Everyday Life

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. [Matthew 6.24] 

Based on what is recorded in the Gospels, Jesus never used the word "idol." However, that does not mean that He did not speak about them. As seen in the verse above, Jesus very clearly spoke of them in their contemporary forms. This is seen in the dialog that follows: 

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. [Matthew 6.25-34]

Although idols still existed in their primitive forms (the Apostle Paul referred to them). Jesus was forward-thinking; introducing us to the idea that idols had advanced to their then-present forms detailed in Matthew 6.25-34 above. 

God's Word (written and Living) could not be clearer that debt, insurance, medicine and technology are simply the further-advanced and more highly-developed versions of the idols Jesus warned about. They all have everything to do with everyday life.

In wording that very much revealed the heart of idolatrous human existence in the first century, it was no mistake that Jesus' discussion in Matthew 6.24-34 timelessly and accurately applied to the twenty-first century and beyond. "Everyday life" was an idol in the first century and remains an idol today in the forms of debt, insurance, medicine and technology.

So, just to be clear, the first place to look for idols is in everyday life. Idols have ALWAYS taken opportunity in everyday life. Whether in the form of Adam and Eve enticed by forbidden fruit, ancient Israel longing for the food of Egypt, basic first-century food and clothing, or modern-day must-haves, idols are found where the basic necessities of "everyday life" are concerned (food, clothing, shelter, and etc. - all tied to money).

God NEVER intended for mankind to worry about the needs of everyday life. This does not preclude God's demand that man must work, but it establishes that God is the Source and, at whatever point everyday life becomes worrisome or burdensome, it has become an idol. Hello, twenty-first century debt, insurance, medicine and technology!

Satan wishes we would conclude that idols were just an Old Testament thing!

Father, Your Word is clear that idols provoke Your Jealousy. The indictment here that debt, insurance, medicine and technology are all idols is preposterous... And yet, only when we see this truth will we be set free. Only when we see Your Provision in Jesus Christ will we understand His Words decrying our idolatry with everyday life. Jesus' call to take up our cross and follow Him could not be clearer. May we be found obeying Jesus without regard for everyday life. So be it.