When we choose to delight in something less than God himself, whether a false god or a false concept of God, we continue to yearn for something we don’t have and thus give ourselves as servants to those sources that promise relief. There was a recently-published report on the addiction status of our society. According to that report, we are more addicted than ever. Maybe more people are admitting their addictions. Maybe we now have names for addictions that before were just problems. Maybe the term addiction is not as threatening as stronghold or bondage. BUT the truth is we do have an addiction problem, and it is not confined to substance abuse and rehabilitation centers. Some addictions are more socially acceptable and some are repulsive, but they are all symptoms of failure to find our delight in the highest source of delight. In our search for joy we have settled for temporary relief.
WE ARE DESIGNED FOR ULTIMATE DELIGHT Made by God for God, we have the potential of enjoying God as he enjoys himself. But even that statement seems askew. God enjoys himself? Think of it. What would he enjoy more than himself? If there were something more delightful than God . . . it would be another god. God the Father delights in God the Son and the Son delights in the Father. The Holy Spirit delights in revealing the Son who reveals the Father. The highest privilege of the universe includes our invitation to join this fellowship. Wow! We as believers in Christ now have the capacity to enjoy God like he enjoys himself.
“But,” someone says, “doesn’t God delight in us? Isn’t that better than delighting in himself? I mean, shouldn’t we delight in others and not ourselves?” Think of it. He is the uncreated eternal person who is the source of everything. We are creations. If God’s greatest delight were in us, he would worship creation. That would make God an idolater. If we delight in ourselves we are delighting in creation and not the creator and have become idolaters.
When we delight in anything other than God, we settle for lesser delights than we were created for. The depth of our delight is determined by the delightfulness of the object of our focus. Let’s say your first car was a previously owned 1985 Plymouth coup. Now when you have been walking from place to place, the coup is an improvement. You delight in that mode of transportation. (Probably no one is going to be commenting on your elite status or wanting to go for a ride.) Later you are able to get a 2000 Camry. Now your delight capacity is higher. Air conditioning that works . . . brakes that hold . . . no funny noises when you accelerate. Then someone gives you a sparkling new Lamborghini. Your delight level would have increased because the object of your focus is more delightful.
Why would I insist on delighting in that which would be lesser when I have the privilege of the greater? But that is not the whole story. Because we have been designed to delight in the ultimate, when we don’t, we are never satisfied. Lesser delights only produce more hunger for the real. The cycle begins as we continue to demand more and more of the lesser delight. Even Lamborghinis don’t satisfy. Before long we will be wanting another or a different color. It is only when we delight in God himself that we find true JOY. The addictive behavior is the result of demanding lesser gods to satisfy what only God can. Notice what Paul says to the believers at Corinth about Israel’s experience with idolatry and its accompanying slavery.
I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 (ESV)
DELIGHTING IN SOMETHING ELSE RESULTS IN BONDAGE Israel was the apple of God’s eye. When they began trusting other gods for their security and satisfaction, God was faithful to his word in bringing them to see the error of their ways. He was not satisfied for them to linger in lesser delights. He allowed the gods they had chosen to enslave his own people and reveal the false god’s inability to satisfy the true desires of his people. Sure it was judgment, but it was for the good of his people. Why would God permit them to settle for less than they were created for and less than he had provided for them?
The Lord has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.”
Lamentations 2:17 (ESV)
In his discussion Paul reveals an interesting fact. When the heathen sacrifice to false gods, they are actually serving demons (I Corinthians 10:20). Even though idols made of stone and wood are just that, stones and wood, demons of deception and defeat work to enslave those who choose to reject the true source of delight and settle for something less. (The servitude to Assyria, Babylon, and Persia were all examples of the curse of this idolatry.) It could be said that the core of God’s judgment is granting to the perverted heart what it wants. When God gives up the heathen to what he has demanded in his ignorance, he gives him over to his own desires which never satisfy. The desires intensify, but the source cannot deliver. So the result is bondage, addiction, servitude.
Actually what we learn from Israel’s story is that they were in bondage even when they were politically free. While David and Solomon ruled the kingdom, at its zenith geo-politically, they had corrupt hearts. This corruption was revealed as the kingdom began to deteriorate. This is why Jesus came as the “Liberator.” He came to set us free in the ultimate sense. It is good to have political and religious freedom. While we should promote that wherever possible, it is not enough. Politically free people who look to something or someone other than God for their delight are still in bondage. We may think that we are much too sophisticated to kneel before stones or pieces of wood like ancient ignorant people. We are advanced beyond believing the sun and moon control our lives. But the gods who offer to satisfy our desires to look good are still around. We will sacrifice a lot to appear acceptable to our peers. Religious garb can do that for us in some circles. In other circles we must have the right auto, live in the right neighborhood, have certain amenities, and work for the elite companies. Anything that threatens our “persona” is the enemy and must be eliminated, even if it is God.
Then there is that group of gods that promise the delight of feeling good. Our culture has told us that we have a right to feel good no matter what the circumstances. When we don’t, we demand the circumstances change. So we are susceptible to self-medication to achieve that goal. It may be drugs, or work, or play, or food, or sex, or leisure, or even ministry.
And what about that group of gods that promise to give us power over our circumstances and others? We think living dependent on God is risky. It would be better to know we have the resources to control what is happening. Money is good for that. We all know what accompanying temptations go with “unrighteous mammon.” Greed, fear, and dishonesty are just the beginning. For the Christian this god can be so subtle as to promise spiritual power that gives mankind the final say over life. Rather than serving their way to delight, they want the shortcut of an “anointing” that puts them in charge of every uncomfortable situation.
And then there are those who promise a freedom that lets us choose what we want with no accountability for the consequences. We want our coffee hot, but if we spill it on our hands, we blame McDonalds for the pain. We want to spend more than we have and blame the credit card company for giving us the credit. We want to live without God and demand he let us into heaven because he would be cruel if he didn’t. We want to abuse drugs and demand the government pay for our condition. So we tend to create gods of philosophy and ideology that allow this kind of thinking.
So, how can you know if you are serving a false god? Well, there are some common clues. You fear gods. You depend on them to satisfy your demands. You sacrifice to gods. (Maybe you have known of someone who sacrificed his/her family for their job or ministry. Or maybe you have known someone who sacrificed their career for the pleasure of drugs or sex.) Another clue is that your gods have the power to bless or curse. Only gods can do that. It would be a good exercise to determine what you think brings curses or blessings on you.
GOD HAS PROVIDED WAYS TO DELIGHT IN HIM Contrary to what many think, God’s law to Israel was not intended to suppress them. The Torah was given to be a means of enjoying God. The biblical narrative is the account of God’s delightful activity towards his creation. He has always been extremely intent on redeeming and restoring everything that sin affected. He made covenants with his chosen ones with the purpose of carrying that out. It is impossible to read anywhere in the scriptures and not find the core of an ultimately delightful God who is displaying his character in history. When he gave the 10 Commandments to Israel, it was for their ultimate delight. Who wouldn’t want to be free to do all those things? Why would any sane person want to be in bondage to anger, lust, dishonor, double mindedness, covetousness etc.? Even these “hard sayings” are designed to point toward the ultimate delight mankind can have. The Psalmist must have gotten it.
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
Psalm 119:18-20 (ESV)
. . . for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
Psalm 119:47-48 (ESV)
Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:97-104 (ESV)
In the New Testament we find John, the apostle, saying that God’s commandments are not hard. After all he has told us that we have the power of the indwelling Christ to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves. We can actually obey from the heart the instructions Christ gives us. We are able to delight in his words because they give life and the way it should be lived. GOD DELIGHTS IN DELIVERING US FROM FOREIGN POWERS This is the mystery of grace. God’s mercy is only revealed totally when mercy is all that will do. In other words, our bondage is opportunity for grace to shine. One might be tempted to conclude, “Why then don’t we sin a lot so grace can shine a lot?” Of course Paul dealt with that very objection in his letter to the Roman church (Romans 5-8). There is no god strong enough to keep God’s treasure away from him. He will demonstrate his power and covenant love on behalf of the slaves.
Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the Lord: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
Isaiah 49:24-26 (ESV)
Our addiction is God’s opportunity to show his love to the slave and those watching. His glory is best displayed when we are delighting in his delight in delivering us.
HOW CAN WE DELIGHT IN GOD ALL THE TIME?
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
Psalm 37:4-5 (ESV)
Let me suggest several intentional choices for this. First, thank him often. Nothing will focus our attention on the ultimate source of our delight more than lavish and continual thanksgiving. Second, talk to him honestly. It does no good to try skillfully to con God. Tell him what is going on in your heart and life. He can deal with your humanity and frailty. Note David’s honesty while hiding in a cave from Saul. (Things were going well for the already anointed king.)
With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
Psalm 142:1-2, 6-7 (ESV)
Thirdly, trust him for everything. You can rejoice that he is in charge of your life and that your inheritance is good (Psalm 16:11). He is the one responsible for your pleasure. He will reveal your purpose. He has all the power for you to do what he has assigned. Fourthly, contemplate his ways. You have a history with God. It goes all the way back to creation. You are one of his people. He had you in mind in the very beginning and your history is recorded in the Bible. Read it. Meditate. Contemplate. You will be delighted. Fifthly, give his life away. Get involved in giving. Look intently at opportunities to give away what God has given to you. In this way you activate the love that he has poured in your heart through the Holy Spirit.
Why is God jealous? He is not insecure like some star-struck insecure lover. He will not settle for his children settling for lesser delights than the ultimate — him. Flee idolatry! It is the great thief. It stills your joy and puts you in bondage. Pursue him. He delights in showing you how to delight in him as he delights in himself.
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