no in-between. It's not just, you know, neutral. Yeah. Like if you're not free from it, then you're mastered by it. So 

yeah. What do you guys think are some idols. 

I mean, there's so many things that kinda fall into this category.

Like I've heard pastors say, you know, your cell phone is, which we all recognize that. Mm-hmm. That that's something where you get that dopamine rush every time the phone dings, and you have to go see what it is, but. Um, I, I think it was actually you, Kylie might've said one time that if you are a parent and you are putting your kids or the things that your kids are involved in as something that is greater or more important than church, then for you, that thing or that child is an idol.

Yeah. I mean, youth sports is an idol. 

Yeah. 

I had somebody yesterday tell me how, how involved they're in new sports and basically the person was saying, well, we don't really attend church much right now 'cause our kids are so good at sports. We just have all these competitions to go to here and here and here and here, and we just don't really have time to go to church right now.

And just that busy season that we're in, this is a person that's a Christian, doesn't attend our church. And honestly, all he is, all I kept hearing is this is an idol for us. Like 

Yeah. '

cause I truthfully believe you. He's like, well my kid's gonna good enough. He's gonna get, do one scholarship if he wants it.

And like the truth is, if God wants your kid to have a D one scholarship, he's gonna get it. Whether or not he goes to church on Sunday or not. Yep. Like that's, that's the truth. 'cause I was that kid, like I went, I didn't sacrifice church and I still was able to go to college and play football and have my school paid for.

It can happen. And I wasn't the most talented kid. So like, God just has a plan for you. God's a plan for you. Like you just need to trust that if you're good enough, you're good enough that one extra competition in Detroit is not gonna on a Sunday is not gonna make the difference between whether you get into college or not.

God is like, that's really, you have to, if you really trust God, and the problem is you're saying, oh, we don't trust God enough. We're gonna make it happen on our own, which is basically elevating an idol. Now I'm praying to the sports gods to get my kid into school when it really should be trusting God's plan for your kid's life.

That should be it. And I, that's hard. I know. 'cause people are sitting here like, well, we miss all the time for sports. Yeah. It's, it's an idol. Sports is an idol. I mean, I, I, I'm one that loves sports, but like, it isn't, it's one of the biggest idols we have in our modern culture is sports. And the teams that we worship and the players that we adore and worship, like it's, it's a real thing.

None of that should gra gravitate in our hearts. In the way, like with the gravity of that should not be as significant as it is, but we let that become a thing and I think we've all been guilty of that at different ways. Probably at one point the Pittsburgh Steelers were a idol in your life, right? 

Well, I mean, that's the thing is there are people who, it's not just the, the collegiate level, it's not just the national level.

Mm-hmm. It's everything. There was a church that I was a pastor of at one point in Pennsylvania where there was a woman who, her kids were never there because they were in. Every travel league that there was, and it's like, well, I'm spending this much money to do this and this much money to do this. Well, I get that.

That's great. That's, I, I understand the purpose behind it. Well, it builds such great, you know, sportsmanship and teamwork, and you learn how to be coached and you learn how to be taught. You learn all these great things you do. But you'll learn some pretty cool stuff in church too. Yeah. Which is not happening.

Outside of that 

you, outside of that, you also learn when you spend all your time doing that, that that's all that matters in the world and nothing else matters more. And you just teach priority of putting other things before God. 

Mm-hmm. 

And so whether you like it or not, that idol actually teaches your kids way more about God, doesn't matter as much as all these other things in life.

And then what happens is people come back and question later like, well, I don't know why my kid doesn't follow the Lord now. Well, for their whole upbringing, you prioritized everything else. Yep. And then now you, when they're adults, you want 'em to, to follow the Lord. But like you, you didn't prioritize that as a parent for them.

And that's the hard part, is you have to sacrifice and you have to recognize God's plan for your child as God's plan for your child. You can try to force whatever you want to happen. I would've loved if my kids were more in her supports and wanna do that, but I wouldn't have sacrificed their life with the Lord for.

Sports. And so, but my kids are doing great and I'm excited about what God's doing in their lives. And so I have to be, I have to be okay with how God moves the direction of their life and not how I want the direction of their life to go. And the problem is people oftentimes use their kids to make up for their, their things that they missed out on or didn't get to do on in their own lives.

And that ends up endangering kids. And then, I mean, I'm the guy that counsels a lot of people who talk about how their parents loved them, but they pushed him and pushed him and pushed him, and all these things they didn't really wanna do. And then they're trying to, to deal with that as an adult and work that through and, and they're frustrated about like there's a different way, a better way to parent and you just have to figure it out.

And really keeping God as the priority is that way so that these other things don't become idols. And it could be music for some, it could be sports for others, it could be hobbies, it could be family, it could be leisure. I mean, we know people, Cody know people know people that all they care about is just traveling and leisure and taking their kids and doing all this stuff.

At the for forsaking God in their lives, like, oh, we'll go to church camp. We've got this and this and this. We're going on this cruise. We're on this trip. Like. All you're showing your kids is all this other stuff matters more than God. 

I think it's important too. 'cause I think the, the conversation gets framed around this idea that attendance, like in church is, is the re like that somehow Pastors, that's all we care about.

Know, like, and this is the hard part and I think people need to hear this. We are commanded. Scripture like we are commanded to partake in church, like meaning the gathering of other followers of Christ. That's not an option. It's not like your pastor is telling you, you gotta show up because he wants more people on Sundays.

Like your pastors saying that because there is a biblical mandate to show up and the Hebrews talks about don't discontinue meeting together regularly. It's not like a like, Hey, I can choose when this happens, and I'll be honest with you. For me, for me, like if, if it affects your mood in a negative way, when something doesn't go your way, it's probably an idol too, right?

Like, like when you think about it, think about like. Sports is a great example. 'cause I think sports is the most, uh, the most modern comparison. People meet, like hundreds of thousands of people gather together, right? They cheer on their team, right? They wear those clothes. They're subscribed to that. Like, I think the other thing is like, people hear us saying this and they hear us going like, oh, we're against sports.

No football. We're fans of sports. Mean 

Michigan game. Michigan football game is a worship service. 

Yeah, it's, 

I don't disagree. I go to 'em, I love them. But you sing Chance. Mm-hmm. Everybody knows the songs. Everybody knows the words. Yep. We all sing Hell to the Victors. We all sing all these songs. We sing the same, uh, journey song, word for word.

I mean people like, it's what we do, sing Star Spangled Berry. It's a worship song. Mm-hmm. We're worshiping a thing like the, the problem is like people don't realize that is the like sole focus of their life, their money, their. Their travel schedule. It's all like people travel game to game, they travel to bowl games.

They spend all this money on, there's just a point that you have to say this enough is enough. Like, I like going to a game 'cause it's a good time. But like, it is not my singular focus in life, but for some people it is. And that's when it becomes an idol and that's what becomes worship. And people don't equate it as worship.

They just think, well it's, I'm a fan and it's a sport. I'm having fun. That, you know, here's a, here's a comment we got on, uh, Facebook this morning. It's from a, from, um, one of my slides and it says, idols are often blessings that slowly become masters. Ouch. Thanks for the truth. But the, the truth is, all these things are, are, none of these things are innately bad.

Sports is not bad. Um, innately bad. Um, you know, music and, and, you know, um, of the arts. That's not innately bad. None of that's innately bad. But those things can be blessings. Things we enjoy, but when we just overindulge too much and make that the thing that becomes where it becomes our master and that's becomes an idol.

I like that you said music. Like I knew a friend who had started to spend like a thousand dollars a month on concert tickets, like just obscene, and that was all he wanted to do was go to concerts. Like, I mean, just sometimes those things don't even 

Yeah, it be, it becomes a master and then, and when you, it's a master, it becomes an idol.

Yep. No, that, that's cool. What I, what I kind of heard, heard in that. So the language I use for that is like these idols, these, these false gods, these false idols, they can, they can cause people to be very, what I call rackety. Which is really just like a behavior followed by a persistent complaint. And, and because with God, I'm, I, I cannot be raggedy, right?

'cause God is everywhere all the time. Always conspiring on my behalf. But all these worldly things that we, that, that. Shift our focus can make me be rackety, right? They can, I can go, oh, I will find my happiness in this. Right? Only to always find out that it's not there. Right? Always to find out that I'm, you know, digging for diamonds in the sandpit.

And that's what, that's what I hear about with these false idols, right? It's just these, these behaviors followed by these persistent complaints and I, and I think people. Like, like you're saying, Cyle, they don't even know what they don't know. You know? I know for me, for a long time, I, I had no idea that, that I was worshiping all these false idols.

You know, I did it, I did it with, you know, I've done it on the, on the, on the wilderness end as far as like a addiction and risky behavior. But I've done it on the other end, where, where I've got several colleges, college degrees, I got promotion after promotion, after promotion. I, you know, even, even just that idea that.

That I would just give everything to everybody and, and lose myself in the process. Right. 

I think you said something so cool there, and I never really pulled the connection, but think about what it, what fruit does it produce? Right. I think that's a good indicator too. Like if something's an idol, it's not gonna produce the fruits of the spirit.

Mm-hmm. 

Right. So like, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle and self-control. Like if you're worship. Is in Christ, the fruit that is produced is the fruit of the spirit. If your worship isn't something else, think about when you go, like when I watch Brown's games, what fruit does that produce?

Sorrow, 

depression, 

sadness. Yeah. Depression status. Right, right. I'm a, but like seriously, but if, if my identity, like if that's my idol. Then that's gonna change my whole mood. That's gonna change. Like, I'm not gonna have self-control. I'm not gonna have, like, it's, it might bring me fleeting happiness, but happiness and joy are two very, very different things.

And so like what, what fruit does it produce? Mm-hmm. When you, when you worship it. Like, I, I think that's a good, I think that's cool how you said that. Like, I didn't think about that before, but it's. That I think is a real good litmus test for you to go, is this an idol in my life and what does it produce?

Because good trees bear good fruit. 

Yeah. 

Right. 

Well, I mean, and that's the thing about church too. Like there are pastors who their idolatry falls into the category of. I wanna make sure that I've got this many people, I wanna make sure that tie is this high. I wanna make sure that my church is known for these things.

You know, it's so easy to look at things and say, well, you know, at, at churches, pastors are just looking at it and you know, they're, they're calling out all of the things that could be temptations for us. There are a lot of temptations that pastors face with stuff like that too, where it's easy to look at what you are doing as a pastor and saying, well, this is what I've done.

This is what I've been able to produce. This is what I've been able to put out there, and that's why these people are coming. That's a landmine as well. That's another one where it's, as soon as you start thinking about it being your church instead of God's church, yeah, that's gonna trip you up immediately as well.

And we try to be careful. We try to insulate ourselves from, we've worked with pastors who we ha have seen the idolatry of the things like numbers and attendance and 

Sure. 

Like we don't care about tenancy other than make sure that we're just know how we're caring for people. Like we, we don't do it consistently.

We don't report the numbers. So like it's just kind of one of those, it's internal metrics. So we kind of figure out, okay, how do we plan for who's coming and how do we take care of 'em? How do we park people? How do we get 'em in the seats? 

I'd take it one further too, just to clarify. We don't. It's not that we don't care about the numbers, we care about life change.

So like you coming to our church is not something we celebrate as much as you coming and having life change. Right. Your life. Yes. Like, because we do care, like we, we do care about numbers. We care about the number of people who are having actual experiences with Jesus Christ, not just filling the seats on a Sunday morning.

Yeah. 'cause I think that's important. 

Yeah. So that's, that's our goal. And the reason why we don't focus on numbers and attendance is because we've seen it done so wrong so many times. Mm-hmm. The churches we've worked at and we're like, wow, I'll be like that. We, we probably go to the nth degree sometimes too much because like if you don't come for four or five weeks, we we're not tracking numbers, so we, we don't, we may not know, so you might get your feelings hurt and say like, what?

They didn't care that I wasn't there. We really are that disinterested in numbers, in tracking people. Uh, we just, we wanna just do ministry. And if, if you wanna be here, you wanna be here because it's not about just getting people to come to the services. It's about seeing people engage Jesus Christ.

That's, we're not saying you have to skip a, a kid's sports event because you know you're gonna, you're, you're sinning if you don't come to church. What we're saying is, is your life focused on Jesus Christ? If it is, you're gonna be prioritizing Jesus over the worldly things, and that means more likely than not, you're gonna go to church, but it doesn't have to be this church.

Maybe you prioritize going to church in that place where there's a game and maybe you go to an evening service. Maybe you, maybe you find an alternative, but are you taking the opportunity to prioritize Jesus Christ? Like we just went to Florida and we did, I did five days of work, and then I did three days of vacation.

During the vacation. The people we were staying with, like, Hey, we're gonna church. Like it's, you know. Um, you know, we'll be gone for church and then we'll come back and we'll see when we get back. I'm like, no, we're gonna church with you. Like, why would we not go to church with you? Like, 

yeah, 

like, I mean, yeah, we're on vacation but we're not on vacation from Jesus.

So like, um, and it was great. We had a blast. It was a church, just like our church. It was really great and it was fun to go to church with them 'cause they're from our church here and live in Florida. So it was, it was really cool. But like, I think we have to be aware, like. You don't get a vacation from Jesus either.

Like, it's like you don't retire from Jesus. You don't get a vacation from Jesus. You, Jesus needs to be your focus. There's ways to prioritize your spiritual life and the life of your family. And do all this other stuff. I mean, one of the things that we've, I'm always constantly thinking about my life, like what's becoming an idol?

'cause I think there's always something in the process becoming an idol in our life. I really, truly, truly think, you always have to reevaluate, is this thing that I'm doing or interested in, am I doing it too much? Could be a hobby, could be a lifestyle behavior, could be food. Some people just run from, from dinner to dinner trying to find the next greatest meal That's a food idol like.

Um, but for us, we've all been playing Rift bound. Cody hasn't, 'cause, you know, he hasn't joined the Cool Kids club yet. But, um, those of us, the rest of us, the four in this room are rift bound people. And, uh, I keep thinking, I keep asking myself, is this something that I'm making sure it's not becoming an idol.

And so like, and the difference, the really thing that I think is when I start getting really mad. That I lose, that's when I know it's gonna become a problem for me. 

Yeah. 

And like I, I was able to play last night and I went two and won and lost and probably should have won, but I was like, I just had a good time.

I wasn't mad. I was like, I was just, I was just really glad I could, I could learn. And that's kind of like, if I'd have gotten mad, I would've probably drove home and said, I, this is becoming a problem for me. I shouldn't, I shouldn't be mad. I should just be able to enjoy this, this moment. And so I think that's where I'm trying to always say, is this becoming too much of a thing in my life?

And can I balance that out? And so. That's kind of my internal metric. And I typically know from my past when I start getting too involved in something and, and I start getting mad, it starts stealing that joy. That's not a fruit of the spirit, and that becomes a self-control issue, which becomes a problem, which means this is becoming too much of a thing.

So I'm really trying to, to really balance out something that I'm enjoying and not allowing that to become too much of a, of an idol in my life. And so I think. We all are, I mean, you guys probably are thinking the same things, right? Like you guys are playing when you get into a new hobby or a new game or a new activity, whether it's a video game or whatever.

I mean, you're playing magic with the guys. Like that's a thing. You have to ask the same question. Is this becoming too much of a thing? Um, 

the question I always ask. And, and the other thing is too, I love the idea that it's a blessing that becomes a burden. Like, because all of these things. Are great at face value.

Like nobody's saying they're not good or they're not, or they're bad inherently, right? It's, it is literally, when does it go past that line? And I think that's a spirit check. Like I think that's a prayer that we need to have is like, God, okay. Reveal to me. Right. I love when David says in the Old Testament, you know, search my heart and know me.

Oh God, like, because. The idea is like we have to ask that question of God, like, God, can you, can you reveal to me the things that I'm, that are blind spots for me? 'cause I think a lot of people don't realize the idols they actually have either. I think that they've just, for so long, this has been the mode that they've been in.

And so when it comes to how they respond to it, that's just a normal part of their life and they don't see it as a problem. And so like taking that time to just evaluate and go, Hey, God, okay, like what are some things that are idols in my life is good. Like that's a prayer I have on a regular basis for the things that I have in my life because I'm, I'm prone to an addictive personality.

So like I have to constantly go Me too. Okay. Yeah. Like what God, like what are the things right now that are like. Bad for me that I need to like do away with or like, or I need to ring in or draw back because like for me, magic's a tool. Like it's, it's a card game and it's fun and it's fun to play and I enjoy it, but it's a tool to build relationships for those that 

don't know magic.

Is, it's not your, 

it's not like 

hand tricks. 

I'm not a, I'm not a magician. It's a trading card. It's a card game. Rabbit, like riff rabbit riff. Magic. Is this your card? Is this your card? Yeah. 

Yeah. Do you have a six of diamonds? 

Mind freak? Uh, so no, but yeah, so just like. But like a board game or a video game?

Like a lot, I mean, for a lot of people video games are their idols. Like they spend, you know, they spend so much time and like, you know, it's not, I don't love this. I'm just, I'm gonna say this, but I do think it can be helpful to identify how much time you spend. In your faith, in your word discipleship with people at church versus what time you spend on those things.

Mm-hmm. And if it's disproportionate, then, I mean, I, I think the time you spend is a really good indicator of where your priorities are in your life and who you spend it with. Exactly. Like, so what is the purpose? Like, what is the point of it? If, if you're, all your time is spent on these things, there's a good chance.

If, if it's taking precedence over your faith, then it's, there's a good chance. It's an, it's an idol. 

Well, I, 

sorry, go ahead Matt. Go ahead. 

Okay. I 

wanna hear 

a chance, I kind of like what Cyle had said about, you know, where his mindset is, but also to piggyback on yours of the addictive personality. It's not just, am I angry whenever I don't win?

It also needs to be the question of, can I stop this, lay it down and walk away from it right now? Because if the answer to that question is no, that's when it's already crossed the line into being a problem as well. That is another metric that has to be figured out because the minute you start looking at something and you're like, you know, 'cause we've all heard this throughout ministry.

Well, I could quit anytime I want. Okay, go ahead. 

Alright, quit. 

Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, do it. And then they can't, but then they still don't necessarily see that as being something that is idolatry. They're just like, well, it's just, it's just not the right time for me to be able to do that. Those things exist too.

Yeah. Where it can't just be as it generating a, you know, bad idea or a sinful nature, but also the idea of is this so consuming that I cannot walk away. Sorry, go ahead. 

No, you're great, man. No, I, I, I was just thinking about the, the ways that, like, I filter that in the, you know, what, what is, what do idols, maybe, what do idols cost me?

You know, I mean, like, they, they cost me, like my, my, uh, my vitality mm-hmm. My connection, right? Um, my, my sense of community. Uh, my, and really just who I am, right? My full self-expression. 'cause idols will cause me to, to be somebody I'm not, to pretend I'm, I'm not even pretending. Pretend I'm, I'm somebody else.

And really, I think ultimately they cost us, like the aliveness, our aliveness, and really the aliveness of everybody closest to us. Because when we do get upset, that doesn't just affect us. That affects everybody. And, and, and I think that. A lot of times those idols are justified by those payoffs, right?

Those being right to avoid being wrong, right? Those looking good to avoid looking bad, dominating to avoid being dominated, those sort of things. And you know, I, I think that that's, that's to kind of full circle that for me, how I have that what, just like Cody was saying, um. When I, when I keep my eyes on God, when I keep my eyes on Jesus, it's all I get is that kindness, compassion, gratitude, patience, generosity, that, that, uh, uh, self-control, you know, all the, those things that embody what I understand to be love.

And I was thinking about that while you were talking too, this whole idea of idols. You know, Cody gave a sermon while back that was talking about. Uh, you know, like when you say yes to something, you also say no to something. And, and I kind of feel like we're either saying yes to Jesus, or we're saying yes to idols and, and we're not doing one or the other.

So for me, how I have it, I have to get up every morning and I have to, I have to do it one day at a time and go, okay, God, this is yours you gave me this day. What do I do with it? Because if I don't, I'm gonna, I got addictive personality too. I'm gonna find something to worship. And so, mm-hmm. And I've done that search for.

Three, almost three decades of more, better, different, and the only thing that ever, ever saved me was Jesus. 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I, I think it's, I think it's cool. I, I think that's it. It's kind of important for us to have some perspective too, that like it's going to, I think the reason that this pings people, like this sermon specifically is because we so easily and quickly fall into false, false idols.

Mm-hmm. Like our, our Vocus is so diverted, so in, and we shouldn't be shocked or surprised because, like, look at the Israelites. They just had, had, they just, you know. Crossed the Red Sea, they'd seen the plagues like God had provided for them. They're getting the 10 Commandments. And in the midst of that, Aaron's just like, like they get restless, like I don't know what to do.

Like, and then all of a sudden, you know, within a span a couple days, they forget everything and they make this like golden calf and it's like. How quickly their fir their focus from like what God had already done. Poor world. Yep. Diverted, you know, into, into something else. So it's like, you know, there's no wonder, like we, we have, we have this, this roadmap of like, okay, these are the things you're gonna struggle with.

Like, idolatry is obviously gonna be something that is, that quickly you can fall into if you're not careful. And, and like, I think it's important not to get stuck. I, I love how Cyle talked about shame and guilt, you know, last week. And then the idea that like, you can get so stuck and like, oh, this is an idol that you, you, you go to the other side, you're like, you're shameful about it.

Instead of just going, okay, here's the problem. I gotta address it. Let's fix it. Yeah. Just gotta admit idol. Like 

we, I mean, video games have been idol for me in the past. Food's been, I, I mean, I think we just gotta admit these things. When they become healthy for us, they're idols and they take away from our relationship with the Lord.

And like, um, you know, I was, I was at a riff bound event Sunday. I went after church, I went home, got my bag left, and I went to play riff bound. And I'm a pastor on a Sunday going into a community of people who don't go to church. And they're like, I, they're like, uh, the one guy I was like, how often do you play?

He's like, well, this week I've played like six days in a row. 

Wow. 

And this is one of the guys that was up with us till like one o'clock in the morning. Right. On Friday night he was playing. And, and we played a big competition and he, I was like, I was like, he's, and they, they're going to event all weekend, so he's gonna be playing like 12 days straight and they're gonna play all, all day Saturday and all day Sundays gonna play like 13 games to try to win $6,400.

And I said, yeah, I can't, I can't go on the weekends. Like, I, you know, 'cause I'm a pastor and I, I have to take the day off. He goes, oh yeah, right. I remember you to pastor. I was like, yeah. And I was like, I come with my, my church posse, you know, and we come and play. And it was like, I'm just, you know, introducing people at the church and the, the teens that my sons work with.

Uh, and we're just having a good time being a community playing together. We're just having fun. And it's neat to see the perspective shift. 'cause these guys definitely are not church going people. I, I, we've met 'em, they're, they're not. And, um. I'm giving them a different perspective about Christianity, Christ pastors, what community looks like, and showing them there's a just different way, like, and I'm just trying to be a positive, like, connection within that community of something that I enjoy and it's fun to, you know, now they all know I'm a pastor 'cause I just kinda leave like, yeah, I'm a pastor.

You like, I I can't come to that thing you wanna do. 'cause they're all like, you going Saturday? Nope. I'm a pastor. I got things I gotta do. I have to get ready for Sunday. And, uh, it's, it's neat. Like, but for me, the moment I start like not being Pastor Cyle and start being competitor Cyle, that's when it starts shifting between, yeah, oh, is this, is this becoming the thing I care too much about?

And it's more about that thing than it is. And so there's this healthy balance, and I keep asking myself pretty much every time I go and engage with that community, like I need to make sure I keep myself in check. So it doesn't become that thing because I think we all have personalities that would lead us down that path if we're not careful.

And so, not saying I won't get there, but then I'll have to pull my, pull the reins and pull myself back. And usually it's Patty that'll pull the reins and say, whoa, Cyle, you need to back up a bit. 

But by the time Tara gets there, I already know I've gone too far. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. 

I'm in deep. 

Yeah. I'm like, oh, well I've, I've made a mistake here.

She's telling 'cause she'll let me go. She'll let me go. 

I think I, someone told me Sunday, uh, we were talking about gambling in the lobby Sunday. And, uh, we were talking about the difference between gambling and the person was like, I love to gamble. I said, is it gambling that you love or is it playing games that cost money?

And, and she's like, no. It's like, 'cause she's on a cruise ship and she's like, I am never, well, I'm never gonna go into a gambling with money. I can't lose. Like, I go in with a plan and it's just entertainment. And so there's this difference between entertainment gambling. It's when it's when you can't shut things off.

You're losing funds that you can't afford to lose. And I think it's the same thing with anything. Anything with sports, anything with card games, anything with gambling, anything like the, the sin issue becomes when you lose control and like you can't afford to spend the money, you can't afford to spend the time, you can't afford to give up that time with the Lord for that thing.

Those are all the problems that you get us into the path of idols and idol worship. And I think the same thing with Michigan football. If I'm going nine weekends of the fall. To a football game. Just sit in a stadium with people and watch a game for three hours and then spend the two hours before and two hours after to get home.

I've just spent my whole weekend and all this money paying $60 for parking, paying all this stuff. That's a lot of money. Um, so I try to lent myself to a couple times 'cause that's what I can afford. And then, you know. Um, so we just need to be, we need to be careful that we all, we all think through, um, what is an idol for me.

Because an idol for me may not be an idol for Matt. An idol for Matt may not be an idol for you and vice versa, because we all have different socioeconomic situations. We all have different family situations. We all have different time. We all have proclivities to sins in different ways. And so we just need to be aware that we're constantly evaluating, is this an idol for me?

Because my idol might not be somebody else's idol and vice versa. And it's, it, it's not, it's not always the same. So we need to have perspective and we need to help each other, help each other, hold each other accountable to, um, making sure Jesus is the center of our lives, our days, our plans, and our future.

I think that's the goal. 

Yeah. And having people that can come into your circle and into your sphere of influence and be that person for you, it's Patty. For you, it's Tara. It doesn't necessarily even have to be your spouse, somebody that you're giving permission. Mm-hmm. To be able to walk up to you and say.

Hey man, listen, I love you and I care about you, and I wanna look at this thing and say, are you maybe taking this a little bit too far? Giving somebody that permission to be able to come alongside you and speak that truth when you maybe need to hear it the most is critically important. Because if you had a moment come up where you're really too far into something, you need that person who can kind of, you know, snap you back to reality a little bit and say, Hey, this.

Uh, maybe, you know, Tara doesn't know that you're, you know, going out and doing this, or maybe Patty hasn't seen this, you know, reaction from you. Yeah. You know, having somebody then kind of come alongside and say, this is just me having a loving conversation coming alongside you and saying, just keep an eye on it.

Kind of check things a little bit. That is an important key to this too. Yeah. Because they'll be able to tell you whenever they're starting to see a problem. 

Yeah. And we're lucky we're, we're pastors who work at church. We can often turn our, our hobbies into ministries, which is often a way we help protect ourselves from idolatry.

Because if we can do ministry with something, then we can make sure that Christ is a part of that thing and a part of that experience. I know that everybody doesn't have that same experience in life. 'cause you don't work at a church. You don't, you don't lead a ministry in that way. But we are all ministers of the gospel.

If you really are passionate about something, find a way to make Jesus the center of that thing. And the purpose of that thing is to experience Jesus with a people. And it does change it like we've all the three of us and, and well, and our camera guy, Nick, uh, Nick is. The four of us have been going to play in Riff Bound, but we've been taking like our kids and other kids from the church and going friends with us, and it's, it's really just a community of people doing life together, but it's also speaking into the lives of people that we meet or that we bring in a different way and we're doing it together as, as a community bonding and building thing.

And I think that's where you can start insulating from. Idolatry, but you still can end up in idolatry even in the midst of all that. So you just have to always be careful individually and collectively. Just make sure that Jesus is the focus of what you're doing and the why you're doing things. And uh, I think we've always, I know Cody and I, we've always really worked hard to try to make sure to keep each other accountable to that.

Is Jesus the focus of this thing in your life? If not, you need to change it and tweak it or make Jesus the focus of that thing. Uh, as part of it. So I think that's our encouragement. Um, we hope you have really taken time this week. If you listen to the sermon to think through your life and the list of 38 things we gave you that could be give you proclivity to be an idol in your life and reevaluate.

'cause we've all got 'em, we've all struggled with them, or we all struggle, we'll struggle with 'em one day and we need to have a plan of how Jesus stays the center. Of our heart and the king of our heart. So thanks for listening. We'll catch you on the next episode of the Huddle Cast.