You Must Choose Who You Worship
In 1 Samuel, the Israelites decide they want a human king to reign over them. That’s was how all of the kingdoms around them ruled. They forfeited the Lord as their king for Saul, who ended up being an imperfect king. It isn’t often that we intentionally decide, “I am going to take God off the throne and place something else.” However, the process of choosing an idol is much more subtle and commonly seen in our day to day lives. When we choose to set ourselves on the throne, or other people or things, our hearts are misaligned with the heart of Christ. We quickly grow in our sinful nature. Each of us must choose who we worship. Here are some common things we humans choose as our kings.
Money
Paul warns Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (NIV). Money can be used in this life to bless others and honor God. Generosity is often encouraged in our churches. However, greed isolates us and drives us to sacrifice relationships for money. Not only does it separate us from those we love, but it creates a constant dissatisfaction in our hearts. The difficulty in pursuing money is there is never enough of it. There are always bigger and better things to pursue with your money. Therefore you have to keep getting more of it. Solomon expresses this in Ecclesiastes 2:18 when he says, “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” So we see, when money is on the throne, our life becomes a meaningless pursuit of emptiness.
People
People can be harder to remove from the throne in our lives once we’ve placed them there. As a recovering people-pleaser, I am constantly having to remove people from the throne in my life. In my late teens, early twenties, I realized I had a habit of seeking others’ opinions before the Lord’s. Although I had a relationship with God, the people in my life, parents, friends, significant other, etc., were on the throne and held the weight in my heart and mind. I had to emotionally and, on some occasions, physically withdraw from these individuals to place myself in a space where I would seek the word of God first. Matthew 10:37 NIV says, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” This doesn’t mean we stop loving our family. However, it does mean if it comes down to pleasing your family or God, He expects you to choose Him.
Self
The world today would argue that self is what needs to be on the throne. We think that if we do the things that make us happy and what we think will most benefit us, we’ll be set for life. This mindset doesn’t take our limited perspective or sinful nature into consideration. In Isaiah 55:9 NIV, the Lord says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” As humans, we are only able to make decisions within our finite understanding, and what may seem the best to us in the moment may actually cause us harm in the long run. Similarly, Paul highlights the human struggle in Romans 7:19 when he explains, “the evil I do not want to do, I keep on doing.” Without the Holy Spirit working inside of us, we are unable to do the right things. So, having “self” on the throne fails us too.
Placing God On The Throne Isn’t Easy, But It Changes Everything!
When we place God on the throne of our lives, he actively creates good in our lives. Psalms 37:23-24 NIV says, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” As we actively choose God first, he molds us into who he wants us to be and makes a way for us to glorify Him. This week, take some time to see where you may need to put God on the throne of your life, and pray for Him to help you remove things that may be preventing your surrender.
Our Skilled Counselors Wil Walk With You In Your Pursuit Of God
Kayla Wright is a frequent guest author on this blog. She joined the counseling team at Life Training Christian Counseling in Louisville, Kentucky in May of this year. The passion of her counseling work is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Teens and pre-teens.
Kayla is nationally licensed as a Christian Counselor by the National Christian Counselors Association. She possesses an advanced board certification in Child & Adolescent Therapy. Kayla gained extensive experience and credibility in providing counseling to teens and pre-teens during her tenure on the staff of Revive Christian Counseling in Owensboro and Madisonville, Kentucky. She is highly skilled in teenage substance abuse counseling and teenage depression counseling.
Kayla Wright, as well as each of our other counselors, offers convenient sessions at Life Training Christian Counseling in Louisville, Kentucky. She also offers online counseling via Zoom or FaceTime. Please click on this link to learn much more about how our Counseling for teens and pre-teens in Louisville, Kentucky can help the child you love find the highly-effective, Christ-centered help they need. Contact us today at 502-717-5433, or by email at kayla@lifetrainingcounseling.org