Idolatry in Desire

In one of Piper's recent articles he discussed 12 signs that desire is becoming idolatry. I thought I would share his wise insights.

1. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is forbidden by God.
2. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is disproportionate to the worth of what is desired.
3. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not permeated with gratitude.
4. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not see in God’s gift that God himself is more to be desired than the gift.
5. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is starting to feel like a right, and our delight is becoming a demand.
6. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it draws us away from our duties.
7. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it awakens a sense of pride that we can experience this delight while others can’t.
8. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is oblivious or callous to the needs and desires of others.
9. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not desire that Christ be magnified as supremely desirable through the enjoyment.
10. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not working a deeper capacity for holy delight.
11. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss ruins our trust in the goodness of God.
12. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss paralyzes us emotionally so that we can’t relate lovingly to other people.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Arts

"Christians cannot abdicate the arts to secular society. We must consume, study, and participate in the arts if we are to have a seat at the table. Whether it has a religious theme or strikes us as irreligious, we must be patrons if we are to have an impact on how the world interprets and responds to the arts. We cannot be wary, we cannot be afraid, we cannot be self-righteous. Christians must look, listen, read, and experience the arts if we are to lead our culture to renewal." ~ Tim Keller

I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Keller's statement (found in sermon "Engaging The Renewed Imagination"). I think the Church today as a whole has done a poor job of supporting and contributing to the arts. By doing so it has lost touch with much of the postmodern culture and does not know how to express the truth it bears to said culture.

Contrary to the more liberal view of art, it cannot solve the deepest problems of the human race, only Christ can. However, contrary to conservative view of art, it is not merely a luxury. Art is a great representation of the culture it is produced in. It should therefore be especially important to Christians because of the postmodern direction of culture. When we understand what postmodern artists are producing we can better understand the direction of postmodern culture and how to interact with it effectively. One thing that art shows us is that postmoderns doubt the possibility of truth and instead desire to bring significance to the personal stories they find themselves living in. There is a great story, a true story, that Christians have to tell, which can bring context and significance to the human race. With much of postmodern society this story will be most readily received and understood through artistic expression.

If we truly believe that we are made in the image of the Creator, then we human beings are to be creative ourselves. It will bring us joy just as it brought the Creator joy. Why not join the culture in its creativity? Perhaps through this we can express more clearly the beauty of Christ to a culture in need of His grace and to ourselves by seeing His beauty in a whole new way.

By His Grace,
Taylor