Personal Pharaohs: Defining Our Terms

When I read the definition we were given for what an idol could be I was very convicted. "Something other than God that we set our heart upon, that motivates us, that masters and rules us, or that we trust fear or serve." This describes many things in my life. My husband...my children.... my role as a mother.... hatred of my job..... insecurity.... stress....blogging. Many things that take precedence over God on a daily basis and can sometimes stand in the way of doing the things He wants me to do. But sometimes these "idols" are also ways that I serve God. By loving and serving my children and husband I am also serving God. It can be a fine line I think. When I was reflecting on that and praying about it the word motivation came up again and again. What is my motivation behind my service to these particular things? Am I stubbornly making homemade baby food for Miller because it is a way to save us money and provide him with healthy nutrition or am I doing it out of pride, so I can say "I am that mom"? I have to admit that sometimes I really love being "that mom". I can totally identify with the message Kelly was giving in that I am professing that God is my God but more times than not I am serving other functional gods. I personally find my status as a wife and mother to be my biggest struggle. God has told me again and again that I am to serve him in my roles as a wife, mother, and teacher. I feel confident that He has plans in mind for me in these areas that I might never get to see the fruit of. But at the same time my motivation to excel in these three areas are not always to bring Him glory but to bask in the praise of others. It is very tempting to take credit for any good thing I do in these roles when really I am a complete mess and anything good comes from the creativity and strength God gives me. He often uses the verse about the broken and cracked vessel made strong to show His strength to comfort me in times of discouragement. And then too many times I forget that it is His power that makes me strong. One more thing that stuck out from this particular lesson was that God is jealous for us. This reminded me of the David Crowder song, How He Loves. So beautiful. He does love us. In spite that I fail at loving Him like I should again and again. Please comment with any insights of your own from this lesson. Or feel free to create your own post/reflection. You each are authors and can post at any time! Also let me know if there is anything you would like me to be praying about for you this week!