The Idolatry of Work

[ Exodus 20 & 1 John 5 ]

This Sunday:

Work MattersHow the Gospel Connects

Faith & WorkSummer Series at New City Church

40 hoursThe average adult will work

2000 hours

94,000 hours

per week

per year

over the course of life

If there was a way that I could not eat, so I could work more, I would not eat. I wish there was a way to get nutrients

without sitting down for a meal.

”Elon Musk

Head of SpaceX & Telsa Qtd. in BBC article

“

“Workaholism is a soul-destroying addiction that changes people’s

personality and the values they live by.”

~ Dr Barbara Killenger

Human life comes with a built-in purpose to live fully before God in every area of life—including work.

“Idolatry is the most discussed problem in the Bible and one of the most powerful spiritual and intel-

lectual concepts in the believer’s arsenal.”

“The relevance of massive chunks of Scripture hangs on our understanding

of idolatry.” ~ David Powlison, Author & Counsellor

Christian Counseling & Education Foundation

The Idolatry of Work

[ Exodus 20 & 1 John 5 ]

This Sunday:

1 And God spoke all these words saying,

Exodus 20:1-2

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

1 And God spoke all these words saying,

Exodus 20:1-2

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.3 You shall have no other gods beforeme….”

~ The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:25

“…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie,

and worshiped and served the creature rather

than the Creator.”

Worship

“Worth”-ship

=Delighting to ascribe to God all He’s worth.

“Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have

forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken

cisterns that can hold no water.”

~ Jeremiah 2:12-13

An idol is anything we substitute for God.

“Every one of us is, even from his

mother’s womb, a master craftsman

of idols.”

~ John CalvinInstitutes of the Christian Religion

“The human heart is a factory of idols.”

~ John CalvinInstitutes of the Christian Religion

“Idol Factory” by Douglas Williamson

Idolatry happens when we look to work to give us our identity.

I came to NYC seven years ago at the age of 17 to study classical piano at the Julliard School of

Music. At once, I loved it all and saturated myself with music. I thrust myself into my studies, practicing,

learning, going to concerts and thinking about the nature of art. For

this lonely, searching young girl, music seemed to represent the best of humanity and provide the most

meaning and integrity in a cold empty world.

To identify with beauty and truth in music then felt to me a much

more tangible and fulfilling spiritual experience than

anything I had growing up in the church. So I pursued it with all

that I had. It became my religion, my mode of thinking, and my

value system…. With this sort of dedication, I met with success and accomplishment during my

time at school.

The praise I received caused me to build my identity further on music, and I soon made it

into an idol that ruled me. All the while, the Lord Jesus, whom I had accepted into my heart at the age of six, waited patiently. Deep down I knew that the faith I had in him was calling me to examine why I was worshiping

something else.

Idolatry happens when we look to work to give us meaning.

You will not have a meaningful life without work, but you cannot say that your work is

the meaning of your life.

~ Tim Keller Every Good Endeavour

“I have an iron will, and all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy…. I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being, and then I get to another stage

and think I'm mediocre and uninteresting again

and again....

“I have an iron will, and all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling

of inadequacy…. I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being, and

then I get to another stage and think I'm mediocre and uninteresting again and again....

“...My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that's always

pushing me, pushing me. Because even though I've become somebody, I still have to prove I'm somebody. My struggle has never

ended and it probably never will.”

“Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what

their fingers have made.”

“The idols…are your portion; indeed they are your lot… When you cry out for help,

let your collection of idols save you!”

~ Isaiah 2:8; 57:6, 13

Idolatry happens when we look to work to give us security.

“Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a

share, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge

people into ruin and destruction. For the love of

money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving

that some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with

many pangs.”

~ The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:9ff

“God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable

him to enjoy them….”

~ Ecclesiastes 6:2

~ CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

“God cannot give us a happiness and

peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

“I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything

they ever dreamed of, so they will know

that it’s not the answer.” Jim Carey

When it comes to work idolatry, the heart of the problem is a problem of the heart.

“The next person who phones is a reporter. I tell him that I’m happy about the ranking, that it feels

good to be the best that I can be. It’s a lie. This isn’t at all what I feel. It’s what I

want to feel. It’s what I expected to feel, what I tell myself to feel. But in fact

I feel nothing….

“...I spend many hours roaming the streets of

Palermo, drinking strong black coffee, wondering

what the hell is wrong with me. I did it — I’m the

number one tennis player on earth, and yet I feel empty. If being number one feels

empty, unsatisfying, what’s the point?”

~ The Apostle John in 1 John 5:20-21

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we

are in who who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

The Perspective That Makes All The Difference

Next Sunday:

May you keep yourselves from idols,

because Jesus has given himself for you.