Be The Fruit

Idolatry Thursday – Can good get in the way of God?

by Bill Blair on 24/04/08 at 4:45 am

Last week, I spent some time defining what it means to have an idol in our lives.  I also briefly commented that in my opinion, a core problem in the Church today is that we have many good things that keep us from doing things that God wants us to be doing.  I want to address that idea a little more deeply this week.  So the question I will address is this:  Are all idols inherently bad things?

In the book, Good to Great, Jim Collins begins the first chapter with this statement:  “Good is the enemy of Great.  And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.”

I think it is obvious that sometimes we need to give up good things in our lives to strive for greatness.  Sometimes we may need to leave a “good” job to take the risk of finding a “great” job.  One of the issues with getting mired in “goodness” and not striving for “greatness” is being comfortable and complacent. I am sure most of know that sometimes we have to take a risk and get out of our comfort zone of goodness if we want to do or achieve greater things.  

A good question is:  Can good things that keep us from greatness be sinful?  I think the answer is, yes.  When things that are “good” keep us from obeying God and following Jesus, such “good” things become sinful.

Let’s look at what Jesus says about this in Luke 9:57-62:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  To another he said, “Follow me.”  But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.  But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

Jesus rebuked one man for wanting to go back to bury his father and the other for wanting to say goodbye to his family.  No one would argue that the act of burying your father or saying bye to your family are bad things, but Jesus proclaimed that these people were not “fit for the kingdom of God.”

This passage of Scripture shatters me every time I read it.  I think about all the times I have chosen to put “good” things in front of THE great thing, which is following Jesus.

What “good” things are keeping you from following Jesus?  Put those things aside and let others do them. 

“But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Until next time, put God first and “be the fruit.”