The Idolatry of Control
A powerful quote a friend shared with me recently was: “God can do more in five seconds than you can do in five years.” That’s a humbling reality.
If you’re like me, you can find yourself feeling unduly burdened by your responsibilities and the calling God has on your life. Taking care of a church is a gloriously weighty calling and I have felt that over the past few weeks in various forms. I say “taking care of” because this is not my church to do with what I want. It is God’s church. Thankfully, I am in some pretty excellent company when I read Paul’s words in Colossians: “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.” (1:24-25). And later he writes: “I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.” (2:1) What allowed Paul to continue to do the work of starting and strengthening churches throughout his Christian life? He says in Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. When Paul’s flesh begins to feel the weight of his calling, when he feels insufficient for both his salvation and his work, he reminds himself “Not I, but Christ in me.” The God who can do more in five seconds than I can do in five years lives in me. And he will see to it, by his divine providence, that his will comes to pass for me and Harvest City Church. That’s a word I need to hear time and again.
What about you, though? If God hasn’t called you to some “vocational ministry,” what has he called you to take care of? I put vocational ministry in quotations because, if you are a follower of Jesus, every vocation you have is a ministry. Ministry simply means “service” and to minister means to “serve.” Jesus set the ultimate example of this reality when he said in Mark 10:45: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus embodied servanthood when he washed the filthy feet of his disciples in the upper room the night he was betrayed (John 13:1-17), which swiftly brought about his death at the cross. If Jesus, who was God, sought to be a servant, why would we think there is anything more worthy of our lives than to serve?
Truth be told, we all serve something. Whether that be our family, our education, our career, our health, our financial prosperity, etc., we all serve something. None of these things are inherently bad or evil when they are kept within their proper boundaries. When we devote too much time and energy to any one of these things, it becomes an idol and we need to repent. How can we avoid idolatry in these areas and, conversely, glorify God in them?
It starts with the realization that we are not God, and thus, we are not in control. Control is not a God-honoring desire. We can’t control our kids’ behavior and choices. We can’t control the stock market. We can’t control whether or not we get sick. We can’t control whether we are promoted at work. To think we can leads us toward idol-making and dysfunction. How do we avoid idol-making? We let the truth that God can do more in five seconds than we can do in five years take root in our hearts. When we truly believe this, the calling to serve in our various vocations becomes easy and light because we know this God lives in us.