Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Most of the forces that make us who we are lie in the hand of God.

But if you let it humble you rather than embitter you, and turn to God instead of living for your own glory, then the death of your pride can lead to a resurrection. You can emerge, finally, fully human, with a tender heart instead of a hard heart.

If you uproot the idol and fail to “plant” the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back.

Our patterns of spending reveal our idols.

Mature Christians are not people who have completely hit the bedrock. I do not believe that is possible in this life. Rather, they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting closer and closer.

What are you really living for, what is your real—not your professed—god? A good way to discern this is how you respond to unanswered prayers and frustrated hopes. If you ask for something that you don’t get, you may become sad and disappointed. Then you go on. Hey, life’s not over. Those are not your functional masters. But when you pray and work

As with Jacob, we usually discover this only after a life of “looking for blessing in all the wrong places.” It often takes an experience of crippling weakness for us to finally discover it. That is why so many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy.

You don’t lose your desire to live unless you have lost your meaning in life.

This takes what are called “the spiritual disciplines,” such as private prayer, corporate worship, and meditation. 123 The disciplines take cognitive knowledge and make it a life-shaping reality in our hearts and imaginations. Spiritual disciplines are basically forms of worship, and it is worship that is the final way to replace the idols of your