Because God Is Love

Understanding the Love of God and

Why It Is the Only Path to Life

PART I

THE DELUSION OF LOVE

FERSEN PERERA

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”

First epistle of John 4:7-12 (NRSV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

The Gospel according to John 3:16-21 (NRSV)

Copyright © 2013 Fersen Perera

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1484025644

ISBN-13: 978-1484025642

As noted, some Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.” (www.Lockman.org)

As noted, some Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

As noted, some Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

As noted, some Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

“New International Version” and “NIV” are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc.TM.

To each and every one, because everyone matters.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Greeting

Introduction

0 The Persistent Problem of the Delusion of Love Clearly Defined

1 Love as the Self-Centered Concern or the Delusion of Love

2 The Enslaving Power of Passions

3 About Lust

4 Of Idols or Man-Made gods

5 The Facet of Love That Is Intrinsic to Mankind

6 Worshipping Money and Wealth

7 How Idols Come to Existence and Where Their Worship Will Lead Us

8 You, My Love, Give Meaning to My Life

9 I Believe I Am Unique!

10 Misery and Injustice Are the Consequences of Idolatry

Final Words and Conclusion

Bibliography and Recommended Reading

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I deeply thank my Lord and God. Without Him nothing comes into being. I thank you, Lord, for the abilities you have given me. I hope to employ them to serve You above anyone and anything else, so I may serve my fellow men and women according to Your will.

Please help me not to stray from Your path. Amen.

I deeply thank my wife, Nancy, for her continuous effort in maturing in our Lord’s love and walking in communion with me along His path. It’s been an amazingly rewarding journey!

I thank each and every person throughout human history who has been inspired by our Lord to earnestly and honestly study in depth and detail the written word of our Lord and God. I also thank each person who has been prompted by their God-given conscience to seek and understand glimmers of His truth, even without acknowledging Him. I thank you all because without you, my understanding of our Lord’s word would not be what it is today.

I thank Allison Watkins for her editorial skills and contribution to this book.

I thank Scott Philip Stewart for his kind support and very encouraging words before the publication of this book.

GREETING

“A book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us.”

(Franz Kafka)

Hello my friend, whoever you are.

Please let me introduce myself, the writer of this book. I am an ordinary man whose name, personality and physical features are of no special importance. I’m no different to you or anyone else who also considers himself or herself to be ordinary. If you ever meet me and I appear to be different, though, keep in mind that it is only on the surface, and mainly because of what I may appear to be as a result of many circumstances of my life and, to some extent, my congenital physical traits and temperament – neither of which were mine to choose.

In my ordinariness, I cannot deny that many elements within my being still cause me to sin – the false ideas and beliefs that are not yet fully perceived for what they are: deceptions. But I can also express my profound conviction that only by increasing my honest knowledge of the Lord’s love and justice and by giving myself entirely to Him as a consequence of such truthful knowledge; those false beliefs that still cause me to sin will be weeded out from my heart and mind.

The beginning of what I call my “renovation” took place not so many years ago, and the miracles (because to me, they are miracles) through which our Lord has cleansed my heart and mind and thus profoundly changed my life are very difficult to describe. Yet in place of the very poor description I would provide, the following words best describe nearly everything that has happened in my being since I truly saw a glimpse of His light: I was blind, but now I see.

Yet, my sight is still far from being perfectly clear and illuminated. On the contrary, as I have already hinted, I know it is poor, but knowing this is also evidence that I can see, whereas when I was in complete darkness, it never occurred to me that I was blind. In fact, I didn’t even know what light was. To me, darkness was light, but now my life has become brighter and my understanding richer. The prospect of a lifelong endeavor to learn, understand and live out the fruits of such education enthusiasms me more than I can express because I also know that, for as long as I remain in this world, I will never cease to learn, and the knowledge I attain will never be complete, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, NRSV).

But of all the understanding that the Lord our God has granted me, perhaps the most amazing revelation is that the only responsibility I can truly call my own is the power to decide and to subsequently act. My decisions are what ultimately bring me closer to my Lord or distance me away from Him; and because decisions are made upon faith, knowledge and emotions, the verity of these three elements by which I make such decisions is of critical importance to me. However, this responsibility does not burden me too much because I also know that I am a part of God’s grand design for all humankind. Therefore, thanks to His loving teaching, I decide to accept Him, through His Son, as my Lord, instead of being governed by my own knowledge, experiences and emotions.

So it is that I address you as an ordinary man who wrote a book – this book you are holding. A book that I wrote because I consider it my responsibility to present you with the understanding I discovered not too long ago, and not without considerable effort, blunders and hurt. I trust that this understanding will assist you in your spiritual life as you walk in our Lord’s way, just as it has assisted me by illuminating my footsteps on this very narrow path and bringing peaceful joy to my soul. Gratefully, we have the opportunity to walk on this path only by the love of the Lord our God, as fulfilled and embodied by His Son, Jesus Christ, the first-fruit of true life.

Certainly, what I will present to you in the pages that follow is not of my creation, for I create nothing and all creation comes from our Lord. I simply discovered it. But this does not mean either that I am presenting you with a newfound truth, because while it once was new to me and may so be to you at first, I know that many have understood it before me in one manner or another. I deeply thank them once again and fully acknowledge that this book would not have been possible without all of them. Therefore, this is also very true about what you will read:

What has been — it is what will be;

what has been done — it is what will be done;

there is nothing new under the sun.

There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!”

But it already existed in ages past before us.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (LEB)

Moreover, I’m aware that I did not understand what I did on my own. Rather, I did so thanks to our Lord’s Holy Spirit working in my life and to His word as it is written in the Bible. Otherwise, I would never have been able to see past the many lies and deceptions in which I lived. Therefore, I join all men and women, past and present, whose eyes He has graciously opened, and I hope to assist you to join us as well.

My faith is firm on everything that I will present to you, and I do so honestly and with a clean conscience (otherwise I would not dare to do it). But I also plead that you not take any of my words for granted in what you will read. Instead, allow me to kindly remind you to “test everything, hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NIV 1984). I am human, weak, fallible and, as I have already stated, still inclined to sin because of the unrevealed delusions that I may still believe. Henceforth, I ask you to constantly keep this fact in mind. After all, you are human just like me. In this, I have faith that what is true in what I have written will be understood as such by what is true within you. This is the silent dialogue I seek to have with you because the true and not-so-simple purpose of everything I have written is to help all of us to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22, NASB) so we may “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them... but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.” (Ephesians 5:11, 13-14, NRSV).

Therefore, my hope is that we will mature in the truthful love and justice of the Lord our God so that we may have nothing to do with darkness and instead expose it with light, no matter how initially painful and challenging this may be, understanding first and without error that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7, NIV). From which follows that “anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them” (1 John 2:9-11, NIV).

Thus, let us begin

INTRODUCTION

What is love? Have you ever stopped to consider the meaning of this short word? I have, quite some time ago, after I read with unprecedented carefulness, almost as if I were reading for the first time the following words from the first epistle of John: “Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8, NIV).

Sure, I had read those words many times before but never stopped to carefully meditate about their meaning. I suppose I believed that I knew the meaning of love. After all, I had also read the word “love” everywhere, from bumper stickers and pins to advertising ads, magazines and novels. I had also heard this word thousands of times, including the innumerable times I had spoken it with reference to a person, animal, thing, place, event or idea. But I had never stopped to wonder why this word was used in such a way that John connected it to our Lord so powerfully and directly. I say powerfully because the apostle’s immediate words (1 John 4:9-12) allowed me to fully understand what I consider to be the most important matter in my life: The true meaning of our Lord Christ’s sacrifice and the fact that only through love does God live in us and make His love complete in us.

John’s first epistle made me clearly realize that love couldn’t just be the wonderful, fuzzy, feet-above-my-head feeling as I once thought. I also realized that any other understanding of love I had was amazingly far from its true meaning and, in fact, the meaning of this short word is not to be taken lightly. In this sense, I also knew that whenever I had read about love in the Bible, I had failed to properly appreciate its importance, not only in my life but also in the whole Gospel. I knew that, because God is love, love must be something immensely greater and more fantastic than the feelings and ideas I had previously felt and thought about it. You see, the grammatical relation of the word “love” to God in those lines is only matched by two other words in the Bible: “light” and “holy.” By this, of course, I do not mean that these are the only known attributes of God, but that the concepts behind these three words are an essential element of His being in a way unlike the other terms used to describe Him.

Why had I never stopped to pay more attention to the meaning of “love” earlier? In part I think it was because before that moment, my poor understanding of our Lord had been founded more upon faith and grace than anything else. Love came up from time to time, along with mercy, justice, kindness, patience and hope. But I never understood love in such a way as to grasp everything that is expressed in the first epistle of John. I never thought of it as the most eminent hallmark of a true disciple of Christ, as He said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV)

But the most important reason of my thoughtlessness was that for all the times I had read, listened and expressed the word “love”, I did so in ignorance of its meaning

This showed to me how one can do something and call it “love,” even if it is not. I suppose I could call anything I do whatever I wish to call it, even if others think that I am thoughtless, ill-informed or deluded by defining it with a word they disagree with. But this is how a word begins to lose its original and true meaning – not when a single person changes its meaning, of course, but when several do and gradually more and more people begin to accept it. After all, throughout the history of mankind, countless words and grammatical constructions have taken on meanings that have little resemblance to their original purpose. Languages rely heavily on social convention, and as such, they are an expression of the spiritual, intellectual and emotional conditions of society. So, if this ignorance of meaning has been going on beyond my isolated situation, and if nearly everyone else does that same something that I call “love” and they also call it “love,” then I will have every certainty to believe that what I call “love” is truly love, not stopping to think that all of us might be thoughtless, ill-informed or deluded.

Ironically enough, in having reached a sort of consensus on our ignorance and delusions, we will deem those who do not agree with our beliefs as the thoughtless, ill-informed and deluded ones-including those who may know and speak the truth about love!

Well now, I suggest that the true meaning of love has been lost to almost everyone in our western societies, if not the whole world. Our common concept of love is ill-informed and deluded, and as such, “love” is nothing more than the delusion of love or, at best, delusional love. Our misconception of love has much more to do with covetousness, passions, unsatisfied needs and the countless lies we conveniently believe than with the truthful love spoken about in the Bible – the love that is equated to God – a love that is usually so foreign to our daily lives that once it is perceived, it almost seems otherworldly, even unreal. But we should not be awestruck by this; after all, this love corresponds to the Kingdom of Heaven. Upon it and everything it causes and bonds together in perfect unity is that such Kingdom is built, and so it has nothing to do with the views, habits and so-called “knowledge” of this world. However, we should never lose sight from the simple truth that this kingdom, no matter how unearthly or dreamlike it might seem, is reachable to us in this life by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Moreover, I suggest that there are no different types of love, but only one true, wholesome love that is sacrificial, faithful, benign, knowledgeable, disciplined, enduring, devoted and tenderly compassionate. As such, this love is both the origin and conclusion of all these things; while everything else – all our individual definitions and opinions of “love” – construct the delusion of love. For in the Bible it is not written, “Because God is this or that type of love.”

The problem, then, greatly resides in the meaning we have given to words and the way we employ them as a result. If what we mean and understand by the words we employ is different from what was meant to be understood by the words in the Bible, then many of us so-called “Christians” have fallen in great errors, and while we may have thought that we accurately comprehended the meaning of biblical passages, we may yet remain in our delusions, trusting them to be veracious. If we do not understand the true meaning of the Bible’s words, how can we understand its sentences, verses and paragraphs?

Therefore, Part I of this work is specifically aimed at addressing this problem of meaning for two essential reasons:

The first reason is that Christ is the Word of God. Knowing Him stands for knowing His word according to His truthful meaning, not the meaning that we may wish to impress upon it, even if this latter meaning is conventional or pleasing. Beyond all the doctrines and theology in what is known today as Christianity, with their virtues and flaws, it is necessary to understand the words of the Bible according to their original intention, because today, the following words written by the apostle Paul to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3-7, NRSV) should be of greater significance than any man-made doctrine, for even though they were written in a different context – in reference to possible teachers of the Mosaic Law – the core matter they address applies very well to this very day.

I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.

In this regard, I have made an earnest effort to stay away from useless, controversial speculations in the arguments I put forward in this book. Instead, I have endeavored to thoroughly and honestly review the many deceits that most of us have believed about the essential concept of love by contrasting them with the truthful love displayed in, acted upon and embodied by our Lord Christ and His apostles, so that we may then clearly see the staggering difference between the delusions and the truth. Hopefully, then, we may take the necessary steps to learn how to love “from a pure heart, a good conscience and a faith without hypocrisy.”

The second reason is that when we fall short of understanding and living in the love of God, we live according to the delusion of love or experiencing delusional love, both of which are very much akin to idolatry. This is a frightful thought without a doubt, but a reality nonetheless to most of us. It is no accident and no mere afterthought that the apostle John concluded his first epistle – right after one of the most elaborate and beautiful expositions on the meaning of love in the Bible – with the words: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21, NIV).

In this respect, I will elaborate in the following chapters on everything I could to clearly distinguish between the meanings of true love and the delusion of love [idolatry], simply because one cannot aspire to learn the true meaning of love without first seeing through one’s many layers of lies and delusions. In this sense, you will find instances in which I have elaborated on the definitions of relevant English words to help us better understand the meaning behind them. I have also referred to their etymological roots whenever important to clarify what some words were meant to signify when they were employed in the English translations of the Bible as equivalent terms to the original Hebraic and Greek terms. Moreover, I have explained the etymological and accepted meanings of some Hebrew and Greek terms that are very important in understanding the meaning of true love. You may be surprised by some of this!

However, this book is not a “grammatical” work – far from it. It is merely an exposition of meanings in their respective contexts and in our lives, so we can see, even with our limited capacities, what they stand for in light of our Lord’s truth. This, I trust, will prepare us to fully understand the essential nature of love in its human facet; something I hope will pave the way to Part II of this work, in which we will explore how the unperverted nature of the human facet of love is what bonds us with our Lord’s perfect love until they become a unified, perfect love. Unification is in effect the inherent purpose of language itself because, etymologically speaking, communication simply means “to share, divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join, unite, participate in.”[*]

The mutual, but above all truthful, understanding of love is what will help us finally realize why “God is love,” and why only in Him can we find the true purpose of our lives and the essence of our beings, fully comprehending the deep meaning of these words:

“Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-13, NRSV)

Because God Is Love

0

THE PERSISTENT PROBLEM OF THE DELUSION OF LOVE CLEARLY DEFINED

Love is one of the hardest concepts to define. Its different meanings and interpretations are heavily influenced by culture, personal preference, individual experience and emotion. But it is precisely because of this that we must seek to know its true meaning, no matter how comforting a particular definition may be to those who believe that there are as many truths in this world as there are people. Yes, there are many realities in this world, but not all of them belong to the truth.

Nonetheless, in order to establish at least a common meaning from which we can take our first steps in this quest, it is helpful to start by looking up the word in a dictionary, and that is what I did. In fact, I looked it up in four different dictionaries and although not all of the definitions I read were exactly the same, there are common elements among them.

The word love is used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, I found that every definition describes love as a strong or passionate affection, attraction and/or attachment based on factors such as admiration, personal ties, common interests and/or sexual desire. As a noun, the word love also refers to the object or person towards which such passionate affection and/or attachment is felt. For example, if my children are the object of my strong affection and attachment, they are my beloveds. The objects of love, of course, can be as diverse as the people, animals, things, places, events and ideas perceivable.

As a verb, I found that most references describe love as the act of having affection or desire for and/or attachment to an object. This is usually manifested through physical affection or some other form of emotional expression. As a verb, love also means to need, require or like someone or something as a result of the perceived benefits and qualities of the person, animal, thing, place, event or idea. By virtue of its observed benefits and qualities, the object of love moves the lover to desire and pursue it. Love is, therefore, action.

Lastly, as a verb, love is also used to describe unselfish and benevolent concern towards another person. However, it is within this last meaning that I found something of a contradiction with the most common uses of this word: If we believe that the admiration, personal ties, common interests or desirability are the factors that engender the unselfish concern and benevolence of the lover, there is a fatal incoherence in what we commonly understand as “love.”

How is my concern for and benevolence towards the very object that engenders passionate feelings within me truly unselfish? If I act kindly towards the object of my love, I do so because it has deeply affected me and swayed me to be benevolent out of the affection and interest I feel for it – not because of what the object truly needs or feels. So how is it unselfish to be benevolent only because of what I feel and desire? My love is a function of my effort to satisfy my needs and desires, whereas selflessness would place my own well-being below the welfare of others.

Here is where we find the great incoherence between how we usually proclaim love and how we really experience it. On one hand, what we commonly understand as love seems to spring up from the deepest part of our beings, producing powerful feelings that overwhelmingly drive us to have an intense desire to be as close as possible to the object that has aroused such love and benefit from its perceived qualities. This is the passionate, romantic love that we read about and often dream to experience ourselves.

On the other hand, love is supposed to be benevolent towards the object of love – something that should prompt the lover to nurture and guard their beloved, even to the point of giving his or her life for it. But how are we supposed to know what is good for the person that we claim to love when love in fact passionately drives us to seek the satisfaction of the needs and desires that we feel on our own?

So the common definitions of love present us with a selfish and an unselfish aspect of it. In view of this, it is important to find out if both aspects of love can be reconciled – if indeed they are different aspects of love. Especially because even a very superficial observation of the history of mankind and the state of our current world affairs will clearly show that the selfish aspect of love is the one that we are more inclined to act upon to satisfy our passionate desires. The unselfish aspect, though, is the one we mostly enjoy reading and hearing about, despite the fact that we don’t necessarily dream about experiencing it on our own for the benefaction of someone else. However, this last aspect of love is the essence of many legends passed down through generations. More importantly, this is the love that our Lord has shown to us through and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Does anything within the selfish aspect of love relate to unselfish love? Or could it be that we have named our selfish inclinations as “love” to feel better about us and as a way to comfortably delude ourselves into believing that we love when in fact we remain far from acting upon true love? To answer these questions, it is best for me to begin the first chapter of this book by clearly pointing out what is not love yet often called such.

1

LOVE AS THE SELF-CENTERED CONCERN OR THE DELUSION OF LOVE

Let us begin with a brief list of sayings that exemplify what we, as products of the western world culture, sometimes call love, yet aren’t representative of true love by far. At best, they represent selfish love, which I will also call the delusion of love or delusional love – a shadow of what love wholly is – because when these sayings are inspected under a light, we will find that they are irreconcilable with unselfish love and in fact stand as a complete mockery of true love.

The following list is not exhaustive – it actually is brief – but it illustrates the common elements that shape and define the thoughts and emotions that we commonly refer to as love, particularly between couples, although not exclusively. In any case, the short explanations I will provide are reasons that of course do not cross our minds whenever we have expressed these sayings or led our lives by them, unless we are hardboiled cynics, which I hope is not the case. What lies behind these sad depictions of love, though, is something we regretfully spend most of our lives ignoring or not caring about, yet somehow assuming to be correct and, above all, normal. This is why they are so deceiving. Otherwise, we would not subscribe to them, let alone live by them.

1. “Love is compromise. Love is a two-way street. Love is give and take.” This may be the most typical saying in which we see that love is born and borne out of shared interest. Perhaps this saying also reflects the best effort to somewhat reconcile the selfish and unselfish aspects in the common meanings of love. Love as compromise means that the parties involved negotiate and conciliate their relationship offers and demands to a somewhat blurry point where they sort of reach a mutually agreed-upon equilibrium of giving and taking. “I give this, but I’m entitled to that. You do this for me and I do that for you”. This takes place in most “civilized” relationships regardless of the form they take, like lawful marriage or dating.

However, if the blurry point of equilibrium is altered, then the relationship will be altered accordingly because one person ends up giving more than s/he receives, something s/he will perceive as unjust, even though the other person might think of it as just and fine! This is so because in the eyes of each partner, the point of equilibrium, just like our individual ideas of justice, usually tends to center around a place where it is strictly favorable to either side, as opposed to both. When this happens, the common interest begins to appear less commonly interesting.

If this lack of “fair” compromise or perceived injustice continues (depending on how tolerant each partner is of the feeling of injustice), and there is no mutual arrangement to restore the harmony of the union upon which the satisfaction of the partners once rested, then it is very likely that the relationship will end.

Love understood as compromise seems to closely resemble a trade contract of products and services. One partner buys what another partner sells at an agreed-upon price. Alteration of that price is not normally accepted unless there is a compensation that merits the extra effort. Therefore, it is no wonder that when love is seen like this, marriage becomes more a matter of pre-marital and marital contracts with clauses invoking rewards and penalties upon pre-defined standards of behavior. To enforce compliance, both parties involved may even become inclined to keep score of what they give and receive, what they put up with and what they do gladly. This they do just to make sure the relationship is “fair,” and in case of a break-up, they can demand all the compensation to which they feel entitled.

The following are some mild examples of the attitudes that this view of love might give rise to: “This past month I took the kids to school every single day, and you didn’t even bother to wash my clothes!” “I bring in all the money we need to buy food, yet it’s been weeks since you bothered yourself with the least amount of effort to prepare a decent meal!” “I do everything in this house, and you can’t even take a few hours to take us out to dinner on the weekends!” “Why do you expect me to do more than my fair share of working for the money to keep you fed?!”

The list can go on and on as it reflects an increased lack of compromise between demand and offer. What remains unaltered, though, is the self-centered concern of everyone involved.

2. “Love is only a chemical reaction, no different than eating chocolate.” Scientists have conducted many studies that show the chemical reactions that take place in our brains when we are “in love” with someone.

Basically, when we “fall in love,” our brains release chemicals known as neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin that stimulate the pleasure center or nucleus accumbens of our brains. This phenomenon is what makes us feel palpitations, dizziness, absent-mindedness and a general feeling of being head-over-heels for someone. We may then desire their company so much as to seek ownership of that person and/or become permanently attached to them so that we can continue to enjoy the cocktail of natural chemicals produced in our brains. Scientists also say that these feelings last between one and four years. Some have said it lasts longer, long enough to call it the “seven-year itch,” a phrase that means that at the seven-year mark, the “love” will wear off between the “lovers,” and they will want to find someone else to give them a new fix of the “love” drug. However, in light of the majority of the current opinions, seven years seem to be very optimistic. Perhaps, the “love” drug has been getting less potent over time.

In any case, when the countdown timer goes off, it is time to wake up from the fleeting dream. “Love” is over, and people would be better off eating chocolate or exercising, which also release neurotransmitters, or altogether finding another person that newly arouses this biochemical process within our brains. Because even though we know it will come to an end, getting a new “fix” will keep us content for a few more precious moments – perhaps more than a few years if we are lucky enough to find a truly “special” someone who can keep the neurotransmitters pumping longer into our brains.

Now, for the lucky few who make it past the exciting infatuation stage of their relationship and remain together, scientists claim that they did so as a result of the influence of yet another set of chemicals in our brains: oxytocin and vassopresin. However, when the effect of these wear off, perhaps their “love” will end as well.

As an additional point of interest, I will note that the ingestion of drugs such as cocaine, morphine, heroin, marihuana and alcohol produce biological reactions analogous to what scientists now describe as “falling in love.” These substances do this through biochemical processes that alter the levels of our brains’ neurotransmitters, allowing people to feel euphoric, aroused, calm, protected, alert, uninhibited, dizzy or soothed, depending on the drug. Ecstasy, for example, is called the “love drug” for the craving to bond that it brings by releasing oxytocin in the brain. Please note that it is the neurotransmitters which make people feel such emotional states, not the drugs themselves.

In a similar vein, recent studies from Columbia University, Indiana University, the University of Kentucky and Emory University suggest that shopping leads to a surge in our levels of dopamine, allowing us to anticipate a great deal of satisfaction from the acquisition of what we desire, even if the actual purchase turns out to be quite unrewarding. The anticipation of reward is what makes shopping so thrilling and addictive, despite how ultimately unfulfilling it can be.

So, understood as a mere biochemical process, love is no different than the temporary emotional states one can experience not just from eating chocolate, but also from any other psychoactive drug or neurotransmitter-releasing activity. There is, however, nothing selfless about this “love.”

3. “Love is a battlefield.” This means that love is somewhat of a fight between two or more persons.

This “love” often becomes an outright war because battlefields do belong to wars, after all. Now, war is the continuation of politics through other means, namely force, to compel an adversary to do our will, according to the most respected theorist on the subject, Carl Von Clausewitz. The object of war is to subdue the enemy and force him or her to do whatever we want them to do with whatever force necessary. In war, there is no room for kindness or mercy because to be so, Clausewitz argued, debilitates the merciful party and makes it vulnerable to its ruthless adversaries who are unafraid to employ more extreme measures.

Therefore, when we apply Clausewitz's definition of war or battle to this saying, we find that love is the subjugation of the very person we claim to love and/or of those competing with us for that person’s love. Emotional and physical violence and verbal abuse are thus permissible tactics to be employed in a fight within a “loving” relationship. In fact, anything is permissible to fight off our contenders for love and compel the one we desire to do our will and to love us. How unselfish is this?! To boot, Clausewitz also stated that war never ends; even what might be considered its last battle is not. When the adversary regains strength, a new adversary arises, or the person we claim to love no longer wishes to submit to our will, the battle will recommence.

But maybe understanding love as a battle in which violence is allowed is too extreme. Maybe this saying only attempts to convey the idea that love is more a matter of politics in which there is conflict but not violence. So, before politics turn to war, what should we understand as love within the phrase of “love is a battlefield?”

There are many definitions of politics, but all of them share the elements of social interaction, government, control, authority and power. Combining these elements, politics can be practically understood as the struggle for power within a social setting so it may be exercised as a form of government. In politics, more subtle means are employed to compel our adversary to do our will, such as negotiation, charm, persuasion, self-victimization, manipulation of information and so on – everything necessary to attain power and authority over others (“loved” ones?). This frequently includes veiled and open threats of violence.

I have seen many of the aforementioned tactics being employed in a lot of business, friendships and “romantic” relationships, especially in those relationships that closely resemble a contract of interests or, as we like to call them, compromises. I have witnessed how one side charms and manipulates the other to gain (or regain) a desired advantage. Sometimes they negotiate too. Sex, for example, is offered in exchange for desired gifts or additional benefits such as travel. I have also seen how someone pretends to suffer in exchange for attention or a favor from his/her “loved” one, and how gossip and misinformation are used to take favors or attention away from someone else. All in all, these relationships resemble a struggle for attention, power and domination. It is also worth noting that in most of these relationships, when subtle actions fail to subdue the other party – who might still be called a “partner” when in reality they are treated as an adversary – to do our will, then those involved will likely resort to an open conflict that will take the shape of war. Then, I suppose, they have the opportunity to fully realize how their “love” has really turned into a battlefield.

4. “Anything goes in love and war” or, “All is fair in love and war.” The previous despairing saying is further emphasized by these two self-explanatory sayings about love. Here, though, I would like to mention the three causes for war as identified by the Greek historian Thucydides: honor, fear and interest. It doesn’t require much insight to see that these three causes are also behind many political actions and that they have little to do with unselfishness.

Likewise, the Talmud states that there are three main types of causes to go to war: economic gain, ideology/religion and power/pride/“love”. Now, is it only nations or large people groups that go to war for these reasons? Think on this for a few minutes.

Daily experience or a barely habitual read of the local newspaper will show that two people alone often enter into conflict for the very same reasons, regardless of whether the conflict ultimately leads to direct or indirect violence. If it does, it is easy to see that the battle or war was undertaken to gain something or avoid loss, whether this gain or loss comes from material goods or emotional and mental “values” (perhaps simply to avoid “loss of face”).

But while the causes of a specific battle or war are not always easy to discern, the results are always certain: damage to and loss of life, relationships and property on either or both sides. Should this be the result of love?

5. “Love is a passion for or obsession with someone or something you can’t live without.” To understand this saying, we must first understand the roles of passion and obsession in our culture. In an effort to come up with a more complete description, I did some research and synthetized the definitions I found in four different dictionaries:

Passion is the intense mental and/or emotional state caused by external agents that affect the subject. The external agents affect the subject so compellingly that he/she feels uncontrollably excited to the point of being driven or mastered by such feelings, becoming passive to them. Passion is commonly used in descriptions of love, jealousy, wrath, ambition, greed, hate, lust and fear. Thomas B. Macaulay painted a powerful portrait of this emotion and its overriding effects when he referred to “a passion fond even to idolatry.”

Passion as a noun refers to the object [the agent] of one’s intense desires.

Obsession is defined by persistent thoughts or emotions that prompt us to pursue something or someone, leading to a compulsive fixation with the object (person, animal, thing, place, event or idea). Obsession is often accompanied by unwanted feelings such as anxiety.

So, if it is understood solely as passion and obsession, “love” drives us to something or someone and irresistibly compels us to become attached to it/them. The object of our love then rules us with such strong and uncontrollable emotion that we feel we can’t live without it. “Love”, understood like this, lines up right next to other selfish, human desires, such as lust, wrath, greed, envy and hate.

6. “Love does not exist!” or, “No one loves anyone!” Well, there is no need to explain something that does not exist, and even less if no one loves anyone. However, it is clear why someone would stop believing that love is something beautiful and virtuous when he/she has only experienced the selfish actions that are commonly called “love.” These two statements are the result of disillusionment, but more elaborate statements can come from pursuing the delusion of love that is portrayed in all of the previous sayings, such as:

“I was sure this one was going to be the right one! He/she was so different from everybody else I’d ever been with. Sadly, it took me three years to find out that he/she was just like everyone else! What a waste of time!”

“He/she seemed so wonderful the first time we met. Everything he/she said was perfect. I wonder why he/she has changed so much that it’s become impossible for me to be around him/her anymore. It all started out so beautifully!”

“I was so stupid and blind! How did I ever fall for her/him?”

“All the signs were there since our very first date! I don’t know why I just ignored them and forced myself into a relationship that was never good for me!”

“We were deeply in love, but we didn’t see eye-to-eye on so many issues. I suppose that caused the excitement to wear off and the love to turn to despise.”

“Everybody kept telling me he/she was perfect, and I even came to believe it myself. But as time passed, I must admit, there wasn’t any chemistry between us. What a pity we had to say goodbye.”

“I really was in love with her/him! I don’t know what happened. Where did we get lost?”

“What went wrong between us?!”

When friendships and partnerships end, the statements tend to be almost identical. Have you ever thought some of these or similar words? Has “love” turned into disillusionment, hopelessness and vexation? Or perhaps altogether into rage and hate? If it has, I am sad to say that what you experienced was never true love. However, the enormous grief, anger and suffocating pain from the delusion of love were and are very real, even when they are the result of having lived a deceit.

So, there we have it. Upon sayings like the previous ones the delusion of love has been fabricated and perpetuated. However, it is often necessary to live out this delusion in order to understand it as such, even if undergoing [suffering] it means having to experience considerable grief and pain when the illusion begins to fade from sight – which will inevitably happen because it simply cannot last forever. To sooth the pain, though, there is no better course of action than to patiently wait for it to recede. And it certainty will.

When the pain and grief begin to recede, hopefully we can garner our wits and reflect upon what truly happened with a clear and sound perspective. In that moment, a bright light can emerge. Its brightness comes from the realization that what we experienced was disillusionment resulting from our human misconceptions and obsessive passions, and that now we have gained much by being presented with three choices:

1. We can either decide to press on down the same path that led us to suffer from our own delusions, hoping against hope that the next occasion will be different enough to finally give us the cherished satisfaction of our love. With this decision, we immerse even deeper than before into our delusion.

2. We absolutely renounce love from our lives. Having suffered the great pain of pursing its illusion, we decidedly swear it away for good. “After all,” we might say, “it really doesn’t exist.” At best, we decide to enjoy the pleasant aspects of “love” and only pursue sexual gratification and the company that comes with it. With this decision, something deep within our hearts dies, something that is essential to our humanity.

3. We seek an alternate, better path that leads us to the fulfillment and true realization of love, even though we may ask ourselves, “Where will I find it?”

A few comments to weigh into our choice.

During those moments when we reflect on what has happened to us after having suffered the delusion of love (although we still may not acknowledge it as such), perhaps our decision on what to do next will be weighed towards either of the three previous options, if we can clearly see that the delusion of love cannot be but ephemeral. Even if the “love” begins with overwhelming and exciting emotions that we believe will last forever, this delusion will only endure for as long as the emotions last and will never be more than a fleeting, yet passionate, affair.

Will we finally foresee that once the intense emotions subside or our desires transform, the delusion of love will inexorably become a dreary negotiation of selfish interests and needs? Hopefully we will then understand that acting upon the delusion of love will inevitably turn “love” into the selfish craving to fulfill ourselves by either being too close to the object that elicits our passion or controlling it entirely; for the delusion of love either seeks to possess and dominate the object of “love” or to attach the “lover” to his object of obsession. Therefore, will we finally realize that possession and attachment are only driven by self-gratification?

Whichever decision we make, one thing is certain: With the delusion of love so ubiquitous in our societies, it is no wonder that so many people have become cynical about love. It is not surprising that evolutionary psychologists conceptualize “love” as a ploy of our genes to temporarily facilitate human interaction and collaboration with the sole purpose of procreation in order to preserve the human species and, with it, safeguard the survival of the human genes which are supposed to be in charge of every aspect of our beings according to these scientists. These genes are what have “programmed” us to be enticed by sexual desire and to have the need for companionship. This ploy, however, is only designed to last long enough to help safeguard the life of newborns and their parents for a new round of reproduction. In short, “love” is just the name the human species has given to the mechanism traced and executed by our genes to maintain the so-called evolution and reproduction of the human species under an arguably benign appearance. What a sad idea of the humankind.

Strangely, even with such cynical conceptions of “love” as the previous one, people continue to aspire to a fulfilling love! Could it be that the aforementioned option 2, then, has little chance of prevailing? There is reason to hope in this, although persisting in our delusions –cynical or otherwise - and choosing option 1 is not it.

However, regarding option 1, humanity has come to stubbornly believe its own delusions which have been confidently taught and reinforced for generations so that we, in turn, can perpetuate the same mistakes and the absurd belief that the deceit is the truth. Adolf Hitler wrote: “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success.”

So, mankind has constantly borne in mind its delusion of love among many others, but to the success of what? Of the deceit and mistakes these represent and their horrendous consequences? If Hitler’s life is an illustration of something, it is about relentlessly pursuing a delusion that caused great pain and death to millions of human beings.

Perhaps the explanation for our persistence in our delusions lies in the passionate emotions (caused by the brain’s biochemical processes), which we may have come to believe are the essential foundation and expression of love. They frequently make us feel so well that we hardly question their origin or destination, we just want to experience them. This could be the very reason why they were and are so attractive and addictive! Our passions allow us to believe that we do not have to put forth any effort, let alone discipline, when these overwhelming emotions are the driving force of our lives. It is comfortable to sit back, stretch out and relax on the passion ride, intrigued and excited to go wherever passion takes us. We like to believe that we know and control our destination, but we do not. Yet “the heart wants what the heart wants,” and we may easily begin to think, “If my heart wants it, then it is fair to do whatever it takes to fight for it, get it and enjoy it!” After all, all is fair in love and war. And in this way, we may find ourselves repeating the same lies and forgetting about the hurt we suffered in the past by allowing ourselves to become passive to such passions. The man who does not learn from his past blunders...

But what about option 3? How does it become a possible choice in view of those prior? Where will we find true love? Or are we condemned to experience all of the aforementioned passions – which are continually employed for self-gratification – as the closest thing to love? Where is there a place for selflessness in all this? Where is the love that we read about in the Bible?

Well, before exploring option 3 we must first dispel the persistent delusion of love by carefully examining where it comes from, what sustains it, where it will take us and who/what it will lead us to become. Otherwise, we will continue to confuse the delusion with the truth, and we may even believe that we are selfless in the midst of our very selfish “love.”

2

THE ENSLAVING POWER OF PASSIONS

Passions. Our oh-so-ever-present and misunderstood passions!

Have you ever been asked, “What’s your passion? What is it that makes you tick?” If you knew the answer, perhaps you replied with a resounding “Yes!” But if you did not know, then, in all likelihood, you were told, “Well, find out what your passion is, and follow it! Then you will find success and happiness!”

Those who have a particularly great passion for something may feel quite happy; however, knowing what you’re passionate about can also cause great dissatisfaction when you cannot incorporate it into your daily life. At this end, many people accept sadness as a part of their daily existence.

Meanwhile, those who have not yet found a great passion for something may also feel unhappy, believing that their lives lack “fire” and enthusiasm. Lives of boredom and apathy are the common result of this lack of passion.

Perhaps you, too, long to be thrilled by something or someone, and as you read this, maybe you find yourself wishing that you had great passion for something – that you knew what makes you tick! – so that you could pursue it and experience a fulfilling life. A very enticing thought, isn’t it?

But no matter how conventionally convincing the notion of, “follow your passions and everything will turn out alright” is, we must stop and ask ourselves: Should anyone truly feel unhappy for not following them? Should our passions be equated to our purpose? Does the absence of passion denote a boring and pointless life? Do we exist only to fulfill our passions and do they shape the path to a fulfilled life? If so, what if my passion is wealth, fame or power? At what cost to others should I pursue it? And what if someone only feels passionate about drinking, gambling, shopping, partying, womanizing or getting high on some drug? Or less dramatically, what if my passion is my family and I actually care little about anyone else? Have we stopped to consider why we should feel excited only when we do that about which we feel so passionate about and largely indifferent otherwise?

Sure enough, by living under the belief that “following our passions leads to happiness”, what matters is not how we live, but how we feel. But should hurting oneself and others be taken into account when we pursue the things that make us feel happy and excited?

Some years ago, I asked myself the previous questions and diligently sought answers through study and observation, but at the time I didn’t arrive at a concrete and satisfactory answer. There was, however, a small truth that I knew: My passions made me feel wonderful about many of the things I did, but only for as long as I kept on doing them. As soon as I stopped, my happiness dwindled and sometimes I even felt guilty about the results of my “passionate” actions, no matter how elated I had felt while I was doing them. How contradictory, isn’t it? This brought many more questions rushing into my head: Wasn’t I supposed to constantly feel happy by following my passions? After all, that is what I had been encouraged to do. Had I made a mistake in believing that I would find success and fulfillment by following my passions? Had I been too naïve? Or was I supposed to somehow limit my passions to “good” things? But if so, who would define what was inherently “good?” Moreover, assuming that someone did tell me what was good and I acted accordingly, what if I did not feel impassioned about it? Even though I favored the results of “good” things, what if I enjoyed more the exhilaration that accompanied my not-so-good passions? Maybe I was wired wrong, finding pleasure and excitement in things that also made me feel guilty.

It was confusing and disheartening to say the least, but those questions led me to another, more important, one: Why did I, or anyone else for that matter, keep on doing the things I felt so passionate about, knowing that they would ultimately hurt me and others?

Well, today I finally know the answer. Living for our passions feels good because, first and foremost, they are our own, rooted deep within us. Conventional thinking dictates that if we can’t trust our own feelings, regardless of how inconsistent and fleeting they are, then who or what can we really trust? Moreover, passions have a way of compelling us to action with great force. When we do something to satisfy our passion, even an otherwise arduous activity can become enjoyable.

Think of how good different people feel when they jog, bike in the mountains, shop, gossip, bicker, lust after someone, watch TV or level-up in a video game, compared to when they do things they aren’t passionate about such as brushing their teeth, visiting a sick elderly relative or reading a thoughtful but complex-to-understand book, for example. A passionate activity feels like no work at all! Actually, we often look forward to doing whatever we are passionate about in order to quench the fire that burns within us. And no matter how much effort they take to satisfy, we happily oblige because those passions make things seem effortless!

Even when our passionate actions come with a price (like gambling away savings, getting into debt so we can have the latest and nicest car, or forgetting about enjoying some time with the family because we spent the whole afternoon adventuring in the virtual realm of “nowhere-but-our-imagination”), we will continue to pay that price as long as our self-centered and subjective cost-benefit-risk ratio allows. As long as the benefit (the thrilling, soothing or delightful feelings that come with our passions) is perceived to be greater than the cost or risk, let the passion reign! This, of course, is assuming that we are even aware of the costs and risks of following our passions, because even though a trace of consciousness may linger in our minds, impassioned people usually forgo better judgment in order to experience passion to the fullest extent. That is the point of passions after all: to feel their fire and be compelled by them! It is not to reflect or reconsider – How boring it would be to analyze our passions! We may even find ourselves thinking.

“Ahab never thinks, he only feels, feels, feels,” Hermann Melville wrote of the main character in his novel – a captain who longed to kill the great white whale called Moby Dick, no matter the cost to him or anyone else. This passion burned so intensely within him that it ultimately entangled him, literally, to the enormous whale which wrecked his ship and took him to the depths of the sea. In the end, Ahab completely attached himself to the object of his obsession and this not only led to his own demise, but also to the death of almost everyone who followed him in his fervent quest. What a great metaphor of mankind’s passionate endeavors!

But as overwhelming as passions are for the likes of Captain Ahab (and nearly every one of us, in one degree or another), I believe there also comes a moment when most persons have no choice but to come to the sober realization that the results of many of our passionate activities came at too high a price – even if many people never openly acknowledge this. Sometimes, those very same passions now serve as a means of chastisement instead of pleasure. At that instant, the passionate excitement begins to fade very abruptly, and in its place, deep sorrow emerges – unless, of course, we pay no heed to our consciences or the wise words of others, just as Captain Ahab chose to remain unencumbered by the many warnings he received about his delusional and hopeless pursuit.

Facing the choice between doing what feels good and doing what is right is often accompanied by confusion and even pain. So much so, that it is also common to avoid such confusion and pain by either turning a blind eye to them or vehemently “justifying” our actions to our own consciences, regardless of their consequences. Driven by passion, we are inclined to moralize our passionate actions, even if there is nothing good about them:

• “It’s good to shop a lot. I keep the economy of our town and nation healthy, so I bought a new diamond ring.” (But do you care that people die to obtain those diamonds?)

• “This tech gadget is now so cheap that everyone in this country can have access to one of them!” (But do you care that the people who made it are treated worse than cattle?)

The compelling force of our passionate habits and desires is so difficult to resist that we often prefer fighting off any suggestion to oppose them, justifying and rationalizing our actions to our consciences or the rebuking words of someone else, and deliberately turning a blind eye to anything that might dissuade us from seeking the satisfaction of our passions, even if this means the outright hardening of our hearts to the truth. Sadly, we do not fight this fight alone. We receive plenty of help from others, mostly in the form of peer pressure.

“Listen to and follow your heart to be happy!” Truly?

Our culture repeatedly asks us to put all of our hearts into everything we do, to listen to our hearts, or to do things from the heart. But what do these words actually mean? Without a true understanding of the human heart, these seemingly encouraging sentences mean that we should simply do things with great emotion and enthusiasm. This would imply that putting our hearts into things means doing things passionately. In contrast, when we act unemotionally or unenthusiastically, people may say, “You have no heart!” – a remark that may actually test how much “heart” we have because it can make us feel terribly bad about ourselves. Also, when we don’t put in 100 percent of our effort, people may say, “You have no passion,” implying that we are lazy or apathetic, which is essentially the same thing, since the etymological meaning of apathy is “the absence of passion.”[*]

Our culture views passions in a positive light. Perhaps now more than ever, they are seen as good and necessary for a fulfilled life. Indeed, many public speakers have become widely popular for their ability to work people up into a frenzy while loudly proclaiming to them how they should follow their passions; and those who attend their performances thrive on the emotional high they get and tremble with excitement as they allow the speaker to temporarily convince them that they can accomplish anything. Only the sky is your limit!

Therefore, behaving passionately is presently considered one of the most positive traits a person can have, while “having no heart” or being “passionless” is something to avoid as a description of ourselves and certainly it is something we would not put in our professional résumés. Instead, we prefer adjectives like energetic, enthusiastic, passionate and self-driven to describe ourselves because one should always be, or at least appear to be, enthusiastic and passionate about whatever it is that we do or are asked to do. As long as our actions do not appear to break any law (religious or civil), we should remain passionate about what we are doing and about what we want, regardless of the true nature of the activity or the full implications it will have on others or ourselves. After all, these things can be or have already been “justified.”

So it is that in our culture all “good” things are believed to come to passionate people who do things from the heart. They are supposed to progress and become successful, which is considered good for both the individual and for society. Moreover, successful people are supposed to feel good about themselves and therein find happiness. Pursuing and attaining our own happiness is what life is mostly (if not all) about, or so our culture also proclaims.

But passions also have a downside, and I am not referring to their hurtful consequences, but to the fact that no matter how often and intently we are told and/or wish to remain passionate about something, there comes a time when we inevitably become unemotional or dispassionate about whatever person, animal, thing, place, event or idea that once ignited our passions. For example, after a couple marries it is common (but, thanks to God, it is not universal) that one or both spouses gradually become careless about the relationship. They put less effort into the relationship than they did during their courtship. No longer content in their relationship, they begin to look for contentment elsewhere. When we no longer derive gratification from the object to which our passions drove us, we may start looking for something or someone else to rekindle the fire of our passions.

So, even though we often start out intently passionate about something or someone, in time we strangely become less concerned about it, and we frequently go about almost everything in our lives with this attitude, for our entire lives! Hoping to find the next person, place or thing that will arouse our passions once more and in which we expect to discover a newfound source of delight and happiness and a reason to muster our energy and dedicate our vitality. Without a doubt, changes of heart can come easily.

It seems that passions, more than providing fulfillment, destine us to wander between countless objects of enjoyment – objects whose apparent ability to provide satisfaction unavoidably comes with an expiration date. I say “apparent” because no matter how many objects may be available in this world for our enjoyment, or how abundantly we may possess them, we perpetually thirst for more. Our lives are only intermittently spared by fleeting moments of repose when we believe to have attained the source of ultimate satisfaction, just so we can consume it and thirst again. This process repeats itself until the day we die. Today we may eat bread, but tomorrow we will certainly be hungry again. No wonder we constantly seek abundance, novelty and variety, for the passions of our hearts only seem to destine us for lives of chasing after the wind! A detailed and conscientious read of the Book of Ecclesiastes makes this very clear.

Therefore, taking everything that we have seen so far into consideration, should we blindly trust our hearts in everything they seem to tell us is good and necessary? Should we trust those who tell us to trust and follow our hearts?

The straight, non-convoluted, non-moralized and very enlightening answer is this:

Jeremiah 17:5-11 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

Thus says the LORD,

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6“For he will be like a bush in the desert

And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,

A land of salt without inhabitant.

7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD

And whose trust is the LORD.

8“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

9“The heart is more deceitful than all else

And is desperately sick;

Who can understand it?

10“I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give to each man according to his ways,

According to the results of his deeds.

11“As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,

So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;

In the midst of his days it will forsake him,

And in the end he will be a fool.”

The human heart is complex without a doubt, because as the core of our beings, in it rest the seat of all our emotions and passions and the intimate link these have with our intellect, memory, will and, quite importantly, conscience. As such, the heart is difficult to understand, for it is full of secrets, schemes, contradictions and confusions. More often than not, in its deceitfulness and sickness, it has become a diamond-hard pebble that is staggeringly difficult to enter and discern, let alone comprehend. Consequently, we should take great care in what our own hearts make us feel, hear, do and say.

The human heart (and all people who are keen in blindly following it) can be so deceitfully fickle that it can cause us to pursue one thing on a given day and another the following hour. Also, it can shrewdly make us feel right about the things we should feel wrong about. In its deceitfulness, instead of guiding us away from things that are truly wrong, it keeps us busy planning, doing and hoping for those nefarious things over and over again, as if they were good. So much so, that “1to mortals belong the plans of the heart, but from Yahweh comes the answer of the tongue. 2AII the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the spirit” (Proverbs 16:1-2, LEB).

Therefore, no matter how comforting, conventional or even poetic the heart’s advice may appear to be, we cannot blindly trust it or its passions, let alone those who tell us to follow our hearts. Instead, we must trust the Lord our God and strive to take the following words to heart:

Proverbs 4:20-27 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

20 My child, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them,

and healing to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

24 Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly forwards,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26 Keep straight the path of your feet,

and all your ways will be sure.

27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Because the heart is one’s inner self, the most essential part of a human being, it is unavoidably intertwined with the flesh, spirit, mind and our God-given conscience. From all of these elements of our beings flow our will – the faculty by which we decide on any given life choice. Therefore, we must keep vigilant of what it thinks, desires and intends for us to do, unless we do not care about straying down crooked and evil paths.

In diligently observing our hearts, we must be especially careful to always guard them against deceitful passions and thoughts, “21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23AII these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23, NASB).

Henceforth, “having heart” should not mean being passionate, enthusiastic or emotional, for a true, wholesome heart means having a purified inner being with a clean mind and conscience. In absence of the good and sound thoughts and emotions that flow from a pure heart and a clean conscience, the claim to “have a heart” actually sounds quite empty. A heart of what? Of the evil thoughts that have defiled us? “Having heart” thus should speak of an inner being that is continually purified by the truthful love that only exists in and comes from the Lord our God. Such a heart is cleansed to the extent that the fruit of truthful love overflows from it, transforming the whole person into a manifestation of our Lord’s love and truth, instead of the defilement and corruption so clearly described by our Lord Christ in Mark 7:21-23.

A pure heart has no connection whatsoever to being passionate if we have properly understood the meaning of the word passion and its close relation to the delusion of love.

But in face of the lingering doubts about the value of passion in our lives – after all, its positive connotation has been repeated to us countless times – let’s take a closer look at passions as depicted in the Bible and their general relationship to love, or lack thereof.

For this purpose, I will make use of the widely used New International Version of the New Testament because I trust it to have great renditions of the true meaning of passions. In it, we find seven references in English to the word passion: Romans 7:5, 1 Corinthians 7:9 and 36, Galatians 5:24, 1 Thessalonians 4:5, and Titus 2:12 and 3:3. In none of these references is passion used in connection with love. Rather, it always refers to experiencing strong worldly or fleshly feelings, desires and urges. The passions mentioned in these verses mainly refer to covetousness and lust. The two Greek expressions used in five of these seven verses are declensions of pathēma and pathos, both of which refer to “experiencing strong feelings” just as we saw earlier with my definition of passion. Moreover, these Greek expressions are sometimes also employed in connection with declensions of the Greek verb epithumeo, which literally means “to focus on forcefully” and its definition is “to desire, lust, or covet, to have eagerness, inordinate desire”. Now, please remember that when an inordinate feeling compels us to focus on something or someone, it becomes very much like an obsession. Consequently, passions in the Bible are depicted in relation to obsessive lust and covetousness, not to love.

Let me also add that in the King James Version of the New Testament, there is only one English reference to the word passion, and it is found in Acts 3:1. Here, “passion” refers to the Passion of the Christ. The Greek word used is the verb paschō, which connotes “suffering”.

Going back to the NIV, let’s take a look at one of the recently pointed out verses in its context to show the true nature of passions:

Epistle to Titus 3:1-11 (NIV) [Emphasis added]

1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

The previous verses effectively highlight how far away from true love our enslaving passions are, the very same ones that flow from our sick hearts. But so it is that when passions enslave us, we will not only suffer from an internal conflict between our God-given conscience and our evil desires, but also from an outer conflict with others by coveting and quarreling with almost everyone that comes our way. Therefore, to submit to passions is to live in lust, envy, malice and hatred among other vile things, and while this may go without saying, I will clearly point out that a great deal of conflicts between human beings take place because the passions that master us are in direct opposition to the love of God – the same truthful love that saves us by gradually cleansing every thought and emotion that pollutes our heart.

The love of God, incarnated in our Lord Jesus Christ, is the only power that can liberate us from any bondage, including that which we suffer from our passions. God’s love is meant to be the foundation and cement of deep communion for those who live in truth under the same Spirit, and this communion has no place for lust, hatred, envy, rivalries or dissension. As such, is it any wonder that Titus 3:8-11 points out that those who have faithfully trusted in our Savior need to be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good and comes from our Lord while striving to avoid what comes from our deceitful hearts?

I hope it is now clear that the passions depicted in Titus 3:3 and the rest of the recently quoted verses are the exact same ones that are referred to in the common sayings about the delusion of love I described in the previous chapter. Yes, these are the passions that our culture frequently uses to illustrate a “love” that seeks to conquer and subjugate and cares not for communion but for attachment, possession and domination; something that does not seek what is good, but what is pleasurable and thrilling for oneself. How can we keep on believing in this as love?!

Yet, does any of this mean that true love is something without emotions? Is it something that requires unenthusiastic devotion? No, not at all! In fact true love is rich in emotion as we will see in Part II of this work. But first, we have a long way to go to completely dispel every notion that love is mostly, if not only, about passions and obsessions. In other words, we must learn to see through every possible notion and emotion that is connected to the delusion of love. With this in mind, I will now present a story about love, lust and idols, not only because it is an enlightening biblical example that will provide a detailed framework of the many peculiar and tricky pieces of the puzzle that will help us fully comprehend what the delusion of love is all about, but also because it will provide a painfully clear example of what our passions and obsessions will compel us into doing and experiencing – especially if our enslaving emotions are not corrected but cherished as “love.” These verses are difficult to digest, but please read them carefully

Ezekiel 23:1-31 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3they played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled. 4Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Oholah played the whore while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors 6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, mounted horsemen. 7She bestowed her favours upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone for whom she lusted. 8She did not give up her whorings that she had practiced since Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and fondled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her. 9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. 10These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and they killed her with the sword. Judgement was executed upon her, and she became a byword among women.

Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt than her sister in her lusting and in her whorings, which were worse than those of her sister. 12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armour, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.13And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. 14But she carried her whorings further; she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, 15with belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers—a picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16When she saw them she lusted after them, and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and after she defiled herself with them, she turned from them in disgust. l8When she carried on her whorings so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister. 19Yet she increased her whorings, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt 20and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your bosom and caressed your young breasts.

Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will arouse against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and warriors, all of them riding on horses. 24They shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples; they shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet, and I will commit the judgement to them, and they shall judge you according to their ordinances. 25I will direct my indignation against you, in order that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. 26They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your fine jewels. 27So I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring brought from the land of Egypt; you shall not long for them, or remember Egypt any more. 28For thus says the Lord God: I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust; 29and they shall deal with you in hatred, and take away all the fruit of your labour, and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whorings shall be exposed. Your lewdness and your whorings 30have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations, and polluted yourself with their idols. 31You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.

These verses vividly describe the shocking tragedy of the sisters Oholah and Oholibah during their intense relationships with their lovers, after having forfeited their One true love. In the most literal sense, they represent a relationship of boiling passions – an impressive story of love, lust, idolatry, shame, rejection and hatred. Lust leads to idolatry, which leads to disgust, but the lust is renewed and leads to hatred; the hatred leads to abuse, everything leads to shame, and finally it all painfully ends in violence between former lovers and to the violent destruction of Oholah and Oholibah.

In the metaphorical sense, these verses describe the lust after the Assyrian and Babylonian idols that sprung in the hearts of the people of Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibah). They coveted those nations and their gods, and their lust swiftly turned into idolatry as the people of Jerusalem and Samaria desired the qualities they perceived in their lovers and their gods (beauty, power and wealth) with the intention of benefiting from them by receiving their protection and “love.”

Nonetheless, the very nations and idols that apparently seemed to carry a promise of protection ended up abusing and destroying the people of Jerusalem and Samaria, who not only received the opposite of what they sought from their illusory benefactors, but forfeited their allegiance to the only true source of protection and blessing: the Lord our God.

So we see that these verses tell us the story of two women (or the people of two cities) who sold themselves in exchange for the beauty, power and wealth they lusted after in the idols – both the lovers and their gods – of other nations. In all probability, these two women were quite thrilled to go after them for as long as they believed they would benefit from these traits, just like we are when our passions drive us towards a particular person, animal, thing, place, event or idea from which we anticipate fulfillment. However, this story is not about fulfillment or happiness; it is about how two women (or the people of two cities) eventually found nothing but destruction at the hands of their “loving” idols. Why did this happen? When everything seemed to begin so well, why did it end so badly? Is passionate “love” like this worth the risk of ending like Oholah and Oholibah, who were punished by the very things for which they forfeited the covering shield of the Lord their God? More pressingly, will we also bring suffering and destruction upon our lives if we allow our passions to keep getting the best of us? Where will we end up if we continue to blindly trust our hearts?

Without a doubt, this tragic story can teach us many lessons if we are willing to take the previous questions seriously and not be like Oholibah, who in spite of witnessing her sister’s fate, persisted in her promiscuous and delusional ways, making her corruption even worse.

In hopes that we can learn as much as possible from this appalling example, I will now elaborate on three recurrent concepts the previous verses address: lust, idols and love. These concepts are very important because by understanding them we will see with greater clarity the very thin line between true love and the delusion of love – a line we have unwittingly crossed so often that we may have become completely inept at distinguishing when we love and when we lust. However, by clearly identifying both of these conditions in our lives we will find a great help in discerning when it is that we either glorify the Lord our God or surrender ourselves to delusions.

3

ABOUT LUST

What is the relationship between lust, idols and love? The concepts behind these words seem to be somewhat distant, although love and lust may seem less so if we keep thinking that love is passion and obsession, or that love without lust is not even worth experiencing. Notwithstanding, these three words have a very deep relationship due to the several elements they share, which has made it very difficult to distinguish the difference between lusting after, idolizing and loving something or someone. But we must be able to clearly tell the difference; otherwise, the day will come when, after living in confusion and/or ignorance for our whole lives, we will find ourselves in very similar circumstances to Oholah and Oholibah – something I don’t wish for myself or for anyone else!

Let’s move on with this very short chapter, then, by learning and understanding the meaning of the first of the three Hebrew words I emphasized in its corresponding English translation as lusted. Throughout Ezekiel 23:1-31, the word lust appears several times in different conjugations, describing the feelings held by the two sisters for their lovers, but what does it stand for?

The Hebrew term translated as lust in those verses is agab- which means “to have inordinate affection or lust.” Of the eight times agab and agabah- are employed in the Old Testament, seven appear in Ezekiel 23, and the eighth takes place in Jeremiah 4:30, where it describes lovers of the exact same nature as those Oholah and Oholibah lusted after. Another conjugation of agab, agabim- takes place two times in Ezekiel 33:31-32. But even though this word has been translated in some Bible versions as “love, lovely, devotion, romantic and sensual”, the context in which it is employed renders a meaning that has much to do with everything we have been studying about passions thus far, particularly lust. In short, regardless of the English translation, agab and agabim always refer to the passion of lust, as the following translation shows very well:

Ezekiel 33:30-33 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

30“And you, son of man, your people, the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother saying, ‘Please come and hear what is the word that is going out from Yahweh.’ 31 And they come to you as people do, and they sit before you, and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they are showing passion in their mouth, but their heart is going after ill-gotten gain. 32 Now, look! You are to them like a sensual song, beautiful of voice and played well on an instrument, and they hear your words, but they are not doing them. 33 So when it comes, look! It is coming! And then they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them.”

But what exactly is lust? Using as reference four different dictionaries, I think a good definition would be that lust is a passion that results from an intense and obsessive desire, craving and/or need, especially of sexual or sensual nature although not necessarily, as we can understand in the following words from 1 John 2:16-17 (NIV): “16For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

The Greek term translated in both accounts as lust in the previous verses is a declension of epithumeo, a term whose definition we saw in the previous chapter and whose most neutral meaning is “to desire, covet or set heart upon.” Therefore, lust is simply a form of covetousness that is mostly (but not solely) directed at sexual and sensual objects, just like greed is a form of covetousness that is aimed at money and material wealth, and envy is yet another form which is mostly aimed at other people’s belongings or perceived attributes and experiences. Now, whether it is a sexual object, material wealth or anything else, what we see in common with all the forms of covetousness is that they are always directed at something or someone. This something or someone is the agent I mentioned in the definition of passion in Chapter 1. These are the very things on which we set our heart upon and that seem to act so powerfully upon us to the point that they uncontrollably lure us toward them and make us stumble at their feet.

These agents have a remarkable power over us, don’t you think? Just think about the power that the lovers of Oholah and Oholibah had over them – a power so seemingly great that they submitted to them to be abused and destroyed! But we experience that overpower very much like the two sisters whenever we succumb to any form of covetousness. We bind ourselves in chains to the very objects we covet, often unaware that we have submitted to their control because the process of attaining those very same objects is what makes us terribly excited about them. This means that the intense desire [covetousness] to attain satisfaction (to feel excited and pleased) through any given object [the agent] is what actually drives us towards that object in order to get the fulfillment we crave. We then become attached to the object as a way of securing our enjoyment for as long as possible. It is not the other way around, for the objects we covet do not pull us to them.

The irony of this whole passionate situation is that when we cannot get what we covet for one reason or another, we feel frustrated, limited and/or coerced by whatever factor is preventing us from the happiness that we seek from the coveted object. When in fact, every step we take to bring ourselves closer to it is one step that further surrenders our hearts and minds to its control, under which we will become even more corrupted, “for the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind” (Wisdom of Solomon 4:12, NRSV).

In truth, whenever something, anything, thwarts our covetousness, we should be grateful for it, because in it we should perceive a form of assistance to our emancipation from our passions. Instead of lust, greed or envy, we should keenly desire to escape from all those passions and from the very things to which they drive us. And in nothing and no one else will we find the fullest power and ability to do so than in the Lord our God.

Second epistle of Peter 1:3-11 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

3His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. 5For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

But are sexual and sensual objects, material wealth and other people’s possessions, attributes and experiences the only things that we covet in our shortsightedness or blindness? While these may be among the most commonly coveted things, a brief inner reflection will show any of us that this is clearly not the case. Regretfully, there are many more things, or agents, that we are also disposed to covet.

In the Bible, we know all of these agents by another word, one I have already referenced in the story of Oholah and Oholibah and that has very complex and convoluted manifestations, yet succinctly describes the corrupted nature of this world and the deviousness of our hearts: idols.

4

OF IDOLS OR MAN-MADE GODS

The second word of the three I highlighted from Ezekiel 23:1-31 is idols. Ezekiel refers to many issues, but this book most repeatedly references idols. In fact, this topic is addressed in Ezekiel more profusely than anywhere else in the whole Bible. Reading it attentively makes crystal clear the point that straying away from the Lord our God in the pursuit of attractive and enticing idols will eventually bring calamity, suffering and destruction. Therefore, we should be very wary of idols, especially given their intimate relationship to lust and love. But, then again, what are they?

Bowing down to clay, stone, wood and metal.

In the Bible, idols are usually described as objects crafted out of clay, stone, wood or metal in the image of an animal, person or some other creature. These objects take the place of gods in the eyes of the people who covet them, for they confer upon inanimate material powerful qualities that can inexplicably be employed to concede blessings and gifts to their worshippers. The origin of the keenly desired power of these idols is mysterious in the sense that it lies deeply and enigmatically hidden within them. But even though this origin is well hidden inside of them, the emanation of this power is perceived as very real by those who believe in them.

With this belief deeply held in the heart and mind of an idol-worshipper, he or she naturally reveres his/her idols with the fervent hope of accessing – usually through obedient devotion, offerings and/or painful sacrifice – a helping of the power they “possess”. In this way, these man-made gods become very real – practically alive – in the eyes of those who covet them and they are venerated with fervor because they are trusted to somehow possess the power to concede the blessings their worshippers passionately desire so that they can enjoy “better” lives by whatever criteria they determine is better or worse. In times of trouble idols are especially adored, for in the eyes of their worshippers, idols have the power to save them from their misery and pain and provide the possibility of well-being. But should idols be trusted for any of these purposes?

Isaiah 44:9-20 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

9All who make idols are nothing and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame. 10Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good? 11Look, all its devotees shall be put to shame; the artisans too are merely human. Let them all assemble, let them stand up; they shall be terrified, they shall all be put to shame.

12The blacksmith fashions it and works it over the coals, shaping it with hammers, and forging it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine. 14He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it. l6Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, ‘Ah, I am warm, I can feel the fire!’ 17The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it, and worships it; he prays to it and says,’ save me, for you are my god!’

18They do not know, nor do they comprehend; for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, ‘Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and have eaten. Now shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?’ 20He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?’

Clearly, graven images should not be trusted for salvation or for anything else, yet people still bow to and passionately covet them all over the world. Why? The very concrete answer is because they do not know, nor do they comprehend. Their eyes, although seeing, do not truly see, for they are shut and they cannot understand nor properly discern what they see. They are deluded and ignorant of their delusion.

A good illustration of the blindness Isaiah referred to (which is not physical blindness, but blindness of the heart and mind) is found in Exodus. A very peculiar event took place while the people of Israel were travelling from Egypt to the Promised Land, specifically when Moses left them for several days in order to approach the Lord and receive the Covenant Law:

Exodus 32:1-6 (NASB)

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

These verses as well as the explanation given by Aaron to Moses later in the chapter show that in Moses’ absence and uncertain return, the Israelites became anxious and desperate for something to protect them, gods that would go before them as their new visible leaders and in which they could find the security they had felt under Moses. In other words, they desperately wanted gods they could trust, something tangible that they could at least see and touch. This something ended up being made out of gold into the shape of a calf, and from it they perceived similar attributes to those Moses had displayed throughout their journey. Such attributes were not natural to Moses, though. They were the result of the power he had received from the Lord through His Holy Spirit. But this, of course, the people did not suspect in their blindness, let alone understand. Instead, they were prompt to believe that the golden calf had brought them out of Egypt (see verse 4), and this was enough to comfort them. So much so that the next day they brought sacrifices of well-being to the Lord!

Is it delusional to give glory to something made out of gold? Is it absurd to think that lifeless matter could possess the same attributes of a living being? Is it ridiculous to expect that something inanimate could have the same power as the Lord our God? Yes, greatly, but that didn’t stop the Israelites from worshipping the molded image of a calf as if it were a god.

Likewise, no matter how absurd this idolatry is, it does not stop many people to this very day from delusionally, yet mysteriously, bestowing animate qualities to lifeless material objects. Some of these objects (like dolls) are merely played with and talked to as if they were real. Some others are jealously guarded for the good fortune and comfort they are supposed to give; while others are devoutly worshipped as gods, or at least archetypical representations of gods. They are talked to, washed, dressed, kissed, caressed and often even prayed to as if they were breathing, living beings.

So it was that the Israelites sought solace in a figure made out of gold, and so it was that they celebrated a festival to the Lord their God, confusing Him with the abominable, yet enshrined, work of Aaron’s hands. But before the culprits had finished indulging in their revelry, Moses returned. He immediately destroyed the golden calf, ground the gold to a powder, scattered it in water and made the Israelites drink it. In so-doing, he illustrated that the power of the man-made god was nonexistent; it had no ability to defend itself from destruction, let alone protect the Israelites from what would soon happen to some of them as a result of their blind desires. And of course, the notion of the golden calf as an image that represented the Lord was clearly delusional too, for had this been true, its destruction would not have been possible. In fact, the idol’s swift ruin demonstrated the stark contrast between Moses as a human leader and the golden calf. And there is infinitely more contrast between the Lord and any idol, just as the following words describe:

Psalm 115:1-11 (NRSV)

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,

for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

2 Why should the nations say,

‘Where is their God?’

3 Our God is in the heavens;

he does whatever he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

5 They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see.

6 They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

7 They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

they make no sound in their throats.

8 Those who make them are like them;

so are all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!

He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

11 “You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

How can a finite, visible image represent something infinite that cannot be seen? Can a calf represent the Lord our God? For that matter, can any man, woman, animal, planet, star or anything else that God created represent Him, whom no one has ever seen (1 John 4:12)? Is it not a great folly even to think so?

The people of Israel should have trusted their God, both then and always, just as Oholah and Oholibah should have. The sisters never should have allowed their fear or lust to overpower them, first into being tempted by the sight of the carved images of powerful Babylonians on the wall, and then into pursuing them as well as their idols. No matter what compelled and deceived them into idolatry, or what went through the hearts and minds of the numerous Israelites who repeatedly fell into idolatry throughout biblical history, all of them should have kept close the following words that Moses ardently expressed sometime after the golden calf episode:

Deuteronomy 4:2-10 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

2You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. 3You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor—how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.

5See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. 6You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ 7For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? 8And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

9But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children — 10how you once stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people for me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me as long as they live on the earth, and may teach their children to do so’

But what wisdom and discernment can be spoken of regarding those who fall into idolatry? Hardly any, because if anything is clear from the golden calf story, it is that the Israelites of that time allowed their fear, ignorance and distorted notions about God and His creation to lead them to ask Aaron for an idol. However, this does not mean that anyone can mockingly or contemptuously point a finger at the Israelites who succumbed to idolatry in the Old Testament. No, far from it! Anyone who does is also ignorant or, worse still, overconfident, not realizing how deceivingly attractive is the temptation to fall into the worship of idols as we will learn in greater detail in Chapter 6 and on of this book.

In the meantime, let us not forget that almost every human being – Israelite and otherwise – longs for security, protection, well-being and power amidst an apparently accidental existence in which we face countless difficulties and situations that make us feel powerless and vulnerable. In the face of this, we wish to be blessed with good fortune and abundant abilities so that all of those factors that normally are beyond our control – which are far more than those we can control – may smoothly converge to make things work together just as we expect they will so that we can live in more comfortable and controllable conditions. In this desire to gain control, security and comfort for ourselves and our loved ones, we – as members of mankind and actors of its history – have sought for every possible source of power, protection and good fortune. And whenever we thought we had found one, we quickly devoted ourselves to adore, possess and/or give ourselves to it. By now, mankind has passionately worshipped each and every idol we have conceived or perceived.

But as tempting as it may be, the wellbeing and control we seek cannot be found in objects of any material or form. No sculpture, amulet, lucky charm or image will truly save us from our understandable fear of powerlessness and vulnerability. And even if our hearts and minds are fully convinced that we can receive solace from idols, a time will come when we will have to painfully face the truth that we were ignorant, deluded and in darkness all along. When calamity strikes – and it will in some form, rest assured – we will finally see how foolish we were for having trusted our wayward hearts. The fear that our idolatry veiled will still be there; and the comfort and security that we once felt hiding behind our idols will disappear, for they were never true.

Now, it is quite certain that such time has not yet come to all of mankind, perhaps not even to most, but it came hastily to those Israelites who sought refuge in the Golden Calf, and their learning experience did not end there. Moses subsequently presented them with the Covenant Law that included the first and second commandments, which contain a stern warning against idolatry.

Deuteronomy 4:15-31 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

15Since you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, l6so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any figure—the likeness of male or female, 17the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, l8the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven. 20But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron-smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own possession, as you are now.

21The LORD was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving for your possession. 22For I am going to die in this land without crossing over the Jordan, but you are going to cross over to take possession of that good land. 23So be careful not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

26When you have had children and children’s children, and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, and provoking him to anger, 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the LORD will lead you. 28There you will serve other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. 30In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the LORD your God and heed him. 31Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.

Let us, then, take heed of these warnings and not be tempted to bow down to any of the things that the Lord our God has created and apportioned to all nations. Let us not produce anything in the form of any of God’s creations, lest in our complacency and ignorance we find ourselves one day adoring them in place of the Lord, just like Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem) did, and who were scattered and forced to serve the idols of other nations and suffered terrible distress. Although please note that in the previous verses we also encounter words of hope in the great mercy of the LORD our God – a hope that was eventually fulfilled to Oholah and Oholibah and many others who have forsaken their idolatry and returned to love the Lord.

However, far from deliberately going astray so that we can someday expect the Lord’s mercy to rescue us from our idolatry, I encourage anyone who is tempted by fear (or any other passion) and blinded by idolatrous delusions (seeking security, protection, well-being and power in barren material idols) to never forget, not even for an instant, these words from Psalm 27:1(NRSV): “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

5

THE FACET OF LOVE THAT IS INTRINSIC TO MANKIND

To begin this chapter, let us turn our attention to the third and last word of those I highlighted in Ezekiel 23:1-31: love – the elusive concept that is the subject of this entire work.

In Ezekiel 23:1-31, the word love is employed in relation to the nations and idols after which Oholah and Oholibah lusted. Those were their lovers. The original Hebrew term translated as love is aheb- or ahav. The root meaning of this verb is “I give” or “to give,” while its common definition is “to have affection or to love.” It has also been translated as “beloved,” “lover” and “friend.” This term, like all other mentions of love in the Bible (there are several other Hebrew and Greek words translated love as we will see in Part II of this work), is always employed in a relational context, in the very obvious sense that love establishes and sustains relationships. Therefore, because love relates, it is never a standalone concept. Giving always occurs in relation to someone or something. Always.

Now, you may remember from Chapter 3 that the Hebrew term agab- which means lust, has also been called “love” in some translations of the Bible, although the contexts of the verses in which this occurs (Ezekiel 33:31-32) render its meaning quite distinct to that of ahav. In those verses, agab refers to the pleasant, sensuous and exciting emotions of those listening to the prophet’s words. It has nothing to do with the people giving themselves to the message that the prophet relayed to them on our Lord’s behalf. But despite this vast distinction in meanings, there is a great similitude between the short definitions of both words. Seen like this, we can only tell them apart by the degree of affection. The apparently small distinction lies solely between the affection of love (ahav) and the inordinate affection of lust (agab). Perhaps this is the reason why their syntactic similitude is also remarkable.

Yet, we will find the key element to clearly differentiate between love (ahav) and lust (agab) in the literal or root meaning of ahav. This knowledge will allow us to begin to understand the true meaning of love and it will also help us realize how love can easily transform into lust, how easily they can be mistaken for one another, how both can attach and fuse us to idols and, most importantly, how only love can serve to establish a willful relationship with the Lord our God.

Knowing the literal meaning of ahav (“I give” or “to give”), it is necessary to underline who gives. When I say “I love,” this giving can only be done by me. In this sense “love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” (Jean Anouilh) Giving is therefore the very simple yet fundamentally true facet of love that is intrinsic to humankind. When we truly love, what we essentially do is give ourselves. Now, there are only two ways to give:

1. Willingly, as a result of a conscious act of deliberate volition

2. Unwillingly, as a result of compulsion, force or manipulation that comes from an internal or external source.

But regardless of how we give ourselves (don’t worry, I’ll get back to the how in a short while), there is nothing more to add to this very simple meaning of love. Knowing this, though, an immediate question arises: To what can or should we give ourselves?

There are various objects (people, animals, things, places, events and ideas) to which we as human beings can give ourselves, either willingly or unwillingly. To illustrate this point, I will now present a set of notorious biblical examples in which the word love (ahav) is used in relation to anything or anyone other than the one true God. So, in light of everything we have seen so far concerning idols, please be alert to note how these examples hint at the clear danger of love leading us into idolatry. These examples will also help us see how any relationship with idols can begin by having a love for them, even though it will eventually turn into lust.

A woman (Delilah) asking how a man (Samson) can say he gives himself to her when his heart is not with her.

Judges 16:15 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.”

A man possibly giving himself to a group of people (who hate God).

The second book of Chronicles 19:1-3 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord? 3 But there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asheroth from the land and you have set your heart to seek God.”

A man (Uzziah) giving himself to the soil.

The second book of Chronicles 26:10 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.

People giving themselves to worthlessness.

Psalm 4:2 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?

People giving themselves to violence.

Psalm 11:5 (NIV 1984) [Emphasis added]

The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. Selah

People giving themselves to evil, lies and harmful words.

Psalm 52:3-4 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

3 You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. Selah

4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

People giving themselves to perjury.

Zechariah 8:16-17 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

16These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. 17Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

People giving themselves to transgressions and strife.

Proverbs 17:19 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

One who loves transgression loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.

People giving themselves to sleep or rest.

Proverbs 20:13 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

Do not love sleep, or else

you will come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

People giving themselves to pleasure and wine.

Proverbs 21:17 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want; whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.

People giving themselves to money and wealth.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity.

People giving themselves to bribes.

Isaiah 1:23 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

Your rulers are rebels and companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe and chases after rewards.

They do not defend the orphan, nor does the widow’s plea come before them.

And lastly, people unyieldingly giving themselves to plain and well acknowledged idols.

Isaiah 57:6-10 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink-offering, you have brought a grain-offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? 7 Upon a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed, and there you went up to offer sacrifice. 8 Behind the door and the doorpost you have set up your symbol; for, in deserting me, you have uncovered your bed, you have gone up to it, you have made it wide; and you have made a bargain for yourself with them, you have loved their bed, you have gazed on their nakedness.

9 You journeyed to Molech with oil, and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far away, and sent down even to Sheol. 10 You grew weary from your many wanderings, but you did not say, ‘It is useless.’ You found your desire rekindled, and so you did not weaken.

These are just a few Old Testament examples concerning to what or whom we can give ourselves (love) other than the true Lord, although we will see a few more ones in the Conclusion and Final Words of this book. Right now, though, in keeping with a similar vein to the previous examples, let us briefly turn to the New Testament, where we can see how the list of possible objects to which we can give ourselves expands. In the New Testament, we find that we can love ourselves (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 4), money (1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5), the world and anything in it (1 John 2:15-16), pleasures (2 Timothy 3:4), falsehood (Revelation 22:15) and darkness (John 3:19) – things that are worthless and destructive. Please take the time to find and read all of the aforementioned verses so that you can more clearly discern everything that could potentially become the master of our lives, especially once our love turns into lust as a consequence of passionate desire, something that happens not only very easily, but often times quite pleasurably as we will see next.

Love turning into lust.

Now, at what moment does love turn into lust, and why? When does affection become inordinate affection? Does this change in the intensity of affection have anything to do with how we give ourselves (willingly or unwillingly)? Or is it more a matter of not knowing the true nature of the object of love (i.e. being ignorant of or deceived about its true nature)?

Being affected by an object (person, animal, thing, place, event or idea) simply means that it has aroused emotions within us. These emotions move us – they put us in motion – into doing things that will bring us closer to or further from our object of affection. The desired degree of emotional and/or physical proximity will depend on how much the object affects us and whether we believe its influence is positive or negative. In the case of love, the object of affection arouses emotions that move us to do things that will bring us closer to it, and in this process we willfully, to some degree, give ourselves to it. Sometimes we do this with full knowledge of the consequences of our actions, while other times we act in partial or even complete ignorance. The degrees of our willfulness and knowledge in these situations are usually inversely related to how much we are affected by the object: The more it affects us, the less we care to truly understand it. Similarly, the more it affects us, the less we retain self-control of our emotions and temperance in our desire for it.

When something or someone profoundly affects us to the point that our emotions become inordinate (excessive and unrestrained), and thus they become passions, the object that once moved us to give ourselves to it now acts so powerfully upon us that we are uncontrollably compelled to it. This is the moment when love begins to turn into lust, and we often begin to think, “I’ve got to have it! I need it! I want it! It has to be mine!” So, whereas love is the gift of oneself in relation to our perception of the object of affection – no matter how deceived or correct this perception is – lust begins to take shape when the giving of oneself to the object of affection is done in increasing compulsion as a means of pleasing the obsessive emotions and possessive desires regarding it. Under lust, the knowledge and understanding of the object of affection takes second or altogether last priority in our minds; all that matters to us is that we have unhindered access to it and that we make it our own if possible, because through its use (or abuse), we temporarily satisfy the urgent desires that fiercely burn within us.

In other words, when we find ourselves suffering from lust, we care little about the nature of the object we lust after and much about how we feel when we have access to it. This is the reason we seek to use and, if feasible, possess it.

The paradox is that, while the urgency of our passions compel us to obtain mastery of the object that so deeply affects us, we are in fact the ones who have already submitted to the control of our passions and, thus, to the somewhat indirect rule of the object we lust after. Under lust or any other passionate covetousness, we effectively become the subjects of the agents we strive to master for our own satisfaction! But that is how love becomes lust and ahav becomes agab. We initially give ourselves to something or someone that affects us, and the more profoundly we are affected, the more we seek to use and possesses it. Yet in this covetousness, we end up giving ourselves over to our passions, first, and to the object of affection, second. All the while, we may still believe that we are the ones in control! This goes to show that we never truly knew whether we were loving or lusting, and this is why, as soon as we began to confuse one with the other, the delusion of love was born.

Therefore, to clearly distinguish between lust and love and to identify when love begins to turn into lust, we must pay close attention to three very telling characteristics of lust. To do this, of course, I assume that under the effect of the intense feelings that lust produces in us, we remain conscious of the thoughts and emotions boiling in our souls.

1) Lust makes us impulsively abusive. While both love and lust involve a relationship to our objects of affection, lust can be clearly differentiated from love by the former’s marked intent of controlling, using and disposing of the object of (inordinate) affection in the manner we please and for as long as we please. True love is markedly sacrificial in character because it is founded upon giving, especially of oneself. Consequently, lust is clearly identifiable by its capricious, abusive and relatively short duration relationship to the object of affection, because “True love never dies for it is lust that fades away. Love bonds for a lifetime but lust just pushes away” (Alicia Barnhart).

This internal process is very complex to describe, although we have already examined a great deal of it in Chapter 2. But if each one of us musters enough self-control and lucidity to momentarily put aside all the tortuous and confusing thoughts and feelings that we experience in relation to the objects of our affection because we feel attracted to and pushed away from them at the same time, and seek to identify the reason we feel jealous, possessive and exploitative towards the objects that we claim to love, we will understand what is going on in our hearts and minds much better than I can explain. This, I trust, will show that, more than love, what we suffer from is lust.

2) Lust makes us careless and easily deceived. Lust does not truly care about the object of its desire. The more intensely we lust, the less concerned we are about the object we are compelled to covet. Lust does not need to know whether our perceptions of the object of inordinate affection are correct or not; it only craves access to the object in an attempt to achieve satisfaction. I use the word attempt because it is important to notice that through lust, we never achieve the satisfaction we seek. Otherwise, would we not lust only for a moment instead of continually? So, the more we lust, the less we are satisfied.

However, the passion of lust is kept alive by the promise of satisfaction. Let me elaborate. Very often, when we lust after or covet something or someone, the promise (or prospect) of achieving satisfaction through that object is what primarily compels us to pursue it, much more so than actually getting the object we keenly desire. For example, consider a lascivious man who constantly craves women. His lust for women is an attempt to satiate his sexual passions, but even after he obtains the sexual intercourse he so desired, he is not satisfied. Otherwise, he would stop being lascivious for good, not just for a moment. Moreover, because he is not satisfied, he will naturally want more and will certainly become obsessed with women in whom he “sees” the promise of satisfaction. As such, the women are merely the means through whom he attempts to satisfy his lust.

In this way, the more we lust after something or someone, the less capable we are of understanding and caring about the object that (inordinately) affects us. Lust only concerns itself with its emotions of covetousness. The thrill of the hunter is the hunt itself, not the prey; this is what keeps the hunter hunting. Therefore, lust – or any other form of covetousness – never brings satisfaction. In fact, the more we lust, the more obsessed we become with the object we lust for, and the more we want to use and abuse it according to our deluded understanding of its nature. Sadly, it is precisely because of this that lust and every other form of covetousness, such as envy and greed, are much better suited for idolatry than love. While we are slaves to the mastery of such passions, we do not care to understand the true nature or value of the objects that affect us. We are simply compelled to endlessly covet and exploit them in an attempt to fulfill our desires, and the more anyone tells us that we will succeed at this, the more we will believe their deceiving words.

So we see that lust is closely connected to blind obsession, and when love – the simple act of giving oneself – is polluted with fiery and obsessive desires, it increasingly resembles lust. To this point, please note the unyielding compulsion related to the love of idols that I quoted a few paragraphs before: “You grew weary from your many wanderings, but you did not say, ‘It is useless.’ You found your desire rekindled, and so you did not weaken” (Isaiah 57:10, NRSV).

3) Love motivates; lust compels. As soon as love begins to transform into lust, the level of true willfulness in our actions begins to decrease, as our passionate desires supersede our consciousness and consciences, gradually and steadily taking control of our beings. This process takes place deep within us, usually without providing any clues to call our awareness to it, until perhaps we face the consequences of our lustful actions and the regrets or rationalizations of our actions begin to dawn in our minds. Again, I am not only referring to lust in the sexual sense, but to its comprehensive significance as covetousness of any type.

The three previously explained characteristics of lust regarding the fine yet distinct line between lust and love can be appreciated very well in the story of Oholah and Oholibah. The Hebrew word for lust is consistently used to describe the sisters’ passion for their lovers, while love is never employed concerning their passionate feelings. However, the two sisters and their lovers did give themselves to one another with attentive favors – this is why they are called lovers – at least initially and in appearance, although never selflessly.

As their relationships progressed and their emotions grew stronger, the sisters came to suffer from a lust so uncontrollable and obsessive that it brought them nothing but abuse, suffering and destruction under the lust of their lovers. Although this did not come to pass before Oholibah felt disgust for them as well.

Now, why did I write uncontrollable and obsessive? Well, in the case of Oholah, one might argue that her actions were the result of a fully voluntary and controlled choice only if one thinks that she wanted to defy God’s commandments with complete knowledge of the consequences that such an act would bring upon her. However, this cannot be the case because her punishment was less severe than that of her sister, whereas the Bible maintains a consistency between the proportion of culpability and the resulting retribution (see Numbers 15:30-31). But regardless of how uncontrolled and obsessive Oholah’s desires were, she certainly suffered the consequences.

In the case of Oholibah, it is written that “as soon as she saw them, she lusted after them” (v. 16). So, it is clear that her passions were ruling her choices, not true willfulness, which is the ability to make a decision free from avoidable constraints such as the overwhelming desire brought on by lust. Therefore, the lust of Oholibah was uncontrollable and obsessive too, unless we believe that she desired to suffer inexpressible torment, denigration and ultimately death; even after she witnessed what had happened to her sister Oholah! If this is not a case of obsession, I do not know what is. Although one could speculate that perhaps her choice was willful, and she thought that in her case, things would be different. In our ignorance and/or conceit we are all so very prone to think that the afflictions of others won’t happen to us, but there is no way to know for sure in this particular story. What remains certain is that the tragedy of Oholibah was even more gruesome than that of her sister, simply because she should have known better. Not only had the Lord already commanded every Israelite not to seek idols and instructed them on how to avoid the constraint of passions, but she also saw and knew what had happened to her sister as a result of her idolatry. This knowledge should have shaped Oholibah’s subsequent choices, no matter how overwhelming her passions were. For this reason, Oholibah was even more corrupt than her sister, although it seems that once blinded by her passions, she was or wanted to be unaware of this.

Truly, no matter how blinding and compelling our passions may be, they do not excuse us from suffering the consequences of the choices we make at their bidding, and even less when we know there is another option open for us: The way of Truth.

In light of the previous, I would especially like to draw your attention to the fact that this story shows to us that willfulness (as the ability to make a choice free from unnecessary constraints) is the key element than can help us distinguish love (ahav) from lust. Love, unlike lust, always begins as a voluntary decision, and as such, love retains a measure of willingness in all its actions, regardless of whether the decisions and actions are well-informed or not. These fully voluntary decisions and actions are centered upon the giving of oneself to that which we love; and the more willful our giving, the truer our love. To make this point clearer, let us go back to the first instance of the Hebrew word ahav in the Bible.

Ahav is first employed in Genesis 22:2 when the Lord our God tests Abraham by asking him to take his beloved and long-awaited son, Isaac, to the region of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. This incident indicates the deep connection between faith and love and illustrates how love (giving oneself) is entirely based on a willful decision that unavoidably brings consequences and responsibility.

Genesis 22:1-2 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 2He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’

It is no coincidence that we encounter the first use of the term ahav in this very well known occurrence of the Old Testament. Abraham deeply loved Isaac, the son he had long desired and whose birth was the evidence of God’s faithfulness to His promise (see Genesis 15:4, 17:15, 18:10 and 21:1-5)

However, not many years after Isaac’s birth, the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice the child. What choice would any of us make in such a circumstance? Heed what the Lord our God asked of us by giving Him all of our faith and (therefore) love, or act according to our own feelings (perhaps passions) and thoughts (perhaps delusions)? Would we offer our child, clearly acknowledging that all life comes from and belongs to God, or would our lack of understanding and inordinate affection converge into the bold claim that our child is ours alone – a possession that not even our Lord and Creator can take away from us – to treat as we think best?

Regardless of our choice, of course, early the next morning Abraham took Isaac to the place God had instructed to sacrifice his precious and beloved child as a burnt offering. Think about that for a minute.

By reading Abraham’s whole story, we know that he never desired anything or anyone in this world more than he longed for Isaac. Not Sarah, not Lot, not Hagar, not even Ishmael. Even though Genesis clearly records Abraham’s affection for each of them, his relationship with them is never described as love (ahav), nor did he love all of the land and wealth God gave him. The term ahav is exclusively used to describe the relationship between Abraham and Isaac. Abraham had given himself to Isaac, yet once he reached the place that the Lord had indicated to him, he prepared himself to sacrifice his beloved son to Him. But as Abraham was about to do as instructed, our Lord suddenly stopped him through an angel and provided a male ram for him to sacrifice instead. The test was over, and its results were very evident.

Abraham’s actions made it clear that he had chosen to faithfully heed the words of His Lord and give himself (love) wholly and unreservedly to Him, instead of allowing his love for Isaac to become the lust that would have hindered his choice for obedience. Please note and do not forget that Abraham could have chosen otherwise under the constraint of lust and other passions, such as fear for the life of his cherished son. He had ample opportunity to disregard God’s words and do whatever he wished to believe was the will of God as many other men depicted in the Bible did. Surely this would have been less painful and more attractive to him at the time – similar to the choice Oholah and Oholibah made when they pursued the idols of other nations.

But Abraham’s faith in and willful love for God was proven beyond doubt because he placed the Lord above anything and anyone else in his life, including his emotions and desires. By freely choosing to do so, he fulfilled the following words even before they were communicated to Moses. (And again in this passage, the Hebrew word translated love is the same one we have been referring to: ahav.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

4Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

So it was that by giving himself to the Lord his God with all his heart, soul and might, Abraham refused to allow anything or anyone but the Lord to master his life. He did not desire power, ability, well-being or security from anything or anyone else. The Lord alone was his strength, comfort, shield and reward (see Genesis 15:1). And while many other things and people must have been important to him, Abraham did not allow his feelings or beliefs about any of them – including the love of his only son – to become an uncontrolled passion and obsession that would have compelled him to turn Isaac or anything else into a false god or idol of his heart. No, Abraham remained entirely steadfast to his Lord to the very end of his life, and this he evidently did not out of a desire for personal gain or wellbeing. Indeed, Abraham had to sacrifice much in his faithfulness to God! Therefore, nothing ever compelled or constrained his love for the Lord, and because of this, his love for God was truly selfless, sacrificial and free. As such, Abraham’s love was true love in its human facet. Only with this love – without the slightest shadow of lust – can a human being give itself to the Lord in order to be fulfilled and made whole by His love; for together they result in the perfect and truthful love that has been brought to life in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But what a difficult situation Abraham had to face! Such a demanding choice was presented to him by our Lord; yet, thanks to it, what an inspiring lesson we can still learn from him to this day. And we will benefit most from this lesson if we remember it day after day, not allowing the dust of the ages to shade its profound truth.

Indeed, the circumstances surrounding Abraham’s choice were dramatic. Not everyone is faced with such terrible choices, although we must recognize that many are and have been. But even if we make most of our choices under much milder circumstances, our choices are no less vital. All of our choices are essential because each and every one of them determines our lives in some degree, and, therefore, our choices shape the stream of our lives for better or for worse. Although our choices should not define who we are, as we will see in Chapter 10, they are certainly an expression of our beings, and especially of our hearts.

Every day, we are presented with many options between which we must decide, consciously or unconsciously, serenely or passionately, in knowledge or in ignorance, to what or to whom we will give ourselves (love). In this existence, we must relate to something or someone in true love or in lust; this is unavoidable. Consequently, these series of daily choices establish, moment by moment, whether we hold the living God as our sovereign and shield and, thus, as our true love and Lord; or if we instead love or lust after something or someone else as the master of our lives.

About the consequences of our love and lust.

In light of all we have discussed, I hope it is now easy to understand why it is so important to clearly distinguish between love and lust within our own hearts, because while both dispositions bring prompt actions that merit distinct levels of responsibility for the consequences to ourselves and to those we love or lust after, they bring consequences nonetheless. I cannot emphasize this enough, so allow me to return once again to Ezekiel 23 and the great tragedy that befell the two sisters as a result of the layers of delusions upon passions in their hearts that sprung forth as promiscuity with their idols.

While both sisters knew the commandments of the Law given to them through Moses, they did not follow them and instead sought the idols of other nations that ultimately turned on them. Whether they ever took those commandments to heart is another matter, but this does not seem to be the case. What is sure is that they knew them, and that knowledge brings responsibility. Greater knowledge results in greater responsibility, just as the following words make abundantly clear: “Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin” (James 4:17, NRSV).

However, for all the pain the sisters ultimately suffered at their lovers’ hands, it is important to note that God did not cause their tragedies; He allowed them to face the full consequences of their passionate actions and deluded beliefs at the hands of their lovers, who punished the sisters according to their own standards. Truly, the sisters had no one to blame but themselves for what they suffered. Our Lord only allowed such a tragedy to occur after repeatedly warning them about the dangers of idolatry. Sadly, none of His warnings stopped their lewdness and infidelity. Therefore, the two sisters brought tragedy upon their own lives because they lusted after idols that they should have never desired. In this pursuit, they abandoned their fidelity to the Lord and His commandments, and so it is written:

Ezekiel 23:35 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences of your lewdness and whorings.

Sure enough, their lovers (the Assyrians and the Babylonians) would eventually suffer the consequences of the choices they made as well. On a more positive note, though, this event serves as an example and yet another warning – a very intense one – to everyone who might be tempted to walk in their idolatrous footsteps, among whom we can surely find ourselves.

Ezekiel 23:48-49 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

48Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. 49They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry; and you shall know that I am the Lord God.

So, to help ourselves avoid the same tragic end, we must constantly strive to know whether our choices are the products of love or lust. To do so, we must first determine what affects (moves) us, how much it affects us, and why it affects us. Second, as the object of our affection continues to stir up our emotions, we must remain vigilant of the degree that it affects us. (Beyond wanting to unselfishly give ourselves, are we beginning to desire to use and possess it?) And third, as our emotions continue to affect us, we must remain conscious of our willfulness to give ourselves to our object of love free from constraints. In this, we must remain wary of any strong desire to attach ourselves to it by the force of our passions, which may now feel more like necessities that blind us to the truth of our feelings and the nature of the object of love.

Constant observation of our thoughts and emotions will thus help us make better critical choices because, whether we love or lust (covet), we are staking at least a part of our lives on the object we long to relate to or possess.

Moreover, being fully aware of the difference between giving ourselves willingly and lusting compulsively is essential to experiencing true freedom. Submitting to our corrupted, passionate hearts and deluded minds may seem to be thrilling and quite “liberating,” but the apostle Peter wrote about those who, knowing better, wish to “liberate and be liberated” by their passionate desires:

The second epistle of Peter 2:12-20 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

12These people, however, are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed. They slander what they do not understand, and when those creatures are destroyed, they also will be destroyed, 13suffering the penalty for doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, revelling in their dissipation while they feast with you. 14They have eyes full of adultery, (satiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of doing wrong, l6but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

12These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. l8For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first

Nothing in these verses, however, was intended to claim that in human relationships cannot or will not be one or multiple transitions between lust and love, even without us being aware of it. In humans, love certainly does not preclude lust, and as I stated before, the line that differentiates one from the other is very easy to cross. Yet we must strive to discern when we do so, lest we fall carelessly into idolatry and its consequences. Or worse still, we someday find that our covetous and passionate choices not only drove us to pain and misery, but that we stubbornly “justified” our evil actions all along.

Therefore, among the many great lessons we can learn from Ezekiel 23, the story of the two sisters mainly serves as a warning of our marked human tendency to love and lust after so many objects before the Lord our God, without being able to tell one inclination from the other, but seeking temporary refuge in such objects, even though they will never be anything but feeble idols. Their empty promise of power, ability, well-being and security is that alluring, though. And while most of our present idols may appear to be quite different from the ancient, Old Testament man-made gods, let us learn from the two sisters that we will multiply our sorrows and the very pain we sought to avoid if we take refuge in them. Instead, let us faithfully set the Lord our God as our single and unique Shield, Reward and Sovereign.

__________________

I will dedicate the rest of this book to help us understand what we tend to love or feel compelled to lust for in place of the Lord our God, and why. Being aware of these potential idols will hopefully allow us to remain vigilant of the deceitfulness of our hearts and their often confusing desires that can separate us from the Lord. On the other hand, being able to see through the futile and vacuous nature of all idols will give us a better understanding of our eternal Lord’s truly steadfast and fulfilling love in contrast to the delusion of love. Not forgetting that God’s love is the one we aspire to know because “no one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12, NRSV). Being perfected in His love is the only way to stop bowing before man-made gods, including those we may still believe are representative of the one true God, like the Israelites of the Exodus thought of the Golden Calf.

Hence, because our lives are indeed shaped by our everyday choices, let us faithfully endeavor to attain the firm truth – the Rock upon which we can confidently make these choices – not comfort, pleasure, vain desires or delusions. As C.S. Lewis expressed, “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

6

WORSHIPPING MONEY AND WEALTH

Images and figures made out of clay, stone, wood and metal may seem rudimentary enough for most of us to easily identify them as idols and steer clear of them. In fact, I think there is some sense of pride in the civilized western world about having left behind these types of superstitions, and there may even be a dissimulated bemusement towards those who still cling to the worship of images and statues. However, the fact that we do not worship these particular types of idols does not mean that we have ceased to imbue inanimate objects with unnatural qualities, or that we are no longer idolaters. Actually, idolatry is rife in our “civilized” western cultures and deeply rooted in our hearts and minds.

As mankind’s living conditions and social interactions have become increasingly varied, complex and sophisticated with the development of civilization, so have our idols. The more “civilized” our cultures have become, the more varied, complex and sophisticated our idols have also turned out to be. Yet, we must never forget that whatever “civilized” idols our societies now worship, they remain nothing more than idols, no matter how attractive and deceptive their guise.

The stern warnings against idolatry and the accompanying consequences we read about in accounts such as Deuteronomy 4:15-31 apply to each and every man-made god, and not just those made out of physical, earthly materials. Therefore, it is essential that we earnestly seek to identify all of them and, more importantly, to expose whatever exists in our hearts and minds that drive our ardent, but misplaced worship. Otherwise, the more we devote ourselves to idols and false gods, the farther we will stray from knowing and experiencing the love, justice and truth of the one true God.

With this in mind, and noting that I cannot identify each and every idol in existence within these pages, let us continue our study of the objects of our lust by turning our attention to one of the most pervasive and widespread idols of all : money.

We all know – or at least believe we know – about money simply because our existence in this world is so closely connected to it. We are used to spending many a waking hour thinking about pay-days, salaries, credit-card payments, upcoming mortgage installments, tuition fees, debts, taxes and so on. If I may borrow a term used by those in the business of persuasion, money and wealth enjoy a significant “mind share,” and together they retain a great deal of our attention.

Indeed, the importance of wealth throughout human history is so great that it was the apparent subject of many of Jesus’ parables. In this deluded world, it has always been difficult to imagine anything about the Kingdom of Heaven, its nature and incalculable worth. But it is quite easy for us to relate to material wealth because of the importance we have given it in our lives. Naturally, the history of mankind is replete with quests for gold, silver, gems, land, kingdoms and abundant resources of all kinds. The Bible also contains many stories that revolve around the desire for wealth, and while the Old Testament never directly refers to money as an idol, it is one of the most evident objects of idolatry in the New Testament. But what constitutes money or wealth as an idol? In one simple word: greed.

Excessive (that is, more than one truly needs or deserves) desire for money and wealth that leads to the attachment, obsession and adoration of them, is the very meaning of greed, and the apostle Paul clearly wrote to the church of Ephesus that anyone who is greedy (pleonektēs) is an idolater (eidōlolatrēs). In this, Paul clearly stated that such person is among fornicators or impure ones and has no portion in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

Epistle to the Ephesians 5:5 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

“Be sure of this: That no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God”

Consequently, Paul asked the church of Colossae to put greed (pleonexian), which is idolatry (eidōlolatria), to death along with other passions and evil desires, for all of these things belong to this world, to Earth and our earthly nature, and they have nothing at all to do with eternal life in Christ.

Epistle to the Colossians 3:1-5 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

“1So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry”

Paul’s words are stern, without a doubt, but do they apply to us? Should we consider ourselves greedy? And if so, why do we seek money excessively, to the point that it begins to turn into an object of our worship? To answer these questions, let us begin by understanding money first, then wealth, and then their relationship.

Money is a great (perhaps the best) medium for the trade of goods and services between people due to its real and perceived properties. With money we can conveniently acquire the things necessary for the basic sustenance of our bodies such as food, clothes and shelter. Money can also buy many other things that we want, need or think we need. But money’s uses do not stop there, not by far, although it would be better if they did.

By saving money and other items of value, we accumulate wealth. Wealth is the abundance of useful resources, either in the form of money or of valuable, material resources. (Note that I use the word abundance relatively, since abundance and poverty are almost always a matter of relative perception). With a relative amount of wealth, it is possible to maintain access to the products and services we need in case of a “rainy day” or a “rainy season” that may hinder our resource-producing professions or activities. In this sense, money and wealth provide a measure of security, since the wealth saved will allow us to buy food, shelter, clothes, etc. in the future (medical care is another good example). In brief, wealth provides a limited measure of security against emergencies, and with it usually comes an illusion of “peace of mind.” Indeed, as it is written: “For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it” (Ecclesiastes 7:12, NRSV).

However, when money is not employed with wisdom, that sense of protection against contingencies beyond our control can swiftly and inadvertently turn into a passion to accumulate even greater wealth as a means of maintaining an illusory peace of mind against any possible eventuality in life, to the point that instead of relying firmly on the Lord our God as our Shield, Protector and Support (see Psalms 27:1, 46:2, 49:5-6, 62:7 and 118:6), we may instead begin to rely on money as our shield and even our savior in times of distress. When this happens, a healthy desire to use money as a means of exchange to acquire necessary goods and services for our households and communities transforms into greed – the obsessive covetousness that brings the idolatry of money to life.

We begin to idolize money as soon as we begin to perceive it as more than it truly is: a medium for the convenient trade of goods and services, the wise and modest saving of which provides a modicum of protection in times of scarcity and emergency. Instead humans mainly view wealth as a source of protection, comfort, power, ability and well-being on its own, just like an idol made out of clay, stone, wood or metal. This belief makes the acquisition of money the objective of most, if not all, of our productive efforts.

Therefore, as we increasingly seek wealth for the “peace of mind” it brings, it transforms from mere money into a man–made god, imbued with the illusory yet highly sought qualities of security, protection, power and well-being. Money then seems to inherently possess the power to save – a power to deliver us from a lack of food, shelter, clothes, medical care and anything else we may need and want, and the control/freedom to access all these things wherever, whenever and however we want. This is why among numerous cultures and civilizations with countless distinctive idols and gods throughout all of history, the veneration of wealth has always been a common theme. In fact, the worship of many other idols is often based on the idolatry of money, inasmuch that myriad offerings and sacrifices have been made in order to receive pecuniary “blessings” from such gods.

Money has thus become the most widely revered man-made god in human history, and greed even leads people to view it as the supreme lord of this world. Common phrases like, “cash is king and money rules;” “money talks;” “money makes the world go round;” “money isn’t everything, but everything needs money;” “another day, another dollar” illustrate this belief. Money is relentlessly personified as an abstract but individual entity that is powerful enough to be the center of our lives and driving force of the world. And indeed, money has become a king of sorts because mankind has sought it with tremendous zeal that is driven by an equally tremendous fear. We constantly worry about what “tomorrow” will bring and turn to money as our savior.

But so it is that the human kind has devoted itself to the want of money with the purpose of being liberated from the fear of any possible material want and/or discomfort for today and forever, delusionally believing that one want might save us from the other, when in truth it is evident that “the lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NRSV). Someone once told me, “Money does strange things to anyone involved with it.” I laughed at the time, but now, I have no doubt about this.

Now, to make matters clear before we move on, greedy people do not always act like Ebenezer Scrooge of “A Christmas Carol”. While Charles Dickens’ infamous character is the poster child for greed as a caricature who may resemble some of the worst traits of greedy people, he is not the exclusive model of greediness. We have all been greedy in one measure or another; let us not be ignorant of this fact. The problem is that we tend to reassure ourselves and one another that we are not, reserving this awful epithet for those we disdain for their greater voracity.

In modern day society we refer to the pursuit of money with the objective of acquiring “peace of mind” and control/power with a different set of more technical and amiable expressions such as financial security, assets protection, economic wellbeing and financial liberty or economic freedom. Once we attain these desirable traits, we can claim to have achieved financial success, although simply saying that we are successful would suffice, because success in our cultures is almost always linked to financial prosperity and material well-being. We grow up with the belief that economic success goes hand-in-hand with what we call happiness. The greater a person’s material status, the happier they are thought to be. Hardly anyone is viewed as greedy when he or she “honestly” seeks wealth, because who does not want to be happy? Who would condemn the pursuit of happiness?!

Such are the common thoughts that lie at the root of any prosperity-driven society, where more money is always preferable to less, and sooner access to wealth is always preferred to later. Above all, our culture has enshrined more, cheaper, faster and sooner as its greatest values: Work faster to earn more, earn more to buy bigger, produce more to offer cheaper, save more to retire sooner, be productive now to enjoy tomorrow more, and spend more to become greater. Less, costlier, slower and later are the perceived enemies of these types of societies. All that matters is that the value of money increases today, along with the comforts and pleasures it can buy and the peace of mind it is believed to bring. So much that we quarrel and fight to protect the value of the currency we use or, better yet, to multiply it as much as possible so that no amount of peace of mind or control can slip through our fingers.

With almost every one of us under the greedy belief that money is a (or the) major source of control over our standards of well-being, it is plain to see why it has become the most revered idol. More than any other man-made god in history, mankind has worshiped and offered sacrifices to wealth the most in order to obtain what we want. I use the word want because need is constantly confused with want by the worshippers of money, those who believe that money can buy almost anything (and for a few, everything). In this sense, money has become the standard measurement of value for nearly every aspect of human life.

Have you ever said or heard the phrase, “Time is money”? This cliché is often followed by, “so, use it well!” Whenever I heard these words I understood nothing else than time (which in itself is an abstract and relative concept that is intimately intertwined with the motion and dynamics of life) is so equivalent to money that the moments of our lives should be valued in fractions of money. Therefore, not using time well means wasting precious money in a world that constantly assesses the worth of every human activity and condition with cost-benefit criteria. And what better way to quantify the costs and benefits of our daily activities than money? Then again, should we determine the value of each moment only based on its financial worth?

But idolaters – that is, us – of money primarily desire to acquire and save it, so we are inclined to measure everything according to how much wealth it produces or consumes, for if time is money, then life must also be money and all our activities are economic transactions.

Once time and human effort were determined to be measurable in monetary terms, almost every other aspect of human life was thrown into the same quantifiable basket. Commitment, desirable behavior, loyalty and performance are commonly measured and rewarded financially. Think about salary bonuses, compensation plans based on stock options and rewards given to those who “do well” (including children who behave). Scientific, technical and educational innovations are primarily motivated by their monetary profit because people usually spend time inventing and researching in order to be economically rewarded, not simply to benefit their fellow human beings. Think also about how our society widely views marriage and divorce in terms of financial gain and loss. Emotional damage done to one another is financially quantified in court. Similarly, lawsuits regarding damage to or loss of life due to medical malpractice are settled by monetary compensation. Almost any damage, intentional or not, done by one person to another can be measured and compensated in monetary terms and why? Because almost everybody covets wealth! Money can soothe almost any damage or loss we experience; it is usually just a matter of how much we require for our “peace of mind”. Indeed, money and profit are our culture’s bottom line.

With wealth, we have created the most observed and optimizable metric of return on the investment of our time and effort (the sum of our lives). Before doing anything, we often are most concerned with how much money we will earn and whether or not the financial compensation merits our effort. Whether our actions are truly good and just is usually of little importance, as long as the activity is legal. We even select schools based on the best return on investment (ROI), weighing the cost of tuition, the social networking potential there, its prestige among desirable employers and, above all, the salary we can achieve after graduation. We consider all of these things above what is truly acceptable and upright in the sight of the Lord our God, instead judging by what we delusionally deem “good.”

Similarly, our seemingly moral actions are often priced with money: The whistle-blowing of misconducts and the denouncing of delinquents are often done in exchange for a reward. And even when there is no explicit incentive, our culture takes great pride in glorifying those who sacrifice financial and other material rewards for the good of others by rewarding them with even more money and privileges! Although to some people, the ethical aspects of life are luxuries that can only be pursued after they have become wealthy and “secure” enough in their riches – that is, if they ever know what “enough” is. But the cult to the money idol has not stopped here.

Common national statistics reinforce the belief that we should measure human happiness according to a person’s access to wealth, or according to their possible access to it. A country with a high stock trading index value such as the NYSE, NIKKEI or DAX, and a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is considered prosperous and a generally great place to live. Conversely, an area with a high unemployment rate or a low number of well-paid jobs is generally believed to be an unhappy place to live. And if the lack of jobs or well-paid jobs remains unchanged, the area will become a volatile place to live as well due to the underlying discontent of the population who not only feel that their time is wasted in poverty, but their whole lives.

But statistics are not to blame for what they are employed to measure. After all, we use numbers to measure what we believe is worth measuring. We conceive many statistical indexes and coefficients to gain the information we consider important, and material wealth is so terribly important in our present culture that some people have gone as far as placing price tags on everything and everyone. Under the rather common belief that, “Everyone has a price; what is yours?” even human beings are literarily traded in markets where money is the paragon of value to those who devoutly worship it. But once again, the worship of money does not end here either. In fact, it branches out.

With money as this all-powerful, man-made god that is supposed to deliver us from the fear of want; another strange thing has happened: Because almost everyone wants access to the great benefits (protection, well-being, power and liberty) that money is believed to provide, it really is a logical consequence of such worship that we also become filled with admiration for the wealthy, just as Oholibah revered the Chaldeans and Babylonians in Ezekiel 23 (the use of color vermilion in their painting is key to understanding this).

Just like those two nations of old, the relatively few people, cities and nations throughout history that have been wealthy and have also been skillful at multiplying and saving their wealth have either been transformed into idols themselves or, at the very least, become powerful intermediaries between wealth and the population that worships it. These few ”priests” of the man-made god of money have very effectively gained the power to influence and rule over the less fortunate -those less ”skilled” at acquiring wealth, and this has furthered the mass admiration of the wealthy few by the mass worshipers of this idol who desire to emulate their “priests” as role models. They too want to be as powerful and admired as their idols seem to be.

On the other side, when the praise for these “priests” begins to recede once their admirers realize they cannot become as successful as their role models, another form of covetousness begins to surface in the hearts and minds of the less prosperous worshippers of wealth: envy – a passion that springs up out of resentment towards others for not having what they have. This is another example of the confusing and contradictory emotions that lead to and are fostered by idolatry.

So by now we should not be surprised that “the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave” (Proverbs 22:7, NASB). The successful money “priests” do everything they can to keep on multiplying and saving wealth, sharing as little as possible with anyone else, including those who need it, except in return of an interest that can help them be richer or a claim over the body, minds and few belongings of the needy. They do not want to lose the power, security and well-being they get from this idol, but increase it. But if money rules our lives, is it any wonder that we will submit to the rule of those who have it yet care naught about sharing it? Is it surprising that true peace can neither be found among those who have money nor those who need/want it, since both sides will be inclined to do whatever it takes to guard or attain it?

Some have said, though, that this rivalry between those who have wealth and those who seek it has produced good results in the history of mankind. By fostering competition between these people, numerous scientific, technological and socioeconomically significant advancements have been made. Indeed, competition has produced positive outcomes such as somewhat preventing a complete monopoly of wealth. In this sense, the competition for money has thus far decreased the potentially dreadful outcomes that the majority of the middle class and outright poor populations would suffer under the total power and control of the wealthy few.

Regardless, we must not lose our sight of the truth that rivalries are largely fueled by passionate envy and resentment. And when innate human pride is added to the mix, we have a concoction of passions that compels those who suffer them to fiercely kindle the fire of their greed because their desire for wealth also demands that they surpass the fortune and success of others. In this sense, their greed stems from their obsessive desire to accumulate more wealth than their peers. But about envious competition it is also written:

Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 (NRSV)

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind. 5 Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh. 6 Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind.

Sadly, the words in verse 6 are often viewed as paramount to unambitiousness, the intolerable attitude that is linked to conformism and mediocrity by our prosperity-driven cultures, while the ambitious and competitive (that is, the envious and covetous) are applauded and glorified.

But should the ability to be content with “a handful with quiet” merit condescension or disapproval? Perhaps to some, but let me state this now: The more we give ourselves to the man-made god of money under the envious notion that we can somehow get something from wealthy people or entities, the more we submit to the mastery of these idols, their instructions and their standards of behavior. This idolatry will certainly lead everyone involved into greater pride and resentment, envy, despise and suspicion of one another. And with these passions and emotions, do you think it impossible that someday we would find ourselves willing to lie, cheat, rob and even kill for the sake of our greed and envy?

A brief look at the perversion of justice and the degradation of human relationships that is caused by the idolization of money.

The more we covet wealth and aspire to become like the exemplary “priests” of money by emulating their actions and competing against them, the more lost we will become as idolaters of money. We will have fewer reservations against doing whatever it takes to possess it, and our identities will be bound to it in increasing measure. Our attitudes towards others will be the confusing result of admiration, pity and envy of their possessions and earning capacity. Our behavior towards those we deem successful will become a strange brew of hatred for and praise of their “success,” while we will treat those less “successful” with pity and self-relieving generosity. Ultimately, our level of appreciation for other people will greatly depend on how much money they have compared to us, as the following words of the apostle James describe:

Epistle of James 2:1-7 (NASB)

1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

These verses show that the power and privileges of the rich are not only the results of their oppressive rule; their influence is also due to the partiality granted to them by those who lust after their wealth and long for their favors – people who, in their display of deference for the rich, help perpetuate an age-old conflict between those who possess wealth and want to protect it and those who do not have it and want access to it. But just as the apostle James asked in the first verse, do people like these manifest a true belief in our Lord Jesus Christ with their acts of favoritism, or do they express idolatry of money through the greed that compels them to esteem the wealthy as if they were truly more valuable as human beings?

Sadly, this favoritism in congregations and almost every other type of social gathering is but one of the nefarious outcomes of the idolization of wealth in human relationships. The more we have revered this man-made god and its exemplary representatives, the more aspects of human life have been degraded in our societies. The most painful example of this is the corruption of justice that has taken place for centuries at the hand of those who have wealth and for whom “a bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it; wherever they turn they prosper” (Proverbs 17:8, NRSV). But corrupt endeavors have brought prosperity to many people because others have been willing to be bribed and turned partial to them – those who have fervently sought money in order to climb out of the ranks of the needy and exploited. These people are also corrupt, for “to show partiality is not good- yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong” (Proverbs 28:21, NRSV).

How terrible it is to witness the corruption of justice, to see a judge acquit a criminal who is wealthy enough to pay a bribe, but condemn an innocent man who cannot afford a lawyer who is “motivated” enough (financially, of course) to provide him with a good and vigorous defense. How miserable it is to see that laws and policies are enacted to protect the interests of the rich, regardless of their detriment to everyone else. Indeed, what dreadful are these and many more outcomes of the idolization of money which are constantly made real by those who in their ignorance, folly or malicious intent do not care to stop and ask themselves what will become of “6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it. 8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice, 9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave” (Psalm 49:6-9, NRSV).

So hateful are the corruption of justice and the oppression of the poor at the hands of the powerful that the author of Ecclesiastes wrote:

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NRSV)

1 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practised under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; 3 but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Now consider this: If it is dreadful to witness the corruption of justice and the oppression of the poor at the hands of those who pursue the man-made god of money at all costs, how much more appalling is it to be involved in this vile injustice, even if indirectly?

Yet, all of the terrible situations and attitudes that I have described so far and many more stem from our deeply rooted adoration of wealth. But perhaps we do not pay attention to them because our hearts and minds are not only preoccupied with our money-earning activities, but with many fantasies and dreams whose main theme is the abundance of money and all the novel pleasures it can buy.

“All the good I would do if I had the money!” “I’m just waiting for the day I get my big bonus!” “When I hit the lottery jackpot, life will be so much better!” These are a few of the thoughts we often express aloud with dreamy eyes and wistful smiles. Sometimes we find ourselves planning how we would spend our hypothetical fortunes – where to travel and what to do with the all the money we passionately hope will be ours, yet probably never will be. And even though these are mere plans, castles built out of thin air, the thoughts of our imagined wealth are enough to make us sigh and giggle with delight. And why not? We have already become convinced that wealth will deliver us from our needs, wants and fears.

But should we keep on dreaming and hoping for riches and material prosperity? Well, concerning the pleasures, “peace of mind” and well-being that we believe we will enjoy in proportion to our wealth, a lesson on this vanity awaits us in the parable of the rich fool spoken by our Lord Christ:

The Gospel according to Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV)[Emphasis added]

13Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’14But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ 15 And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ 16Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”18Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”20But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’”

Like all of us who have suffered from greed, the rich fool was keen on producing abundant wealth, so he also needed a large place to keep it. The more wealth we seek, the more resources we will consume not just in producing it, but in storing it as well. Now, in his wealth the rich man thought he would find pleasures, peace of mind and well-being; “Relax, eat, drink, be merry,” he said to himself. But the Lord our God had other plans for him. What good did all the things produced and stored ultimately bring to the rich fool on the day of his death? For what good was all the travail he spent to gather and store such wealth? Did he happily eat, drink and live merrily forever? What is the profit of a life spent seeking and acquiring wealth? What is truly inherited by the descendants of the greedy and idolatrous? Will all the money garnered serve the deceased to bribe the Lord our God in His sovereign justice like it may have served them to bribe humans?

When the rich fool died, he took none of his wealth with him. No matter how much we wish to prolong the temporary pleasures and comfort that money can buy, all of them will come to an end, “for we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”(1 Timothy 6:7, NASB).

Therefore, in our blind pursuit of wealth, when we come upon those who have it in abundance and find reason to envy them, it will do us good to understand, truly take deep into our hearts and never forget the following words:

Psalm 49:16-20 (NRSV)

16Do not be afraid (or awed) when some become rich,

when the wealth of their houses increases.

17For when they die they will carry nothing away;

their wealth will not go down after them.

18Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy

—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—

19they will go to the company of their ancestors,

who will never again see the light.

20Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

they are like the animals that perish.

For all the partiality and favors that money brings in this life – due to those who are willing to sell themselves for it, those who prefer the rich over the poor, and those who corrupt justice and oppress the downtrodden for the sake of their idol – in truth, once each and every one of us perishes, there are no money, gifts, assets or anything material at all that will avail to give us any favor in the justice of the Lord our God. And as foolish as it is to fold one’s hands and not work, so it is to want, hope and dream of wealth.

Moreover, Luke 12:13-21 shows us something we have seen before: Greed not only deteriorates human relations through partiality, corruption and injustice, but it creates division between people altogether; in this case between the two brothers. Greed for possessions, in fact, always gives way to rivalries, divisions and dissensions. (Among many biblical examples; read what happened to Abraham and Lot in Genesis 13 and what later happened to Lot when he fell victim to men who sought his possessions in Genesis 14.) Do you know of families and friends torn apart because of inheritances? Children who sue their parents and vice versa for control of money and assets? What about spouses divided by their pursuit of wealth? So, when money is in the middle of relationships, what do you think is the most likely outcome?

Buy low and sell high to get rich!

As a point of further interest concerning the conflicts that arise between people because of greed [idolatry], let us take a glance at the common behavioral inclinations in the relationships between buyers and sellers in any given market.

In a commercial transaction, the seller usually wants to get as much money as possible for his product or service. Conversely, the buyer wants to pay as little as possible. Until they see eye-to-eye or compromise on a certain price, there will be no trade of goods and services. Economists have submitted several possible explanations for this, including the concurrence of needs or wants, the level of scarcity or abundance of whatever is in trade and so on. But behind all of them is the simple matter of unilateral greed within both parties, although this is rarely referred to as greed by the experts. Most economic analysis consists of tracing the consequences of the so-called “rational behavior” of individuals and groups. This “rational behavior” is considered a constant characteristic in human economic interactions, and it simply means that in general, people prefer more to less. In other words, humans seek to maximize the utility of their investments of work and time – which many conceptualize as money, as we have seen. But more plainly said, people simply want to have more.

Therefore, “rational behavior” is just another grandiose way to express that greed is taken as a constant trait in human behavior. This “rationality” assumes that we do not just want what we need; we always want more. So, in economic terms, to be “rational” is to be greedy. However, some behavioral economists have rejected the idea that “rational behavior” is an absolute and intrinsic trait of human behavior. They claim that this characteristic is limited to the information available and cognitive abilities of the individual(s) in question, making it more of a “bounded rationality.” I agree, but I would add that the most compelling element of this “rationality” is still greed.

Naturally, greed or “rationality” manifests in different degrees within each person. It swells up in various forms and for many objects that do not necessarily have to be money. But when it comes to commerce, it is easy to see why a seller does not simply want to sell his product or service; he mainly wants to increase his wealth by making the largest profit possible. The buyer, in turn, does not only want to satisfy his want, he also desires to avoid decreasing his wealth by paying as little as possible for the same product or service, especially if he hopes to re-sell it in some form. In this trade of goods and services, it is then very likely that the seller will say and do his utmost to convince his buyers that his products are the best and most desirable with the greatest features in the market. Each and every one of them is worth every single penny he asks for them. Perhaps the seller even believes what he says about his products and services, but in his greed to amass wealth by selling them for as much profit as possible, how much time will pass before he crosses the line between believing in the positive qualities of his products and services and lying about them?

Under the influence of greed, will a seller not be inclined to say and do whatever it takes to make his buyers believe that his product or service is scarce even if it is abundant; or to persuade them that what he offers is better than competing products, even if it is inferior? Will he not claim that his products are full of attributes that actually are nonexistent in them? And if they are effective to some degree, will he not be inclined to nurture consumer dependency on and even addiction to his product in order to maximize his profit? Or maybe it will suffice for him to pull the old “bait and switch” on them.

In terms of quantity, will a seller not be inclined to alter the scales to sell less of his product at full price, thus maximizing his utility? Perhaps he will simply label his products with deceptive information. Likewise, what about the people who lie in their resumes so they can get a higher paying job or a job at all? Are they influenced by need or greed? Whichever it is, the truth is that with greed in our hearts, the tricks and lies in commerce certainly abound.

Under the influence of greed, the buyer, in turn, is almost always inclined to say and do practically the opposite of the seller to convince him that his product is not worthy of the price. If the conditions of the market allow, he will even make it clear that the seller should consider himself lucky to even be able to sell his product or service at a very low price.

Certainly, as an activity that serves to revere the man-made god of money, commerce is full of temptations. It is a field of conflict between two forces that seek only to maximize their own interests, so much that in the deuterocanonical book of Sirach, we find this lamentably truthful words: “29 a merchant can hardly keep from wrongdoing, nor is a tradesman innocent of sin. 1 Many have committed sin for gain, and those who seek to get rich will avert their eyes. 2 As a stake is driven firmly into a fissure between stones, so sin is wedged between selling and buying. 3 if a person is not steadfast in the fear of the Lord, his house will be quickly overthrown” (Sirach 26:29 and 27:1-3, NRSV). And we find other warnings against greed and deceit in commerce and even consumption in many of the other books of the Bible, calling us instead to honesty and integrity.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 (NRSV)

13 You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, large and small.14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, large and small, 15 You shall have only a full and honest weight; you shall have only a full and honest measure, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Yet the tricks, lies, frauds and wrongdoings in business continue in every direction. Everyone involved wants to become rich or richer no matter the cost, constantly hoping for greater access to the man-made god of money that is believed to be the medium for peace of mind, security, liberty, well-being and a greater sense of control over our circumstances. In fact, so prevalent are the frauds and so persistent is the possibility of conflict between people who lust after this hateful idol that the use of written and signed contracts, bonds, insurance policies and every other pledge of trust is almost inescapable in human transactions involving money. This even includes marriage, the relationship whose sole foundation is supposed to be “love”.

But are we to find justice for our greedy endeavors in these legal instruments, the assurances and clauses of which are nonetheless breached by those who count the monetary reward of defaulting or fraud as greater than the cost of compliance? Are we supposed to find respite in the “protection” of these documents whose conflict resolutions sometimes rest in the hands of those who have already become biased or altogether corrupted by their own greed? Can we trustingly place the “defense” of our interests on consumer advocacy groups, trade unions, chambers of commerce, political lobbying agents, financial advisors, brokers and solicitors whose responsibility to their mandates may also be limited and corrupted by their desire for wealth? Surely, if we cannot trust any of them, then we are condemned to live in fear of the disastrous consequences of our collective devotion to this hateful man-made god. How ironic! Where are the security, protection, well-being and power that this idol was supposed to give us?

What is plain to see, though, is that not only the scales of commerce have been debased by our greed, but the scale of justice too, and utterly so.

To some, delusionally coveting wealth may be the only option available because they want to keep this idol as their master or do not know better. But the truth is that the only solution to this idolatry – and every other idolatry for that matter – is to be found in the true justice and love of the Lord our God, which are available to anyone who faithfully and diligently loves Him instead of riches or any other god of this world.

Awakening from our dream of riches by seeing it for the nightmare it truly is.

Our blind and passionate greed makes us constantly vulnerable to the dreams, yearnings and hopes that arise from and sustain our delusions about the idol of money. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ cautions us to be on our guard against all kinds of greed in Luke 12:15, meaning that we must guard our hearts not only against greed as it is conventionally understood in relation to money, but also against any other form of covetousness such as envy, lust, gluttony and pride, irrespective of the specific object of desire. In fact, the Greek term translated into English as “greed” in Luke 12:15 is pleonexia, a feminine noun whose etymology is derived from pleíōn (quantitatively more or abundance) and éxō (have). Therefore, pleonexia simply means the desire to have more.

At the beginning of this chapter, we saw that the apostle Paul also used the word pleonexia to refer to greed in Colossians 3:5, unequivocally stating that a person who suffers from pleonexia is an idolater. This Greek word is also employed in the following verses: Mark 7:22, letting us know that covetousness comes from our hearts as we saw in Chapter 2; Romans 1:29, which we will discuss in the following chapter; 2 Corinthians 9:5 and Ephesians 4:19, in reference to hard-heartedness and ignorance concomitant to covetousness; Ephesians 5:3 and 1 Thessalonians 2:5, where it is used to state that Paul never approached them with the pretext of covetousness or seeking glory or giving flattery; and 2 Peter 2:3 and 14, in which it shows the clear relation between covetousness and the desire to exploit and entice other people with lies and tricks for self-advantage.

Now, pleonéktes is the masculine noun of similar etymology to pleonexia that we saw the apostle Paul used in Ephesians 5:5 to state that a greedy/covetous person is an idolater. This Greek word is derived from pleonekteó, which literarily means ”to have or possess more” by the use of echo (ekh'-o) as an affix. It is also employed by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:10-11 and 6:10 when he asks the Corinthians not to associate with so-called brothers and sisters who are sexually immoral, covetous, idolatrous and abusive, for such people have no portion in the Kingdom of God. Interestingly, pleonekteó is employed in 2 Corinthians 2:11, 7:2, 12:17 and 18 in reference to Paul never having taken advantage of people or overreached out of covetousness for nothing. And in 1 Thessalonians 4:5 (of which we will see more in Chapter 8) it is employed as a warning not to be abusive out of sexual lust. In brief, we see once again how covetousness – pleonexia – leads to abuse, defraud and deceit.

Therefore, in Luke 12:15, our Lord Christ warns us to be on our guard against any desire to possess much or to have in abundance, and not only material things, but anything that we might want to have in excess, for these covetous desires are also manifested in relation to who we believe other people are (Chapter 8) and what we believe about ourselves (Chapters 9 and 10). So please do not forget the meaning of pleonexia, as it will be very important throughout the remainder of this book.

In the particular case of the desire for abundant wealth, the reason for our Lord Christ’s warning is clearly found in His subsequent words: for “one’s life does not consist in abundance of possessions.” Please note that He did not say, “one’s life does not consist only in abundance of possessions.” No, the words employed are “one’s life does not consist in abundance of possessions.” Abundance of possessions has nothing to do with true life. Period. And even though food, shelter and clothing have a lot to do with the sustenance of our bodies – for which we are responsible – seeking their abundance along with the prolific availability of money to gain access to all of those things we do not truly need but passionately want, has more to do with the ill-conceived and delusionally pursued beliefs that such possessions not only are a source of security, power and comfort for our lives, but are also the foundation upon which we can build a sense of self-worth and identity. Therefore, abundance of possessions has everything to do with the idolatry of material objects and nothing at all to do with true life.

But what is this business about building our sense of self-worth and identity upon wealth and possessions? Well, let me ask you this: Have you ever read news about how far some people have gone just to acquire the latest tech gadget, innovation or fashionable item? What is so indispensable about these objects to their lives? Why is it that we need to have the latest thing in fashion when what we already have is still perfectly usable? Why are completely usable clothing, wares, vehicles etc. discarded like garbage only to buy the latest and/or more desired models? Why do we buy so much, use so little and end up wasting a lot? Why do we feel the “need” to live in houses with exponentially more rooms than there are residents? Do spare rooms provide shelter for the homeless, or simply store our unused and probably useless stuff? Why do we need a house full of novel and attractive things when we spend almost no time at home because we are chained at our desks, eating out or strolling around the shopping mall? Instead of enjoying and being grateful for what we already have, why are we constantly on the lookout for the next, nicer, newer, bigger, faster, cheaper thing? Why is it that instead of displaying and providing true love, wisdom and justice for those we claim to “love,” we are more inclined to shower them with material gifts? And what does this availability of material abundance foster in them? I could go on and on with these questions, but let me simply ask this: Why are we still so obsessed with possessing more money and material objects despite the fact that a significant part of the western world enjoys unprecedented abundance?

In money and all it can buy, we have come to “see” values and qualities that they will never truly possess. Nevertheless, we “see” them as if they truly were there, and the perception of our hearts and minds determines the reality in which we live. Wretchedly, in this misconception we are no different than those who delusionally believe that a figure made out of clay, stone, wood or metal is worthy of reverence and worship – a figure that has a mouth but does not speak, eyes but does not see, ears but does not hear, nose but does not smell, hands but does not feel, and feet but does not walk. Although in their “sight” the idol has life and power, it is truly as dead and powerless as money and material possessions – except, sadly, for the power we have conceded them over us.

In the end, the profuse availability of money and possessions only serves to perpetuate this delusion we hold deep within our hearts, which fed the desire for wealth in the first place and convinced us that in the possession of abundant money and the material objects we can buy with it, we will find our self-worth and salvation from the fear of want. Yet we must do our utmost to stop feeding this hateful delusion that has proven ruinous over and over again because “9those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains”(1 Timothy 6:9-10, NRSV).

So it is that we should be on our guard against all kinds of covetousness if we want to avoid falling into all kinds of evil. What types of evil? Well, on top of the envy, dissention, division, strife, exploitation, corruption, perversion of justice, lies and fraud that take place in human relationships when money is at stake (as we have already, yet briefly, seen), let’s take a look at those pointed out by the 2012 studies conducted by Berkeley and Toronto psychologists Paul Piff, Daniel M. Stancato, Stéphane Côté, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton and Dacher Keltner. Although the results of these studies have been accurately portrayed in many films and literary works for decades, they might still surprise a few. Though I hope not to us considering everything we have seen so far concerning the idolatry of money and those who worship, rely on and find “refuge” in it:

Upper-class (wealthy) people seem to be more inclined than relatively less wealthy people to lie, cheat, steal and endorse unethical behavior, while they are also less inclined to be compassionate towards others. These conclusions further build upon the results of earlier studies conducted by Michael W. Kraus, Stéphane Côté and Dacher Keltner in 2010, which suggested that wealthy people are less capable of empathic accuracy than lower-class individuals and, therefore, of recognizing the emotions of others, as they are less inclined to pay attention to them. Is it that, in their devout worship of money, they have come to care about no one but themselves and their idols? Is this what we want in our lives when we desire to have wealth??

But the idolatry of money is so powerfully and deeply seated within our beings that one does not have to actually be wealthy to be inclined to behave immorally and uncompassionately. The mere suggestion of money is enough to influence any idolater of wealth to behave in this selfish way, or at least significantly differently than he or she would if money was removed from the situation. This is clearly suggested in the research paper, Merely activating the concept of money changes personal and interpersonal behavior by Kathleen D. Vohs, Nicole L. Mead and Miranda R. Goode. This work is readily available online, and I encourage you to read it, as its entire contents are very thought-provoking. In the meantime, I would like to highlight that money does change people, not only by possession of it, but also by the mere awareness of it.

When even the mere idea of money is present in our thoughts, it fosters a type of individualism that is expressed in a reduced inclination to care about and depend on other people because we become less sensitive to share in their needs and wants. As such, the presence of money in our thoughts and social interactions tends to damage interpersonal relationships even without us being aware. In other words, when the idolized idea of money is present in our thoughts, we tend to care less about almost everyone else because money (its actual possession or its mere idea) lures people to believe that they are entirely self-sufficient.

In dramatic contrast and in light of the social implications of the gospel built upon its true, love-based nature, is it any wonder now why our Lord Christ expressed the following words?

The Gospel according to Luke 6:20-26 (NRSV)

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. 'Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.22 ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 24 ‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 ‘Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. 'Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

26‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

In whatever measure of wealth we possess, if we have “found” in it security and well-being against the wants and fears of life, is it not quite likely that once we have confined ourselves inside this misty delusion and numbed our senses and perception with all the pleasures that money brings, we will also find ourselves to swiftly cease to care about others?

It is easy for wealthy people to think they don’t need anyone’s compassion or help because they can buy whatever help they need. In a similar vein, it is easy for a wealthy person to be “out of touch” and think that nobody needs their help. They may adopt the belief that if someone needs something, they should work harder to earn more money to pay for it. It is also easy for a wealthy person to think they don’t need God, for they believe to have access to every earthly pleasure and comfort. The wealthy have all the consolation they need in the world, until the day comes when they don’t -when something happens and they realize that money is irrelevant when it comes to true liberation from want and fear. On that day, though they may not fully comprehend it, they might sense that their idolatry of money has precluded them from knowing the love of God. And yet, even after that, they might still want to hold fast to their idol.

One more, extremely clear example of the destructive nature of the idolatry of money remains to be discussed: It was for money that our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed. Thirty pieces of silver was the decided price, and once that silver was paid, the corruption of justice and the perversion of righteousness were set in motion once again, fulfilling what was described in these words:

Amos 2:4-6 (NRSV)[Emphasis added]

4 Thus says the lord: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked. 5 So I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem. 6 Thus says the lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—

If we truly want to draw closer to the Lord our God and experience His truthful love and justice, we must make an earnest effort to completely detach our lives from the idolatry of money. We may have believed that our love for Him is compatible with our love for money, but is not. We may have even believed that our love for Him will lead to material riches and prosperity, but will not. Truly, we cannot give our hearts to two masters, for the Lord requires us to love Him with our whole hearts, just as Abraham did. When will the eyes of our hearts and minds clearly see the truth of this? When will we stop idolizing wealth? When will we stop being double-minded in our worship of this idol and our so-called devotion to God? Or is it the case that our idolatry controls us so powerfully that it has also compelled us to conceive and believe in a god of material prosperity? Do we worship this god because of the material abundance he supposedly brings?

The Gospel according to Matthew 6:19-24 (LEB)

19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24“No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.

The truth is, there is absolutely no salvation or deliverance in this man-made god. Yes, the delusion seems to be real. Countless people have fallen at its feet and continue to succumb to it every day and every hour. I did, too. But no matter how much we hear or repeat to ourselves that “money makes the world go round,” be aware that there is not an iota of truth in this statement. At best, it is just the name of the show we live in without realizing that the whole thing is a farce. Even if we have had qualms about the worthiness of the whole charade, they have probably been quieted by our desire to belong and not to be considered less important than others. “If everybody else is doing it, why shouldn’t I? I don’t want to be an outcast!” And whether we have assumed our roles in this insane play enthusiastically or warily, our entering the stage has contributed to the spread of the cult of money, paving the way for others to follow our lead, just as we once followed others'. Collectively getting more lost and immersed in this idolatry, our delusional attitudes and beliefs help to realize what the philosopher Immanuel Kant observed over two centuries ago: “The more civilized men become, the more they become actors. They want to put on a show and fabricate an illusion of their own persons.” Is this how we have found our self-worth and identity?

So, when it comes to money and wealth, are you satisfied with what you have? Count yourself among the truly blessed, because truly wealthy is he who is content with what he has, not he who even though has much is constantly coveting for more. Therefore, you may be among those who can wisely say, “7 Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, 9or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9, NRSV, emphasis added).

Do you find yourself in need or in want? Try not to succumb to the idolatry of wealth, whether you seek money to acquire food, shelter and clothing, or to amass it and spend it on vanity and other unsatisfied wants. In the latter case, do not pay attention to objects that are thrust forward into our faces and wedged firmly in our minds and hearts by the alluring words of those anxious to sell their wares. Those things are usually nothing more than props meant for those who keep on playing their part in the insane tragedy known as Money Makes the World Go Round. They like to tell us that we need to wear clothes with certain designs, colors and brands, along with accessories, jewels and shoes. “Drive this car!” they also say, and, “Cover your face with makeup, and style your hair like this!” Ah, and “don’t forget to speak with this accent, and walk with this swagger!” Between many other stage instructions they persuasively suggest us to follow so we can prove the relevance and impact of our roles.

Ignore all those lies because “why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Isaiah 55:2, NRSV). No matter how alluring their words may be, and tempting the products and services they offer, there is no true solace or satisfaction in any of them. It is just a mirage. It is all vain, for they provide absolutely nothing towards what truly matters in life.

Even if we have to live with scarcity and do not know if tomorrow we will have adequate resources to acquire what we truly need, let us not fear, but “4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7, NASB). Let us keep our hearts and minds firmly set on our Lord Christ regardless of our economic (and every other) circumstance, and “5make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ 6so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NASB).

We have every reason to be devoid of anxiety and worry so that we can continue to work peacefully to earn what we truly need for the physical sustenance of ourselves and of those we are responsible for. Never fully invested in our labor and becoming alienated from God! And in our labor, let us do everything with honesty and integrity. May we never contribute to the production of goods and services that will harm others; degrade the Lord’s creation; or feed the vanity, self-indulgence, idleness or addictions of others, regardless of who they are and in what they believe in. Let us do this so that we can earn our salaries with a peaceful conscience, free of blemish and filled with good hope as we remember and exemplify these words of our dear Lord Christ:

The Gospel according to Luke 16:22-34 (NRSV)

22 He said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

34'Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May we never allow fear and want to cause us to stumble or bring disaster to our lives by becoming greedy. Let our walk on the Lord’s path not be burdened by the weight of possessions, and least of all by greed. Let us learn how to be content with what we have today, for if we assess its worth with gratitude and humility, we will quite likely find that is enough or even more than enough. Therefore, there is nothing mediocre about being content with what we have. On the contrary, contentedness requires humility, self-control, temperance, determination, conscientiousness, courage and a faithful love for the Lord our God that, once made whole by His love, will allow us to find our true wealth and reward.

Why should I be content?

But “wait a moment right there!” some might say. “Content?! Aren’t we supposed to prosper, invest and multiply our wealth? Will God not protect us from every need and want? How will our communities, states and countries prosper and stave off poverty if we don’t buy and sell as efficiently as possible so the wheels of the markets remain turning? After all, isn’t prosperity what Jesus taught in the Parable of the Ten Talents?” Well, let’s read this parable and understand it in its proper context and in relation to every other teaching in the Bible that relates to money and wealth

The Gospel according to Luke 19:1-27 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

“While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. 16The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

In Luke, this epistle was recorded in the context of what Zaccheus had just done – a man considered by his peers as a sinner who nonetheless repented of his greed so profoundly that our very own Lord Christ exclaimed, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.” Then, He proceeded to tell the Parable of the Ten Talents. In Matthew, this same parable exists in a more eschatological context because it is preceded by the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Thus, the Parable of the Ten Talents takes on a meaning of judgment upon the actions of the ten slaves of the nobleman, who praised those slaves who multiplied the single talent he gave them but condemned the slave who did nothing with it and hid it in fear so he would not lose it. In Matthew, the master calls this slave “wicked and lazy,” but was our Lord Christ referring to the multiplication of money in this parable?

Christ is clearly the nobleman in the parable, so can we possibly think that at the time of judgment He will ask us for the wealth we multiplied and accumulated? Will He assess the value of our assets and holdings? Will He ask because He needs money and material riches? Certainly not! What good is our money and wealth to the Lord our God, when “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it” (Psalm 24:1, NRSV)? What does the Lord our God have to do with our idols? Nothing! Therefore, the Parable of the Ten Talents does not advise us to increase material wealth. Let us leave that to the monetary policies of this world’s financial institutions, because no matter how much our greedy desires compel us to use biblical text to excuse our pleonexia and corrupt our Lord’s truth for the sake of our terrible idolatry, this parable refers to the richness and perfection of our God-given abilities [talents] with which we must seek to become rich in the Lord’s love and justice – far from multiplying wealth and possessions for ourselves.

So, I state again that we should be content and fully grateful for what we have, not seeking to become rich with money or possessions, but rich in the truthful love of the Lord our God. Let us appreciate every moment and breath He has granted us and enjoy His lavish blessings, no matter how materially poor we may seem in the deluded sight of the greedy who trust in their wealth more than in God and derive their self-worth and identities from a futile idol. Indeed, giving ourselves sincerely to the Lord is not a means of financial gain, but being devoted to Him and content with His gifts is beneficial without a doubt.

The first epistle to Timothy 6:3-10 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so that neither can we bring anything out. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction.10 For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.

Rest assured that the Lord our God knows what we need (as our Lord Christ clearly assures us in Luke 16:30), and He will never abandon or forsake us. But do we know what we need, or, in our idolatry, do we still confuse need with want?

So, do you find yourself in possession of more than you and your loved ones truly need? I hope in the Lord our God that every one of us can understand that these resources are not ours with which to do as we wish. We are simply their administrators, and as such we must look out for those who truly need our help and would benefit from the gifts the Lord has abundantly bestowed upon us; lest by our indifference the needy fall further into the temptations of stealing, cheating or altogether killing for money, or, more commonly, of borrowing money in practical exchange for their lives once they inevitably yield to abusive working conditions and repayment terms tantamount to practical slavery. Therefore, let us become responsible for them because “how does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?”(1 John 3:17, NRSV). We must serve the Lord our God by wisely seeking the best use of the resources entrusted to us so that we might help spare everyone who so needs it from experiences that will likely fill them with the fear of want, envy and the greed that once filled us. Or is it that they still do?

If possible, however, let us not incur any debt. Why turn ourselves into the servants of others out of our own greed and uncontrolled desires? Why promise repayment when we have no absolute guarantee that we will have the necessary resources to do so? Why borrow from our uncertain future in terms of life time and work commitment? To be sure, incurring in debt fosters many undesirable habits and conditions. Therefore, “owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8, NRSV).

Now, if any of us has already come closer to understanding and dwelling in the true love of the Lord our God and in the position to lend money or resources to someone in true need and affliction, heed these words from our Lord Christ:

The Gospel according to Luke 6:32-36 (NASB)[Emphasis added]

32If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

These words convey a message of incomparable beauty and the true love of God. Their understanding can be heightened and made further alight in these:

Isaiah 58:1-11 (NRSV)

1Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. 3'Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’ Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers. 4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. 5ls such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to lose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. 9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

Let us, then, leave behind all apparent acts of devotion to our dear Lord – all covetousness disguised as righteousness and godliness, all lust masked as love, and every desire to use and possess rather than give. Persisting in our idolatry will only make us “waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane,” barren, insatiable and devoid of worth. Instead, let us firmly set out to completely abandon the idolatry of money, along with every other idol, hoping in the Lord our God that through His beloved Son He will make us like watered gardens, like springs whose waters never cease. Let His love gush up within us to eternal life where our fellow men can come, drink and quench the burning thirst of want we once knew too well and never allowed us to be content.

The Gospel according to John 4:7-14 (NRSV)[Emphasis added]

7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)9The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, ‘if you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ “The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ 13Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

When this living water truly runs through our whole beings, when it wells up from our hearts, having purified them by our God’s truthful love and justice, then we will finally know what it is to have no more hunger, thirst or want for anything in this world. We will have finally learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need, of being able to do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:10-20). And in this we will experience true deliverance from all fear, including that of pain and death.

7

HOW IDOLS COME TO EXISTENCE AND WHERE THEIR WORSHIP WILL LEAD US

In the previous chapter we reviewed the nefarious consequences of our greed. This is not a new lesson; in fact, it has never been my intention to “discover” and present to you anything new, for there is no element of novelty in the truth. I simply intend for my words to serve as a reminder – hopefully a very clear one – of something plainly understood in the Bible and which has also been described countless times in practically every communication medium that has ever been invented. I suppose that for all our greed, envy and their kindred feelings, our God-given consciences keep trying to tell us that our veneration of wealth is bringing us closer to our downfall.

But if the destructiveness of greed has been discussed and presented elsewhere, why the reminder in this book? First, because no matter how hateful this idolatry is and how often and intently this truth has been communicated, we persistently pursue wealth in one degree or another, always under the dogged belief that it will bring lasting protection, wellbeing, power and liberty. And even when our greedy pursuits go completely awry, and we face the truth that everything our idol brought us was temporary at best and deeply destructive at worst, we simply refuse to take this lesson to heart. We have become as hard-headed and stiff-hearted as Oholibah, who even after she witnessed her sister’s fate, persisted in her insane idolatry.

Second, because in our unyielding idolatry of money, I want us to thoroughly ponder the following questions regarding all idols: Why do we covet idols to begin with? Where does the power that idols hold over us come from? Does it only come from our passionate lust (covetousness) and love? And finally, where will our idolatry lead us? We need to know the answers to these questions because in their absence, we will continue to confuse our idolatry and lust – in whatever form it takes – for love.

Now, concerning the origin of the power of idolatry, the very concise answer is that it comes from our hearts. Our hearts are the idol-makers, and they concede the power that any idol eventually wields over our whole beings. Nothing in and by itself is an idol, not the coins or the bills, not the stone, metal, wood or clay used to form a man-made god. The power that idols hold over us is rooted in our very own hearts with assistance – for the worse – from our minds. These two elements of our beings (which biblically speaking are not just organs of our bodies; please be aware of this) are what allow us to perceive and shape any object (person, animal, thing, place, event or idea) into an idol, or not.

Please read the following words carefully because even though we are not presently discussing the idolization of food, they refer in essence not only to food, but to everything external that could be used to defile our whole beings.

The Gospel according to Mark 7:14-23 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

14And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person. 17And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19For it does not enter into his heart but into his stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus declaring all foods clean. 20And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 20For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy, abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”

Avarice (greed), envy, theft, lust and every other form of covetousness, just like any other evil intention (or, more accurately, reasoning) associated with them come from within our own hearts. Together, these passions and thoughts drive us to form idols within our hearts and minds. Now we can better comprehend the so-called rationality of “rational behavior” which I described in the previous chapter concerning our economic endeavors. This behavior is built upon our greed and idolatrous reasonings, and the rationality behind it is far from being lucid and clear, being at best foolish and blind.

Therefore, it is important to underline that the ignorance, thoughtlessness and obsessiveness of our misguided endeavors not only depend on the driving force of our raw, uncontrolled emotions, but also on how and what we have come to understand about this world as it relates to our lives. In other words, our idolatry is not solely the result of our passions, but also – and very importantly, as we will soon discover – of the deluded understanding of ourselves and everything in this world. Thus, our idolatry heavily depends on how we perceive the objects we idolize. Having said this, I emphasize once again that in truth, nothing external can tempt us into idolatry or any other evil unless we first allow it to become relevant and desirable to us, as the following verses highlight more clearly:

Epistle of James 1:13-15 (NRSV)

13No one, when tempted, should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. 16Do not be deceived, my beloved.

The Lord our God does not tempt us to evil; He never has and never will. Neither can anything in His creation tempt us, for He did not design anything to lure us into evil. Therefore, what we want lures and entices us only after having found it desirable enough to be relevant to us, otherwise it would have never affected us. If the desire for it is evil, then it gives sin a foothold in our hearts, and when we do not control it, our desire burns passionately enough to master us, compelling us to turn the desire into a sinful deed. At that point, sin has given birth to death, just as we can read in the following verses.

The Gospel according to Matthew 5:28-30 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a women with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Everything that we desire in lust, greed, envy, gluttony, pride or hatred is what appears to tempt us to sin, but in truth, we are incited by these obstinate desires and the misguided purposes of our very own hearts and minds. Our greed, envy, lust, pride and every other idolatrous passion, simply are inflamed desires of our hearts and minds in relation to something or someone (noting that desires are not only evil; they can also be good).

Nonetheless, it is always prudent to stay away from objects that appear to entice us until we can fully master the passions that really tempt us and the obscure reasonings are purged from ourselves by the truth of the Lord our God. I speak not only about purging our physical bodies, of course, for there is nothing inherently evil within our bodies in and of itself. I repeat; the evil resides in our cravings and reasonings about the objects we want. With this in mind (pun intended), we must be very aware that every form of idolatry comes from within ourselves – our hearts and minds. Make no mistake about it. Moreover, we must constantly remember that any voluntary or involuntary devotion to any type of idol distances us from the Lord our God, for it is written:

Ezekiel 14:1-8 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols, 5 in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.’”

6“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus the Lord God, “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel or of the immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I the Lord will be brought to answer him in My own person.8I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the LORD.

Indeed, the distance can be so great as to make us resemble and probably become exactly like “those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness (or steadfast love).” (Jonah 2:8, NASB). This true faithfulness and steadfast love are the elements with which we have true communion with the Lord our God and with one another. Forsaking them for the sake of idols will only drive us to an assured calamity. (The Hebrew term translated as “faithfulness” in this verse is checed- and its meaning is so rich and essential to understanding God’s love that we will study it in Part II of this work.)

Let us then keep learning about idolatry in order to elude any misstep into its alluring tricks, deceptions and enticements, for indeed, it is better to rid ourselves of anything that compels us into idolatry than to not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9). To help us accomplish this, and to elaborate on what I have written thus far concerning desires, feelings, passions, thoughts and idols, let us now study in greater depth the meaning of the word idolatry.

Referencing four different dictionaries I have come up with this definition: Idolatry is the blind and excessive devotion to idols that results in the worship of images that are not God and/or in the adoration of any other object such as human beings (anthropolatry), women (gyneolatry), places (topolatry), people with power (lordolatry) or the Bible (bibliolatry) with undue attachment. Idolatry may result in obsession or mania, words that are often employed as synonyms of idolatry.

By carefully extracting the essential meaning of this definition, I would like to summarize the meaning of idolatry as the blind worship of and attachment to images or objects that are not God. These few words epitomize the nature of idolatry and idols, and here is why:

Have you ever noticed the syntactic resemblance between the words idea and idol? It is curious, but perhaps it is merely accidental and irrelevant. Or is it? Well, an idea is a thought, image, impression, belief or notion that exists in the mind as a result of intellectual activity. The key element here is that an idea is the result of intellectual activity; also, it is quite interesting that both idols and ideas have to do with images. But what does this tell us about the relationship between these two words? Let’s dig deeper into the etymology of both words to discover it.

The etymology[*] of the English word idea is the Greek term idea, which means “the look of a thing (as opposed to its truth), its form, kind, sort, nature.” The root of the Greek term idea is idein, which literally means “to see.” Now, the etymology[*] of the English word idol is the Greek word eidolon, which means “appearance, reflection in water or mirror.” The root of eidolon is eidos, which means “visible form or type.” So, ideas and idols share meaning in that both are the result of perceived forms or images – appearances. This is why both originate in our in our hearts and minds, in the realm of thought.

Now, to eidos (form) and idein (to see), let’s add another Greek term that deeply relates to both of them: eidenai, which means “to know.” With this, we move closer to an understanding of the profound relationship between ideas and idols. We conceive ideas in our hearts and minds when we “see” the “form or image” of an object (person, animal, thing, place or event) and thus acquire knowledge about it. In other words, our knowledge (eidenai) of the objects (eidos) we perceive (idein) depends on our ideas about them. I hope this is not difficult to understand right now, but this process is explained more in detail in Part II of this work because it intimately relates to faith, just like faith is to knowledge and both are to love. For now, I hope, this explanation will suffice.

Our resulting knowledge about a perceived object can be true or false depending on what and how much we perceived of it – or saw, as we would say. But more importantly, we produce an understanding and derive a meaning of the perceived object based on how we associate its corresponding images (ideas) to our prior ideas (knowledge) and to our perception of ourselves in relation to them. However, knowing truly or falsely an object is not enough to conceive it as an idol. This requires an additional condition on top of the clear yet usually unconscious assessment of the value (true or false) of our knowledge about it. So, according to my previous definition of idolatry, the additional condition resides in the worship of and attachment to the object we think have come to know and (probably) understand. This will allow our emotional obsession with that object.

My definition should also prompt us to notice something very peculiar regarding the assessment of the value of our knowledge about the object that will ultimately become an idol. Our knowledge of the object we blindly worship and attach ourselves to is necessarily false and mistaken. Why? Because our worship is blind. A physically blind person cannot see or visually recognize any material object; just as a blind heart and mind have no “eyes” to discern the truth/light of our perceptions. So, an idol is always a false idea, for we do not perceive the idolized object as it truly is, but as we passionately desire it to be. This occurs not only because of the inherent limitations of our human perceptive and cognitive abilities, but mainly because we perceived it apart from the all-pervading truth of the Lord our God. This further confirms and clarifies Isaiah’s words which I quoted earlier (as if they needed to be confirmed!) concerning the reasons why people made idols of clay, wood and stone: “They do not know, nor do they comprehend; for their eves are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:18, NRSV)

Therefore, while our attachment to and adoration of an idol is very real from its conception, our idea of the idolized object is and will forever be false and blind, unless it is eventually placed under the light of truth of our God. At that point, it will cease to be false and will be an idol no more. In the meantime, in light of everything we have seen so far in this chapter, please let me express this definition of idols: An idol is a false, deceitful and/or mistaken idea that we blindly covet and give ourselves to. As William Wordsworth expressed, “Rapine, avarice, expense, this is idolatry; and these we adore; Plain living and high thinking are no more.”

Because idols are conceived apart from the knowledge of God’s true purpose for His creation, here is a worrying thought: Any false idea that captures our attention can eventually become an idol that rules our lives, in varying degrees and for varying durations. If such false idea is allowed to secure our desires, it will take hold of our hearts and minds because we will become attached to it and, eventually, devoted to and obsessed with it. The more intense our feelings become for that misconceived idea, the more they will master us and the more vital, desirable and real this false idea will become in our lives. But here is another very important thing to notice about idols: While our feelings for them are real, our ideas (knowledge) about them are undeniably false. The fact that our feelings are as real as to make our adored idols indispensable in our lives will never make these idols truthful. To believe something is real does not automatically make it true, and just as the apostle James wrote, let us not be deceived about this, for believing otherwise has led many to end up living a lie, regardless of how assuredly they claimed it to be true.

Likewise, in as much as all idols are illusory, false and devoid of the Lord’s truth, not a single one of them is meaningful. No matter how necessary to life they seem, all idols are ultimately futile. So much so that the respective meanings of two of the Hebrew terms used to refer to idols clearly describe their fundamental absence of worth: Elil- means “something of no value, insufficient, good for nothing,” and it has also been translated into English as “futility, worthless.” Hebel-, is the second, and it means “breath, vapor something transitory and unsatisfactory.” It has also been translated into English as “delusion, emptiness, futility, vanity and fraud.” These adjectives and nouns perfectly describe idols: They are nothing, regardless of how real and overwhelming they may be once we have devoted ourselves to covet them. And this is (coincidentally?) also the meaning of another Hebrew word used to describe idols: Gillul- whose primary root is galal- which means “to roll, roll away.” Yes, idols do roll us away, wherever our deluded passions and desires push them. And wherever this end may be, one more thing is certain: It is nowhere near the Lord our God, for, without a doubt, when we allow ourselves to be rolled away by worthless objects, we become futile ourselves (see Jeremiah 2:4-5).

But if idols are so detestable, damaging and altogether wrong, why can’t we stop desiring them immediately? This is why: As human beings, we are full of desires, and these yearnings drive us to pursue many different misunderstood objects. (Remember the words from James? “But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it.”) So, without desiring the truth of the Lord our God and faithfully committing ourselves to it above anything and anyone else, we will never abandon our pursuit of idols.

But why do we desire anything in the first place? Because we have inherent needs in our human condition, and what we desire is determined by what we need – or believe that we need (want). For as long as we have an unsatisfied need or want, we will desire something that can possibly satisfy it. Now, if we seek to satisfy our desires apart from the truthful knowledge, love and justice of the Lord, and if we are ungrateful and dissatisfied with His provision – not understanding or fully trusting that He knows what we truly need – we will turn our “sight” to something else, just like Oholah and Oholibah did – namely idols. In other words, idolatry is as much a byproduct of the passionate and/or uncontrolled desires that emanate from within our beings as a result of lacking something, as it is the consequence of being deluded about the true nature and purpose of the objects that the Lord our God has created – objects (people, animals, things, places, events and ideas) that we become obsessed with and as a result find terribly hard to resist or set aside because we have firmly perceived in them the potential to satisfy our needs and wants.

Therefore, we can identify our idolatry by noticing when we perceive in something or someone other than God and His Truth, the ability to satisfy our needs, the protection against any restriction to the fulfillment of our needs and the comfort of having our needs satisfied as abundantly and pleasurably as possible.

Another telltale sign of our idolatry is the fear, anxiety or despair we feel at the prospect of being separated from the object we believe holds the promise to satisfy our needs and wants. The more delusional our knowledge of our idols, the more persuaded we will be that in and through them we will satisfy our needs and wants. This is why we fervently seek to continually access and possess them and attach ourselves to them in increasing measure – with pleonexia – for we have found no satiation elsewhere. Being separated from our idols gives rise to many desperate emotions, because we have already set our hearts firmly upon them. They are our treasures and masters, and we cannot bear to live without them. The Parable of the Rich Young Man clearly illustrates this effect of idols built upon a deluded understanding of money and possessions (see Matthew 19:16-26).

These two telltale signs of idolatry are strongly related, just like the delusions and mistakes of our beliefs are tightly related to our passionate covetousness and, possibly, love in the vicious cycle that feeds idolatry. But to understand why idolatry is so stubborn and persistent in our lives, we must first understand our needs as human beings, for this will allow us to identify their corresponding desires. Then we will be able to perceive with a bit more clarity how they interact with our deluded beliefs to form idols in our hearts and minds.

A brief look at the anatomy of human needs.

Human beings have several needs that are inherent to our existence; this point is undeniable. The Bible contains numerous references to satisfying the needs of the needy, such as Deuteronomy 24:14, 1 Samuel 2:8, Esther 9:22, Job 29:16, Psalm 12:15, 72:13, 40:17, 140:12 and Proverbs 14:31, among several others. In fact, Isaiah wrote that the Lord our God has “been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat” (Isaiah 25:4, NRSV). So much, indeed, that “the afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19, NASB).

Now, even though the extent and characteristics of some human needs are shared with many other animal species – such as the need for food – the complete collection of our needs is specifically inherent to human nature and, thus, uniquely representative of human beings. In the New Testament for example, we find that a human being may have the need to: be baptized (Matthew 3:14), be physically and spiritually healthy (Mark 2:17), heed the Word of God (Christ) above anything else (Luke 10:41-42), come to repentance (Luke 15:7), receive instruction (Hebrews 5:12), and receive food and clothing (Luke 13:29, Matthew 6:32-33, Acts 20:34, Romans 12:13, Ephesians 4:28, Philippians 4:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:12). And just like our dear Lord is a refuge for the needy in their distress, those of us who seek to fully dwell in His truthful love must also take care of others’ needs as we are motivated by His love (not to quell our pangs of conscience or to receive praise): “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17, NASB).

While the detailed characteristics, methods of mutual interaction, complete behavioral effects and true origins of our needs are only fully known by the Lord our God, many philosophers, psychologists and scientists throughout history have devoted themselves to observe human behavior in an effort to understand the essence of human beings and identify the characteristics of human nature. As a result, many theories have been put forth regarding why we are the way we are and behave the way we do. Some of these explanations have been for good and some for bad; quite a few have been ludicrous, and a few have been respected and well-accepted, at least for a time.

During the course of their endeavor, it was unavoidable that some of these analytical people became curious to discover why we act at all in relation to something or someone – to understand not just what moves us, which are our emotions, but what makes us move. In this sense, some of them have sought to discover and understand the human needs and the human will. Two concepts that are intimately related, for what we need is what we will, even though what we will very often is not what we need but what we delusionally believe to need or just plain crave.

Truly, need and will are so related that the Hebrew word for "needy" (ebyon-) is rooted in the Hebrew word for “willing” – abah– And abah is the root of yet another intimately related concept: desire (abeh-). So, as I have stated, what we desire depends on what we need and want, even though need and want are not always the same. To make matters even more interesting, let me also mention that abah (willing) is remarkably similar to avah-, which means "desire, inclination or craving," depending on the context in which it is used. Could it be that what we will often passes for what we crave? If so, do we then freely will? But to make this clearer, let’s turn to one of the most recent and respected theories on human needs.

In recent history, perhaps the most renowned work on the identification, description and ordering of human needs comes from Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist who studied people who he considered to be mentally healthy and exemplary, with the purpose of identifying and defining which needs motivated them to behave the way they did. Maslow’s conclusions and resulting suggestions have been both criticized and praised, as can always be expected with such complex topics, but no matter what arguments his critics and apologists make, Maslow’s theories certainly laid the groundwork for further research, refinement and development on the subject of human needs. But even though his model contains flaws, it remains undeniable that human beings do have a set of inherent (ontological) needs, as the Bible also clearly shows, although perhaps not as explicitly as Maslow stated. Therefore, in light of the details Maslow’s model provides, I will use it as the basis for the following elaboration on why our unsatisfied needs drive us to conceive and/or desire false and deceitful ideas [idols] that will become the objects of our devoted veneration.

Maslow defined five categories of human needs: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization. He then grouped the first four categories into what he called deficiency needs, while the last one, self-actualization, he called growth needs. The following is a brief explanation of each category, beginning with the first four deficiency needs.

• Physiological needs are those that must be satisfied in order for a human being to physically survive and grow. As such, these needs include the need to breathe, receive alimentary nourishment and hydration, regulate internal bodily functions, dispose of bodily wastes, sleep, rest and procreate, among others. Maslow also grouped sexual activity, physical activity and bodily comfort into this category – needs that, while not essential for survival, are important to our physiological development and well-being. When these needs go unsatisfied, the deprivation results in feelings of anxiety, dread and the physiological deterioration and eventual death of the person.

• Safety needs are those that require being satisfied by a human being so that he or she can feel secure in terms of his or her physical and mental health. These needs refer to the preservation of the integrity of a human being’s body and its sustained survivability. Thus, the relationship of these needs with the physiological needs is quite evident. Safety needs include the need for protection from harm that may come through violence, theft or any other form of aggression. They also include access to the health services, employment, revenue and resources necessary for survival, physical well-being, reproduction and other physiological activities. These needs are usually satisfied by various mechanisms implemented within a social structure (such as a family). Consequently, they also compel individuals to seek contact with each other and form diverse relationships. When these needs are unsatisfied, the deficiency results in feelings of vulnerability, anxiety, dread, depression and even of aggression that would impede or prevent further vulnerability and fear. The prevalence of these feelings may eventually result in the deterioration of the physical and mental health of the individual, even to the point of death.

• Love/belonging needs are those that must be met in order for an individual to have a sense of belonging and acceptance in their respective social structure and relationships (family, team, gang, community, town, state, country, etc.). These needs are more emotionally-based than the previous two categories but are closely related to safety needs. As such, these needs include communication, social interaction, friendship, sexual intimacy, emotional support and empathy, among others. When love/belonging needs are unsatisfied, the deficiency results in feelings of abandonment, loneliness, anxiety, depression, aggression and social rejection. The prevalence of these feelings can eventually cause death.

• Esteem needs are those that must be satisfied in order for an individual to feel recognized and respected by others. A person needs to feel valued by others in order to confirm his or her sense of capability and competence in comparison to others, thus instilling self-respect and self-worth. Therefore, esteem needs are closely related to safety and love/belonging needs. The satisfaction of esteem needs compels an individual either to seek glory and fame through the respect and praise of others or to build an internal sense of confidence and competence without much care about the opinions of others. When these needs are unsatisfied, the deficiency results in feelings of depression, aggression, incompetence, inferiority, worthlessness or, as way of compensation, a swollen sense of self-importance, narcissism, pride and outright hubris.

In general, Maslow’s deficiency needs are the basic needs of all human beings. However, the manifestation of these needs has also been observed in varying degrees in other animal species – such as primates –, even though their satisfaction is not necessarily achieved through the same activities and mechanisms that human beings employ. Although they often bear a remarkable similarity!

It is usually thought that Maslow considered physiological needs to be the most urgent human needs. Once these were satisfied, an individual could focus his or her attention on the satisfaction of the safety needs and so on successively, all the way to the esteem needs and finally self-actualization needs. In other words, it has been interpreted that Maslow not only defined categories of human needs, but also arranged them in a hierarchy, implying that the higher-level needs would not be satisfied unless the lower-level needs had already been fulfilled. This point has been contended by several other researchers who claim that, while human needs may appear to have a hierarchy that tends to be somewhat consistent between the members of a specific social group or culture, they are nonetheless dynamic and specific to the individual. As such, a category of needs or a single need can supersede other needs at any moment, depending on the prevailing material or perceived emotional circumstances of the individual. For example, a man could strive to fulfill his esteem needs (earning public praise) at the expense of his love/belonging needs (forgoing a meaningful relationship with a loved one or a family). Actually, his desire for public glory may be so overwhelming that he may forget to properly satisfy his physiological needs (by suffering sleep deprivation, hunger, thirst, over-exertion and so on).

However, Francis Heylighen’s further refinements of Maslow’s theories suggest that the dissatisfaction of any one category of needs makes it very difficult for an individual to seek satisfaction within the other categories. Moreover, when an individual finds it impossible to satisfy higher-level needs, he or she may attempt to compensate by over-indulging the category he or she considers him/herself most capable of satisfying. For example, if a woman cannot (or believes she cannot) be loved or establish a satisfactory relationship, she may focus on overindulging some of her physiological needs (such as eating or having sex) and/or her safety needs (such as doing whatever she can to amass wealth) in order to compensate for the lack of love and acceptance – that is, the satisfaction of her love/belonging needs.

This overcompensation, nonetheless, makes it painfully clear that the individual is not satisfied at all. She does not receive satisfaction of the needs she considers herself incapable of satisfying, nor of the needs she overindulges, for a need that is truly satisfied cannot be overindulged. It simply does not allow so. Yet she tries and tries to get satisfaction, as the popular song goes. Sadly, she is stuck in a rut, for nothing she covets or receives from this world will ever be enough.

It is also worth highlighting that under most interpretations and elaborations of Maslow’s model, the dissatisfaction of any of the deficiency needs will produce stress, anxiety and fear – feelings that, in all likelihood, will prevent the individual from seeking to fulfill their self-actualization needs, Maslow’s higher category of needs:

• Self-actualization needs are those that must be satisfied in order to realize an individual’s full potential as a human being. These needs are what may best differentiate mankind from other species because the faculties necessary to fulfill them are exclusive to the human kind. While the dissatisfaction of deficiency needs is a very common problem with equally common symptoms of depression, dread, fear and so on, the dissatisfaction of self-actualization needs is less common because these needs produce the rare desire to truly become more than one is now. However, failure to satisfy these needs causes equally painful and heart aching feelings as the dissatisfaction of the deficiency needs. The desires to be meaningful, to transcend a material existence, to be free, inventive, just, complete and mature belong to the self-actualization needs. In brief, these needs cause the desire to be wholly human. Now, the interpretations of being “wholly human” certainly vary, but in general, Maslow believed that self-actualizers embrace the realities of the world and instead of denying or avoiding them, these people are spontaneous, interested in solving problems, focused on the big picture and inventive. In addition, they appreciate life, feel close to others and have an internal system of morality that allows them to view others without prejudice. Appropriately, according to Maslow and those who have continued to develop his theories, self-actualizers are few and far-between.

It is my view, though, that what Maslow calls self-actualization needs, only can be fulfilled by knowing and abiding in our Lord’s love through Christ. However, these needs are so essential – but conveniently/disastrously hidden far out of our sights within our hearts – to being truly humans, that failure to satisfy them as our first priority has compelled us to focus on and overindulge our deficiency needs, which are closely related to our flesh-nature. In other words, seeking to primarily “live” for the satisfaction of our deficiency needs (and their corresponding desires) ignoring or neglecting our need for God, has taken mankind to build an existence upon sand, instead of the Rock that is Christ.

This brief explanation of Maslow’s model is enough to increase our knowledge of human needs, and even if we do not fully agree with the manner in which Maslow and other philosophers, scholars and behavior scientists have defined and categorized our needs, I encourage you to study this subject in greater depth. Not only will it further your understanding of your own self (what compels and motivates you), but it will also equip you to be more alert against the innumerable deceitful ideas that commercial marketers, political propagandists, spiritual and religious leaders and many other communicators use to persuade us into believing that their offerings will satisfy our needs (whether they offer products, services, thoughts or other messages that, in the end, almost always amount to potential idols). Sadly, these people only strive to kindle the fire of our compulsions to buy what they offer and concede them authority over us. Ultimately, they wish to instill an irresistible want for whatever they offer (as if it were life-sustaining water!). Be aware that if you do not seek to understand your own needs, many others will (and already have), and they will attempt to convince you to believe that you need what they offer.

With this in mind, we can once again turn our attention to our idols: the means by which we wrongfully seek satisfaction. Yet it is also important that I clearly state that human needs are not bad or evil in and of themselves. The Lord our God created us with such needs. The solution to our idolatry is not attempting to shut down or root out our human needs by living a completely ascetic, secluded life, even though this method has been preferred by some. What is evil or good is not our need, but how and with what we satisfy it, which is closely related to the reasons why we satisfy it.

Let me elaborate. Regarding how: We satisfy our needs either with patience, hope, endurance, gratitude, humility, contentment and self-control; or with fear, anxiety, voraciousness, compulsion and desperation.

Regarding with what: We satisfy our needs either with the love, justice and the truth of the Lord our God, which allows us to understand and interact with every created object as they truly are and use or relate to them according to their true purpose; or with the passionate covetousness, ignorance, prejudice, delusion and deceitfulness that drive us into conceiving and adoring idols for our pleasure, possession and abuse.

Regarding the why: We satisfy our needs either through faithful, wise and conscientious obedience which comes from willful submission to the will of God because we have finally understood that without faithfully abiding in Him and His Spirit dwelling in us, we will forever be incomplete and in want; or out of the capricious, explosive and constraining passions that we experience in conjunction with our deluded perceptions of ourselves and everything in existence, resulting a wretched thing that we call our self-will to survive.

An illustration of how our unsatisfied needs can compel us to idolize money and wealth.

As we have seen, when our needs go unsatisfied, we suffer from stress, hopelessness and fear that can eventually cause or accelerate our demise. Thus, when our needs are not met, our lives turn out to be agonizing; so much so, that they can become “a living hell” as the expression goes. Yet, in our lives, we unavoidably must face situations in which some of our needs cannot be satisfied in the manner and at the moment we prefer or even at all! As a consequence, we must endure the stress, hopelessness and fear that accompany the dissatisfaction or complete deprivation of those needs – sometimes even for long periods of time.

Now, the agony that comes from unfulfilled needs usually makes us even more frantic and desperate to satisfy them, no matter what and as soon as possible! This is the State of Agony that human beings usually suffer in life, even under the appearance of abundance. For, as we just saw, the overindulgence of some of our needs amidst abundance (one cannot overindulge unless there is abundance) at the expense of the seemingly less satiable needs does not diminish the burning want within our souls. The thirst to be truly satisfied remains. The overindulging and the coveting to voraciously consume barely ameliorate – just for a little while – the symptoms of our illness, but they certainly do not heal the deficiency. If anything, they make even more tireless the compulsive desires bred by the deficiency.

But so it is that, to the degree that we are separated from the Lord our God, we must suffer this State of Agony that is made even worse by our natural ignorance, illusions and misunderstandings about ourselves and everything else created by God. This agonizing removal from the truth will persist in us for as long as we do not fully give ourselves to the Lord and take His truth to heart. Thus, provided that we lack a faithful and sacrificial love for Him, we must continue to live amidst lies, mistakes and ignorance. This is the State of Delusion of mankind, which is further blinded and confused by our frantic desires to end or avoid the State of Agony. However, I must point out that deceit led to the agony of mankind, not the other way around. But presently, our States of Delusion and Agony have come together to “feed” off of one another, and under both states we have conceived, worshipped and preserved idols for countless generations since the origin of mankind. From the moment we were separated from God and His Truth, we have sought deliverance, comfort and safety in the delusions.

To appreciate more clearly what I just wrote, I will once again bring forth the case of money and wealth, simply because they constitute such a common idol that most of us have related to it, or still do.

Money and wealth have become tremendously powerful forces in our lives because in and through them we have “seen” the ability to satisfy our deficiency needs. Some have also seen in them the possibility of satisfying their self-actualization needs. However, I must underline once again that what really drives us is not money on its own, but our desire for the promises we believe it carries. In other words, what drive us to covet this idol are its perceived promise of fulfillment and a very real fear of suffering agony. These two, the promise of satisfaction and the fear of deprivation, are tremendously powerful forces in our lives.

In the previous chapter, we extensively reviewed what people are willing to do or endure in order to acquire wealth. However, please reflect more now on the deeply held needs and reasonings that drive them to do such things and on how hysterical people can become when they obtain money and despondently agitated when they do not. Extreme emotions are often displayed in relation to this idol, and many TV shows present us with these miserable pictures. But more pressing than thinking about what others are willing to do for this idol, is what you and I are or have been willing to do for it.

Sadly, anyone who mistakenly believes that wealth will satisfy his needs and prevent him from suffering any deprivation will necessarily idolize it. Consequently, food, drink, clothing, housing, vacations, toys, sex and everything the idolizer desires will always be sought in abundance. With this idol in his possession and the deluded ideas about it deeply rooted in his heart and mind, he will trust to never suffer of any unsatisfied physiological want.

Now, if this idolizer of money ever suffers from physical illness or discomfort, he believes that his idol will grant him access to the best doctors and medicines to treat and cure him. In his mind and heart, money is therefore essential to his peace of mind and welfare. Moreover, he ponders, with it he will be able to buy every type of insurance he desires, a home in a well-guarded community and, if his abundance allows, he will even hire guards and implement security devices to keep safe his life, his family and, of course, his wealth. If he actually happens to be very wealthy, he may even buy the favor of influential people who will align their interests with his own (that is, become partial to him) and safeguard his ideas along with his assets and life. And of course, with abundant money at his disposal, he does not need to worry about keeping a job; he does only the things he feels passionate about. In this way, he believes his idol satisfies his safety needs.

Wealth might also make him believe that he is attractive and prominent in the opinion of others because many people admire his great wealth. This, in turn, will buy him companionship of all types, such as a mistress or a perpetually nodding entourage that always adulates him. He may even become convinced that he is the most glorious person in the world or, at least one of them, depending on how great his wealth and how much he can accomplish through it. His wealth will also allow him to earn the titles and honors reserved for those who are prosperous in business and other endeavors that generate plentiful amounts of his idol and, thus, are considered models of success according to the world’s standards. He can even establish charities, foundations and research institutions under his illustrious name to be regarded and eventually remembered as a great benefactor of humanity and who knows? Maybe even as the patron saint of the cure for cancer. Like this, he believes his idol satisfies his love/belonging and esteem needs, and possibly even his self-actualization needs.

However, if and when his money and wealth are gone, or when he realizes that no matter how much he has, he still remains in want, he might finally see that his idol never truly satiated his thirst or hunger, nor allowed him to rest, nor brought him true peace. And even in the unrestrained entertainment of his taste buds and other senses, he surely found no rest because “all things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing or the ear filled with hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8, NRSV).

Almost the same applies to a home and clothing. Far from being content with the warmth and comfort that ordinary houses and clothing provide, money surely induced him to seek ever-bigger homes with increasingly complex features and exotic decorations and appliances. Regarding clothing, he stopped seeing it as something meant to cover and provide warmth to his body, but as a medium to incessantly express his taste, refinement, power and wealth, no matter how uncomfortable the clothes he wore.

To this man wealth only brought an apparent comfort which sedated him into a slumbering jadedness to the sad realities of this world. Pleasures that in the apparent ease they seem to bring, we become oblivious of the illnesses that eat at our souls. Therefore, his idol never gave him true rest, health or peace, but compelled him to tax his health and deteriorate his body in his gluttonous endeavors. And this waned health was never truly cured by all the expensive medicines and treatments he received when he finally got ill; they only bought him more time on the earth, and what for? To keep overindulging and trading his life for money, wealth and pleasures? Neither did his idol bring him true security; instead, he constantly felt vulnerable and anxious about safeguarding the assets from which he derived his “security.” How ironic. He probably felt even more insecure than those who have no money to be stolen and this is the reason why he paid so much to protect and guard himself with insurance, weapons, guards and every other possible device. Beneath it all, nothing truly kept him safe nor at peace.

Lastly, money never allowed this man to experience true love and friendship, or to have profound relationships. All the fame and glory lavished upon him by others in the form of accolades were mere lip service in exchange for favors that came from his wealth and social status. His entourage, “friends,” “lovers” and allies, never truly cared about him. In fact, they envied and resented him and only cared about the money he could help them “secure.” Yet, in all fairness, he probably knew all along the true intentions of everyone around him, and this made him all the more distrustful and cynical about their nature. As a result, he further shut out anyone who might have truly loved him. In his idolatry, he probably even learned to hate his fellow men and women for their fear, greed, envy and hypocrisy. His wealth helped him hide from them so that the only fearful, greedy, envious and hypocritical person he would encounter was the man staring back at him in the mirror.

Clearly, not everyone undergoes the same consequences of greed because we suffer of it in different degrees. But without exception, the pursuit of wealth leads to terrible experiences when it is the driving force of our lives! In truth, money is meant to be used only as a means of exchange in order to have easier and shared access to the goods and services that satisfy our physiological needs and, up to some extent, allow us for bodily comfort and physical safety when employed with true wisdom; But even with all of these, “better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and trouble with it, better is a dinner of vegetable where love is than a fatted ox with hatred” (Proverbs 15:16-17, NRSV).

However, as we should very well know by now, wealth must never be considered the principal or exclusive medium to satisfy any of our needs, for in the satisfaction of our most important ones – repentance, heeding the truthful Word of God above anything else and faithfully dwelling in His love – it is worthless.

The many harmful lies surrounding this idol have contributed to a human existence filled with continuous blunders and veiled fear, arrogance, emptiness, futility and agony, rather than true security, well-being, satisfaction and peace within our hearts and minds. Worst of all, is that for as long as we remain under the influence of our very real needs with the fear of not fulfilling them and the ignorance of God’s truthful love and justice, we will continue to relentlessly seek this idol and/or any other “promising” god.

Where our idolatry will persistently lead us.

Clearly, the longer our needs remain unsatisfied, the more overpowering our yearnings to satisfy them will be. The State of Agony will fuel our passions and, if not controlled, compel us to seek solace in every possible object we perceive as attractive for such purpose. Bearing this in mind with everything we have learned in this chapter, it is now easier to see how idolatry does not limit itself to trinkets or images that represent a so-called deity, or to the wealth of the examples we have seen so far. Our unsatisfied needs and resulting passionate desires can make us idolize any object, depending on how much it affects us and how ignorant or deceived we are about its true purpose and origin. There is a potential idol for every desire of our hearts and minds, a flavor for every taste, a color for every eye.

Idols, therefore, can be material (every possible physical object) and abstract (every possible thought and idea); although idolatry is ultimately completely imaginary because it is the manifestation of our deluded but blindly coveted ideas. As we have seen, ideas and idols belong to the realm of thought. So, when the truthful Word of the Lord shines brightly upon the delusions and ignorance of our hearts and minds, we will finally see all our idols for what they are: absolutely nothing that should merit our desire or love.

In the meantime, we will keep on inventing and worshipping idols out of everything and everyone, including our family, friends and of course the “personalities” we look up to in TV shows, sports, the arts, religion, politics and academia. Anyone and everyone can be transformed into an idol. We can also idolize objects like food, clothing, tech gadgets, drugs, nature, wildlife, the sea, the earth, the sky, the moon and the stars. And let us not forget the idolization of activities such as sports, professions, arts and crafts and ministries, for we usually idolize activities in conjunction with our preferred representatives of them. We can also idolize the concepts and ideas that belong to science, technology, philosophy and religion, along with any ideology built around them like patriotism, nationalism, capitalism, socialism, communism, creationism, evolutionism and every other “ism,” economic austerity or splurge, religious doctrines, political affiliation and countless more. We can even idolize God and the Bible, and in this delusion about the one true God, we end up conceiving yet another man-made god, having few or no elements of the truth.

In brief, we can idolize (or idealize) anything and everything! As many gods and myths there were in the Pantheons of old age around the whole world, at least as many idols there are today and we tend to love and/or covet most, if not all, of them. A human being hardly ever feels pleased with only one idol in his or her life because as we discover throughout our earthly existence that our idols do not bring true fulfillment, we must necessarily conceive or expose ourselves to a greater variety of idols, hoping that each will lead us closer to contentment. A fool’s hope, indeed, but where, then, should our hope be?

The needs that cause us to seek satisfaction are unavoidable in this existence, for, I reiterate, they are inherent to our human condition. However, the nature of their resulting desires is governable by our hearts and minds, as they become increasingly cleansed and steered by our Lord’s Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Blind, deluded and apparently purposeful desires can give way to clear and truly purposeful desires in and for Him. So we need not be wary of our needs, but of our compulsive desires and delusions.

Therefore, we can truly hope that our Lord will cleanse our hearts and minds in proportion to how faithfully we give ourselves to Him to live and grow in the understanding of His truthful love and justice. Only in and through Him we can find our meaning and become fully human as He has destined us to be, with our needs included, but certainly without our deluded wants. For even if mankind has sought thousands upon thousands of gods for satisfaction and purpose, the following is true to us:

First epistle to the Corinthians 8:1-6 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’ 5lndeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

But in absence of the love of God and in the proportion that we ignore the essential truth of His sovereignty and of our profound need for Him, we will remain deluded about the true origin, nature and purpose of everything that has been created by the Lord our God. We will therefore continue to passionately covet His creation as mere objects (things, people, places, events and ideas) in which we have mistakenly “seen” the possibility of deliverance from our fears, needs and agonizing vulnerability – objects about which we do not know the truth, for if we did, we would never have idolized them. Yet “the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities, and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are” (Niccolo Machiavelli).

As long as we exchange the truth of God for lies and give the honor and glory that we owe to Him to idols, we will continue to suffer the self-inflicted woes that are inseparable from idolatry. Indeed, idolatry is inextricably attached to grievous pains, no matter how exciting or soothing it may be for a while. When we exchange the glory of God for the alluring attractiveness of idols, and the deeply humble gratitude that we owe Him alone for the entitlement we believe we have to fleeting satisfaction, we choose to be punished, sooner or later, by the very objects we covet – just like Oholah and Oholibah did. Since idols offer no true salvation but only its promise, at least one moment must come when the emptiness of the delusion and the disastrous consequences of having chosen it will dawn upon every one of us. When this happens, we will undoubtedly experience the appalling agony that belongs to the delusion of love.

Therefore, it is with such deluded and mistaken choices that in greater or lesser degree we have condemned ourselves to lives plagued with degrading passions, corrupt desires and evil lies that yield exactly what we sought to avoid in the first place by inventing and worshipping idols: a “living Hell.” The apostle Paul described:

The epistle to the Romans 1:18-32 (NASB)

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in (or by) unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within (or among) them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (or reptiles).

24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a (or the) lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural (or against nature), 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent (or shameless) acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God (or to have God in knowledge) any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed [the Greek word here is pleonexia], evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

The terrible things described in these verses – particularly in v. 24-31 – are the consequences of our idolatry. As soon as mankind lost sight of the glorious truth of the Lord our God (in the Garden of Eden), our relationship with our Creator became increasingly distant. As shortsightedness progressed to blindness, mankind’s faith in and knowledge of God ceased, and with this so did our love for Him. In this new situation, far from giving honor and glory to the Lord our God, mankind gave its faith and love to images, – mere ideas – that were delusionally believed to be powerful by themselves. Although they have taken different forms throughout history, these false and deceitful ideas are still honored and glorified to this very day. In this idolatry, mankind has become profoundly estranged from the sole power that can actually deliver us from our essentially destructive servitude of idols: the love of God.

So it is that in place of our Lord’s steadfast love, mankind has fallen for the delusion of love or delusional love, both of which are a synonym of idolatry, for the first consists of lust and every other form of covetousness for idols and the second is a genuine self-giving that is nonetheless done in relation to a delusionally understood object (and as such, an idol). Thus, since both are based upon falsity, error and/or deceit, they constitute idolatry; which is the origin of all the attractive, complacent, exciting and often applauded evils in this existence. The following words from the deuterocanonical book of the Wisdom of Solomon shockingly describe this phenomenon and are an apt summary of this chapter.

Wisdom of Solomon 14:12-31 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

12 For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life; 13 for they did not exist from the beginning, nor will they last forever. 14 For through human vanity they entered the world, and therefore their speedy end has been planned.

15 For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement, made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him; he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations. 16 Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshiped. 17 When people could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance, they imagined their appearance far away, and made a visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.

18 Then the ambition of the artisan impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship. 19 For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skillfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form, 20 and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a human being. 21 And this became a hidden trap for humankind, because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.

22 Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but though living in great strife due to ignorance, they call such great evils peace. 23 For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs, 24 they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery, 25 and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury, 26 confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, defiling of souls, sexual perversion, disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.27 For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. 28 For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; 29 for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm. 30 But just penalties will overtake them on two counts: because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols, and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness. 31 For it is not the power of the things by which people swear, but the just penalty for those who sin, that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

All this has happened to mankind since we exchanged the truth of God for a wicked, yet very attractive, lie! – A lie that has had many profound ramifications, resulting in more elaborate deceits that have brought countless evils and indescribable agony to mankind for centuries. Sadly, these false ideas are wholeheartedly believed to this very day. Seeking to escape from our State of Agony, we have become further ensnared by our State of Delusion, and together, these two states have taken our lives to the complete State of Misery that comes with idolatry.

But before I finish this chapter and turn our attention to the idolatry (or deluded love) of our “loved” ones and ourselves, let me state this very clearly: No matter how many idols have been conceived in this world, how attractive they may seem, how truthful we believe they are or how insufferable we feel our lives will become without them; never forget that it is possible to leave all of them behind. As I have stated, the more we honestly and unreservedly commit ourselves to the truth, love and justice of the Lord our God, the more He delivers us from servitude to idols. It is in such sanctification that we find true salvation – all thanks to Him through His beloved Son, our dear Lord Jesus Christ! This, however, does not mean that we will have a completely comfortable and painless existence. But it will be a peaceful one.

Yes, we all have needs, and some of us suffer their dissatisfaction more than others, but that does not matter. As anguishing as it is to have any or all of our needs unfulfilled, or to contemplate the possibility of suffering their deprivation for any length of time, let us not succumb to pain, fear or any other emotion that will tempt and then compel us into idolatry and all its dreadful consequences. Let us not be like those who in fear asked Aaron to make them an idol in the wilderness, or like Oholah and Oholibah. We have more than good reasons to stand firm in our Lord and patiently wait on Him because, to begin with, remember that every temptation corresponds to the desires that stem from our innate human needs, and “13no testing (or temptation) has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say” (1 Corinthians 10:13-15, NRSV).

Moreover, we can count on the certainty of these beautiful and sustaining words:

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NRSV)

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Additionally, the Lord our God knows exactly what each and every one of us needs, even before we ask for it, just as it is written:

The Gospel according to Matthew 6:7-8 (NASB) (Emphasis added)

7“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

So, let us fully trust in Him and not in any idol. Fear not, slumber not and do not despair either, for:

Psalm 23:1-6 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Therefore, let us be diligent, alert, wise, strong, purposeful and courageous in understanding and fulfilling His will, for that should be our foremost want, our essential need and our greatest source of satisfaction, since in it we will find true life, not just earthly survival. Be constantly mindful that He does not forsake us, and He knows – much better than we do – when the time is right to grant us what we truly need as His creation, His sons and daughters.

Let us, then, patiently endure, not allowing the urgency of our needs and wants to cause us to invent and covet futile and deceiving idols. Truly, there is absolutely no salvation in them. And no matter how difficult or painful the circumstances in which we find ourselves may be or how fearful they render us, remember that “the wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Only true love keeps us from fear.

Lastly, never forget that every need, fear and pain that we experience will pass away with everything else of this world, but the salvation of our dear God is eternal. This much He has assured us, so “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be for ever, and my deliverance will never be ended” (Isaiah 51:6, NRSV).

Does anything or anyone besides our dear God offer such hope?

8

YOU, MY LOVE, GIVE MEANING TO MY LIFE

All idols are dangerous and destructive. Moreover, their worship distances us from the Lord our God, without exception. However, some idols are potentially more dangerous than others because the worship of them is more habitual and widespread. For example, we are more susceptible of idolizing money than, say, of idolizing the moon, for wealth is idolized by the great majority of people around the world. Consequently, widely worshipped idols have a greater impact on our lives. Because of this, I believe it is very important to promptly identify these common, false ideas that we blindly covet or give ourselves to [love]. Although not by forgetting to also identify and abandon every other idol in our lives.

So what we learned in the previous chapter about our needs and the State of Agony in which we live because of the deprivation of such needs and our State of Delusion concerning God’s creation and our place in it, will now help us identify two more dangerous idols that are necessary to a full comprehension of the delusion of love.

The two types of idols I am referring to are the idols we build around ourselves and the idols we build up in other people. These two types of idols are so prevalent, habitual and deeply rooted in our hearts and minds that they may be even more common than the idolatry of money. But regardless of their commonality, throughout these final three chapters we will also explore another important fact about the different types of idols we worship : The more lost we become in the deceitfulness of all idols the more intimately they interact with one another and the harder it is to identify them individually.

As we saw in the previous chapter, in addition to our physiological and safety needs, every human being also needs to feel like a loved and esteemed member of a social group. We all need to fit in and feel respected by at least a few of our peers, although preferably by as many as possible.

More importantly, we also need to feel loved, supported and cared for, especially by the people we love – those with whom we seek physical and emotional intimacy, of whom the best example may be a spouse.

These love/belonging and esteem needs are innate to mankind. No human being was ever meant to live in a continuous state of emotional or physical isolation as the following words clearly show:

Genesis 2:18-25 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

18 Then Yahweh God said, “it is not good that the man is alone. I will make for him a helper as his counterpart.”19 And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called that living creature was its name. 20 And the man gave names to every domesticated animal and to the birds of heaven and to all the wild animals. But for the man there was not found a helper as his counterpart. 21 And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. While he slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh where it had been. 22 And Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said,

“She is now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she shall be called ‘Woman’, for she was taken from man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife, both of them, were naked, and they were not ashamed.

Human beings were created to live in community. Living in isolation, unloved and un-cared for, is deeply agonizing because it goes against our nature. Anyone who has experienced such solitude will understand the feelings of depression, incomprehension, ostracism and even worthlessness that come with it. Needless to say these are awful feelings that for as long as our love/belonging and esteem needs remain unsatisfied, will keep on causing the sort of maddening pain, anxiety and fear in our lives that we will want to avoid at all costs and by all means possible. Even by inventing and/or worshipping idols out of other people. Particularly those we desire to love or lust for and feel loved or lusted by.

Remember the words I quoted in Chapter 1 from Thomas B. Macaulay concerning the delusion of love? “A passion fond even to idolatry.” Macaulay actually wrote them in reference to the idol that Mary Stuart (also known as Mary II, former Queen of England) built up in her husband William Henry Orange (also known as William II and III, former King of England). Their story is a great example of how deeply and devoutly one human being can idolize another. But right now let us look at another, surely more readily available example of this type of idolatry: the story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah in Genesis 29-31. Please take the time to read this story before reading on in this text, for this particular narrative has been romanticized by many as an example of the patient endurance of love, but how true is this?

On the very first moment Jacob saw Rachel, he was smitten by her presence. The very sight of her prompted him to accomplish great feats of strength (he rolled the stone from a well’s mouth) and competence (he watered her father’s flock of sheep), in order to attract her attention. You know, this is the sort of things that some of us men may have been impelled do in order to attract an interested glance from the girl we like, the one who makes our hearts race. Kind of like swelling our chests, flexing our muscles or anything that basically helps us display our colorful feathers like excited peacocks.

As soon as Jacob finished performing his attention-gathering deeds, he kissed Rachel and immediately lifted up his voice and wept. Wow! Was he love-struck or what?! Even though the Bible does not tell us exactly why Jacob cried, there is nothing in the story to indicate that he wept out of sorrow or pain. As a result, his shout and tears were simply an outpouring of his emotions for Rachel. Think about it for a minute. Are these not the type of lovesick feelings that some of us may have also experienced when we found our significant other? Feelings that may be as thoughtless as the yearning to kiss a girl before actually speaking to her for the very first time? Well, that’s what Jacob actually did; only after kissing Rachel he introduced himself to her as a kinsman of her father Laban, for he was the son of Laban’s sister, Rebekah. As a result, Jacob would be very well received in Laban’s home.

A month after Jacob’s arrival – I like to think he spent those 30 days conspicuously drooling over Rachel – this episode took place:

Genesis 29:15-23 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are my brother should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wage should be.” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Now the eyes of Leah were dull, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel and said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”19 Then Laban said, “Better that I give her to you than I give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 And Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they were as a few days in his eyes because he loved her. 21 And Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered all the men of the place and prepared a feast. 23 And it happened that in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he went in to her.

Now we know why Jacob was so smitten by Rachel! Although we likely suspected it already: Rachel was said to be beautiful in form and appearance. Now, please recall that in the previous chapter we learned that both ideas and idols are conceived out of perceived forms, images and appearances. In this sense, I suggest that from the moment Jacob saw Rachel, her appealing form and appearance sparked intense enough emotions within him that he began to idolize her in his heart and mind. And Jacob ended up loving this idol so much that he worked and waited for “it” for seven years! “Rachel as an idol?” you may ask. Yes, and let’s see why.

At the beginning of this story, we are clearly told that the only thing Jacob knew about Rachel when they met was that she was the daughter of Laban, his uncle. That much he had been told by the shepherds from Haran. This was the first time he had ever seen her, so what he suddenly, but passionately, felt for her was what we might call “love at first sight.” But exactly because they did not know each other at all, we must wonder who or what did Jacob really love? Rachel herself, or her form and appearance? These two are obviously not the same.

After seven years and one month of working and waiting to marry Rachel, Jacob completed his servitude to Laban and said to him, “Give me my wife, that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” This is another way of saying to a father-in-law, “Give me my wife, your daughter, because I want to have sex with her.” In his urgent words, Jacob expressed his strong desire for Rachel’s beautiful form and appearance more than for Rachel herself. These words, by the way, are coarse and demeaning, but that is how the love for idols turns out to be. Sadly, this form of idolatry is extremely common among human relationships.

We tend to fall in love with someone’s appearance above anything else, giving ourselves to a delusion instead of a true person. Thus, our love is generally delusional, for we are frequently attracted to one another’s apparent beauty and demeanor, and it is quite easy to become obsessed with someone else’s superficial beauty. Physical attractiveness is what we are inclined to desire the most in other people and because we know it, this is one of the reasons why we give so much importance to our looks and everything apparent. Sadly, certain physical traits have become a priority in our social interactions, if not the priority. Although we may say over and over that we must not judge a book by its cover, that is exactly what we tend to do. In fact, if we continue the metaphor, we usually care little about the contents of the book; our interest resides in mainly browsing its pictures and admiring its design and font styles. In the literal sense, why do you think society gives so much attention to designing the covers and packaging of so many things? Superficial attractiveness can entice our desire for them quite effectively.

Indeed, beauty is so desirable that people relentlessly want to be perceived as beautiful just to be recognized as attractive and desirable themselves. Regrettably, in this we can see once again how idolatry runs rampant in the show of appearances that we have staged for ourselves as the deluded, passionate and needy human beings that we are when not fully abiding in our Lord – a tragedy that always has room for tears and suffering, just like the story Jacob, Rachel and Leah proves.

The day Jacob had longed for finally arrived. At last, he was to marry Rachel. Preparations were made for a feast to celebrate the occasion and everything seemed to be fine. That evening, Laban presented his daughter to Jacob as his wife, and Jacob was to finally have the physical intimacy he had long anticipated. Satisfaction was at hand. But lo and behold! When the sun rose the following morning, who did Jacob see instead of Rachel by his side? It was Leah! Laban had pulled the “old switcheroo,” much like Jacob had tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him his brother’s blessing. Laban disguised Leah as Rachel, just as Jacob had disguised himself as Esau to take advantage of Isaac’s blindness. Perhaps Jacob had been blind too, even if not physically.

Jacob was alarmed. He felt deceived and frustrated, but Laban calmly excused himself on grounds of his country’s customs. They always gave the firstborn daughter in marriage before the youngest, and Leah was his firstborn, though Laban had somehow omitted to state this fact for seven years. In his mind, however, there was no reason to fret; he simply proposed that Jacob complete a week of marriage to Leah, and afterwards he could also marry Rachel in exchange for another seven years of service. How convenient to Laban, wasn’t it? But Jacob accepted Laban’s terms because of his great love and desire (which had probably converged to become lust by then) for Rachel. Soon after, he finally attained what he wanted: physical intimacy with Rachel.

I propose that Jacob’s love had probably turned into lust because of two of the telltale signs we studied in Chapter 5:

1. Lust makes us careless and easily deceived. On top of being deluded about who Rachel actually was, the way in which Laban was able to deceive Jacob makes his blinding lust evident.

2. Love motivates; lust compels. While Jacob’s love for Rachel initially motivated him to work seven years in order to marry her, the urgency with which he asked Laban for her suggests compulsive lust to satisfy his physiological needs more than willful and conscious love [self-giving] for Rachel.

But where and how did this whole situation leave Leah? Can you imagine how she must have felt when she discovered that she was not enough to satisfy her (reluctant) husband? She probably wondered why he found her less attractive than her sister. In any case, all we know is that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, although I believe that Jacob loved Rachel’s looks rather than Rachel herself and this is also the reason why he didn’t love Leah. Because she had dull eyes.

When the Lord our God saw that Leah was unloved, He blessed her with a fertile womb, while Rachel remained infertile at the time. Nevertheless, what Leah wanted, more than anything, was to be loved by Jacob:

Genesis 29:31-35 (LEB)

31 When Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I am unloved. Now my husband will love me.” 33 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “It is because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved that he gave me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, for I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, she called his name Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased bearing children.

These verses tell us of Leah’s misery. Her husband did not love her, yet she strenuously strived to earn his love. So great was her need to be loved that she conceived three sons as a means of catching Jacob’s attention. Sadly, the birth of those babies did not fulfill her purpose. And who of us can judge her? Can you imagine what it must have been for her to feel so ignored and unloved by her husband? Can you picture how attached she must have grown to Jacob in order to fulfill her need? How she must have longed for an approving nod, a kind word, a warm glance or a gentle caress. It breaks the heart to think about it, and many of us know the pain of a broken heart. Thousands of songs have been sung about the terrible heartache that comes with unreturned love. Thousands of soap operas, movies, plays and romantic novels have also revolved around the topic of unreturned love and the painful forlornness that comes with it.

But the agonizing feelings brought on by our unsatisfied needs are what compel us into idolatry, as we have studied. Urgent yet unsatisfied needs produce intense desires that easily turn into obsessions, as we can see in Leah’s case. Without Jacob’s love and attention, she considered herself miserable. Her unsatisfied need to be loved and accepted, along with her basic misunderstanding of whom and what Jacob was, compelled her to “see” him as the axis of her life. As such, earning his love – and with it, satisfying her needs – became her utmost priority.

Even though Leah openly acknowledged the Lord’s blessing in allowing her to conceive, she named her first two sons after her desire to be loved by Jacob. Leah’s third son was named after her yearning to be joined by him, for she was still far from receiving the attention and love she coveted from Jacob. How disappointed she must have been, how sorrowful! But what else could she do in her obsession?

Yet, should one human being ever become the reason for another’s existence? Should anyone become so attached to someone that they make them their sole source of satisfaction in life? Or should people have babies only to retain his/her couple or “save” their relationship? Have you ever witnessed or suffered this type of addictive and obsessive longings? This is the result of our idolatry of one another.

Thankfully, there is a cure for this sort of obsession, and for every type of idolatry, for that matter. We can see it in action immediately after Leah bore her fourth son, Judah, whom she named in complete gratitude to and praise to God, without a single reference to Jacob and her obsession with him. At this point in the story, Leah finally enjoys some peace from her longings.

However, the drama of the story does not take long to spike up again, providing an opportunity for us to see some more of the hateful consequences of idolatry. We will now see just a few examples of the many dreadful things named in Romans 1:28-32.

Genesis 30:1-24 (NASB)

1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.” 2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.” 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan. 7 Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Cad. 12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 She named him joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”

Initially, it was Leah who envied and resented Rachel for capturing Jacob’s love. But in time, Rachel began to covet Leah’s ability to bear children. From then on, Jacob’s two wives engaged in a sad competition to bear more of his children, either by themselves or through surrogates (their respective servants). Their individual needs to be loved, honored, esteemed and happy depended more on the children they could bear and the resulting attention they received from Jacob than on anything else. The two sisters, far from establishing a loving relationship as sisters should, were rivals desperately trying to satisfy their individual desires produced by their common needs. How paradoxical! Alas, their idolatry – the delusion of love – drove them to disunity.

However, neither of their needs was ever truly fulfilled by their actions. In fact, the increased competition and the mounting degree of treachery both exercised to achieve their ever-elusive satisfaction testify that no amount of striving after our deluded ideas can truly meet our needs. As with every form of idolatry, the happiness Leah and Rachel received with every newborn child and moment of Jacob’s attention was fleeting at best.

Even after God healed Rachel’s infertility and allowed her to bear a son of her own, she remained unsatisfied. Sadly, it seems that all of the ugly feelings and thoughts that had taken place between her, Leah and Jacob seeped too deep into her heart. Rachel named her son Joseph in hopes that the Lord would give her another child. The display of our God’s gracious love in this miraculous birth was not enough for Rachel; just as His grace is often not enough for us. We want more.

Likewise, the moment of peace Leah enjoyed when she fully acknowledged God’s blessing in Judah was only that, a moment. Afterwards, she stumbled again into covetousness and envy when she saw that Rachel, who was barren at the time, was having children of her own through her servant Bilhah. Leah must have felt that this threated her small portion of Jacob’s attention, regardless of how unsuccessful her efforts to engage him had been thus far.

When I read this story, I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if Leah had contented herself with the first four children that the Lord allowed her to have? Instead of desiring Jacob’s love and esteem, what if she had sought to learn about and embody the love of the Lord above all else? What if she had understood that the true purpose of her children had nothing to do with helping her attract Jacob’s love? How would history have changed? And what if Rachel had done the same when she gave birth to Joseph? Would she have stolen the idol from her father when she, Jacob, Leah and their kin eventually left Laban’s land? Of course, it is pointless to hope for any of these alternate turning points in the story; the events served a purpose just as they happened. But can you imagine what would have happened if Leah had then made the Lord the main axis of her existence and His truth, justice and love the objects of her desire? Do you think she would have continued to idealize [idolize] Jacob, or rear their children as a means to attain Jacob’s affection? Would dwelling in the truthful love of God have allowed her to unselfishly love Jacob, Rachel and her children more than just coveting or envying them? Wouldn’t she have also lived peacefully instead of miserably?

Far from helping us reach peace and contentment, the passion and covetousness (whether it is greed, lust, envy or any other type of pleonexia) of our idolatry never goes away and therefore no idol can truly satisfy our needs. At best they can only provide a temporary rest from the burning emotions and obsessions we experience from our unsatisfied needs and wants. This, in turn, compels us to seek more intense experiences (like augmented dosages) with our idols in an effort to ameliorate the pain or forget about the stress and fear of not being truly satisfied. The predicament is that idols only offer a promise of satisfaction, and in this they are no different from a mind-altering drug. They can alter our emotional state for a while, but when the effect wears off, the thirst and hunger of our needs and wants will pain us even more sorely, thus fueling our addiction to idols.

I do not love you; I love my idea of you.

Despite all Jacob’s passionate love for Rachel that motivated him to wait seven years as if they were but a few days to marry her, the progression of their story shows the unfortunate results of loving someone on account of their seeming beauty. Because beneath Rachel’s fine-looking “form and appearance,” ugliness lurked within her heart. Indeed, regardless of how good-looking we may be, our physical attractiveness will not be a reflection of our inner condition if we have not been fully purified in the truth and love of the Lord our God.

Rachel’s inner ugliness expressed itself in her vicious contention against her sister, the use of her maid as a surrogate, her trade of Jacob’s sexual favors for a few fruits, her lack of contentment with the Lord’s blessings and her stealing of her father’s idols. In these actions we can see an enormous contrast between the beauty of her appearance and the ugliness within her heart.

But because Jacob did not know or understand Rachel’s heart, he loved and eventually became obsessed with who he understood her to be: her appearance – the knowledge of her that he formed in his heart and mind based on the very little he had seen of her. And as it often goes with those of us who have passionately loved the alluring appearances of someone else, Jacob suffered from his desire to have access to, enjoy, possess and enjoin himself to his idea of Rachel. Something that Jacob must have done quite capriciously too, for their whole story does not depict a faithful relationship based on fruitful love or strong communion and mutual understanding. In fact, and regardless of the initial great love that Jacob felt for Rachel, the rest of their story depicts a marital union so weak as to allow Rachel to exchange Jacob’s sexual favors to Leah for a few mandrakes! This abuse of persons is a common result of our idolatrous relationships, not only because they are based on the desire to satisfy our own individual needs and wants more than those of our “loved” ones, but also because our inability to see people as whole beings and comprehend their hearts leads us to treat them like inanimate, soulless objects.

The importance of attractive appearances is so great to our blind eyes that many men objectify women by fixating only on their physical features. In this regard, The Daily Princetonian published a study conducted by Susan Fiske, Jennifer Eberhardt and Mina Cikara on 21 undergraduate male students that suggests the following: “The pictures of bikini-clad women activated brain regions associated with objects or ”things you manipulate with your hands,” Fiske said. The students also remembered the photos of the half-naked women better than they did any of the others, she added, noting that the subjects remembered the bodies, not the faces, most clearly. Fiske said the results indicated that some men may objectify or dehumanize partially clothed women, though further research is needed to confirm these findings.”[1]

Thus, failure to understand and value the wholeness of another human being will always result in idolatry. In the case of romantic relationships, our delusions will make us give ourselves not to a human being, but to our false idea (idol) of a person who in our delusion has been reduced to the equivalent of an object that can satisfy our needs to love and be loved among others. Moreover, as soon as love turns into lust, delusional love becomes the delusion of love, and misery will take little time to appear in the forms of sexual abuse, deviation and exploitation of every kind, emotional cruelty, degradation, hatred, fighting and so on. All of them as a consequence of the lust to satisfy our own needs with and through others, something the apostle Paul clearly warned against:

The first epistle to the Thessalonians 4:1-8 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 4that each one of you knows how to control your own body in holiness and honour, 5not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one wrongs or exploits a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these thing, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

The Greek term translated as “exploits” in verse 6 is pleonekteó, which we studied in Chapter 6 in connection to greed: “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed [pleonexian] (which is idolatry)” (Colossians 3:5, NRSV).

Simply stated, to lust after, sexually use or exploit another being is idolatry.

Therefore, if we ever find ourselves suffering from lustful desires, we must be extremely careful not to reduce another human being to the appearance or function of his or her body for our own pleasure. Perceiving human beings as a function of their physical features is the same as not seeing them at all, but seeing instead an object or, more correctly, an idol. This is why the imagination and enjoyment of attractive features of men and women (for example, sexy pictures and pornography of all types) are so nefarious! They only aid the objectification of human beings and lead to a lust-based idolatry that will certainly result in degradation, abuse and exploitation.

In addition, the portrayal of our own selves as objects of sensual and sexual desire by wearing alluring clothing and provocative makeup and accessories, or undergoing cosmetic surgery will always encourage the objectification of our own beings. The lust that human beings feel for these eye-catching appearances combines with their constant desire to be seen as good-looking and attractive – and the downward spiral continues. In the end, these life-controlling passions that are enticed by appearances and impressions (synonyms of image) perpetuate the despicable delusion that has driven us to many of the things Paul described in Romans 1:24-27. Sadly, we continually confirm what is written in the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom of Solomon 14:12 (NRSV): “For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life.”

Knowing this, is it any wonder that the apostle Peter required the following of the community wives to which he wrote his letter?

The first epistle of Peter 3:3-4 (NRSV)

3Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; 4rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.

The adornment of our bodies with attractive apparel (which is called apparel because it has everything to do with appearance), hair styles, make up, jewelry and other elements that on their own have become idols, or through the alteration of our body features so that we may become more desirable, only assists in the idolization of our bodies and faces and in the consequential objectification (or dehumanization) of our whole beings. Far from being seen as complete human beings, lust and vanity transforms us into enticing objects for the purpose of being used and consumed. But what else can be expected in this world of illusions and lies that cares little about the true beauty of the inner self? Which is nothing else than the splendor of a purified heart and the magnificence of a renewed spirit in Christ.

But the falsity of our ideas about one another and passionate desires for misconstrued mental images does not end with external appearances; they also spread to our perception of other people’s personalities precisely because the inner character of a human being is quite difficult to discern. Yet, insofar that we do not truly know and understand the person(s) we claim to love, what we end up loving is not the actual person, but our idea of him or her. In other words, we love our conception of a person; a conception that exists only in our hearts and minds for there it was conceived, bearing little or no resemblance to the truth of them.

So, our hollow ideas about other people are made even worse by our superficial understanding of their personalities. Thus, we tend to effectively reduce our fellow human beings to abstract, yet essentially lifeless and mistaken, ideas [idols] to which we can relate – or hate as we’ll soon see. However, this lack of true discernment does not stop us from conceiving in some of them personality traits that suit our desires, such as high morals, good manners, wisdom, intelligence, kindness, education, unconventionality, strength of character and charisma. Precisely because we desire them, personality traits can be just as attractive as a beautiful body and face. There is hardly anything a person desires and loves in another more than a gorgeous appearance reflected in an attractive personality as we will learn in the next example.

The story we will now discuss is a much more popular tale of idolatry between lovers (although usually not acknowledged as such) than that of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Its author is William Shakespeare, and its name is Romeo and Juliet. Although it has lost some of its luster in recent times, many have considered this play to be the epitome of romantic and passionate love. As such, it provides a great example of the feelings and thoughts that boil down to, “I can’t live without you” and, “You, my love, give meaning to my life.”

We usually place the beginning of this romance in the Party Scene when Romeo first sees Juliet walking down the stairs at her father’s side, for at that moment – very much like when Jacob first saw Rachel – he is profoundly struck by Juliet’s beauty in form and appearance. As is common in most delusional loves, Romeo’s fervent feelings for Juliet were initially aroused only by physical attraction, as we can read in Act 1, Scene 5:

-Romeo. [To a Serving man] ‘What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand

Of yonder knight?’

-Servant. ‘I know not, sir.’

-Romeo. ‘O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!

So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,

As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.

The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,

And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.

Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!

For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.’

Nonetheless; this was not the first time Romeo had been bedazzled by a woman’s outward beauty. He had been lovesick before. In Act 1, Scene 2, we discover that Romeo’s frustrated love for another woman is the reason he attends this party in the first place. Benvolio, Romeo’s friend, had urged him to forget about his old passionate love (or shall I say idol?), Rosaline. She had made such a profound impression upon Romeo that when his friend told him that he would meet a woman whose beauty would make him forget Rosaline at the party, Romeo doubtfully expressed:

‘One fairer than my love! The all-seeing sun

Ne’er saw her match since first the world begun.’

However, it soon becomes clear that Benvolio was right. Romeo’s love for Rosaline and his exaggerated opinion of her beauty come to a swift end when he encounters Juliet (“Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks”).

Although this is a fictitious play, I wonder if Juliet’s beauty was more striking than Rosaline’s? Or, for that matter, if Rachel was truly more beautiful than Leah? Is there an impartial and consistent method for measuring physical beauty? If so, do we even know and understand it? Or does beauty lie in the eye of the beholder? Perhaps our appraisal of beauty is as fickle as our moods, and equally as conductive to idolatry.

Therefore, should the physical beauty of another human being be the object of our love and/or lust, as it was for Romeo and Jacob? Can apparent physical beauty be the basis of our understanding of true love? And if so, what will happen when beauty fades? Will love fade away, too? That cannot be because “charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30, NASB).

But the love between Romeo and Juliet was not solely based on external beauty or on its subjective appreciation as such. No, the illusion extended deeper into their characters. We see this in the famous Balcony Scene (Act 2, Scene 2), when Romeo and Juliet talk to each other for the first time and declare their mutual, passionate love.

This scene is famous because of the ardent and poetic declarations of both characters. What is especially interesting to me, though, is how both were so easily willing to renounce their previously held identities as respective members of the two feuding families (Capulet and Montague) so that they can become whoever the other expects them to be. Only by clouding their identities to suit one another’s wishes could they fulfill their passionate love. Romeo’s symbolic offer to change his name to suit Juliet’s “sweet” desires and ideas about him clearly show his willingness to mold his whole being into her conception of him – no longer a Montague, no longer her enemy, just her “love”; no matter the implications this would have:

-Juliet. ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself though not a Montague.

What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,

And for that name which is no part of thee

Take all myself

-Romeo. I take thee at thy word:

Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized;

Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

-Juliet. What man art thou that thus bescreen’d in night

So stumblest on my counsel?

-Romeo. By a name

I know not how to tell thee who I am:

My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,

Because it is an enemy to thee;

Had I it written, I would tear the word.

-Juliet. My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words

Of that tongue’s utterance, yet I know the sound:

Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?

-Romeo. Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.

So it was that Romeo was willing to be newly “baptized” as Love. But how confusing this is. If a name is nothing – neither enemy nor friend – why should it be changed? And yet, it is not confusing to them because they are speaking the same passionate language. Both longed with equal vehemence to bind themselves in fervent love, no matter what or how. However, because Romeo had caught Juliet confessing her feelings and thoughts for him in ignorance of his nearby presence, as soon as he showed himself she required him to reciprocate her declarations with a faithful oath. Romeo made his pledge quite enthusiastically and with it, their mutual, delusional love was fully sealed as idolatry:

-Romeo. ‘Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear. That tips with silver all these fruit-tree’

-Juliet. ‘O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon. That monthly changes in her circled orb. Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.’

-Romeo. ‘What shall I swear by?’

-Juliet. ‘Do not swear at all; Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I’ll believe thee.’

Juliet certainly does not hide her idolatrous feelings and thoughts. But why does she idolize Romeo so immediately? We know that Romeo loves the beauty of Juliet, more than Juliet herself, but the story doesn’t make it clear what she sees in him. This matter brings forth some questions for our reflection: What is it that we “see” in others that causes us to turn them into idols? And why do we “see” it in them?

Although some of us may have an idea of what we are – or were – looking for in a spouse, I doubt anyone fully knows what he or she wants to “see” in someone else that will lead them to love that person. Regardless, what we are inclined to “see” in other people is what we desire to find in them as a result of our unsatisfied needs and wants, which also manifest themselves as hopes and wishes. For example, when a man goes through life of being ignored, humiliated and dejected by most people, he will be more than willing to wish for and love the first person who shows him a modicum of kindness and acceptance. The more this person gives him what he has been deprived for so long, the more fervently he will love him or her; for he “sees” in that person a way to satisfy his needs. Blinded by his desire, he will probably perceive the initial kindness and acceptance as the prevailing trait in that person’s character. He may believe that this person is truly good and kind when in fact he or she may not be so. We usually wish for “Prince or Princess Charming” to come rescue and carry us through the difficulties of our agonizing existence, yet we do not carefully consider what our delusional love for these idealized people will demand from us.

So it is that when our unsatisfied needs and wants give way to burning desires, we become blinded by them. We then conceive (or more correctly, misconceive) idols to satisfy our yearning hopes and wishes, and when our actions to fulfill their demands become our religion, we have become completely devoted to them. But as sad as this may be, it is nothing to be amazed about. The more we are blinded by our desires, the more we succumb to our false ideas and the more these give meaning to our existence; to the extreme point that once gone or exposed as delusions, our whole world can come crumbling down, and everything else loses its meaning – including our lives. This is why, when Romeo thinks Juliet is dead by the end of the play, takes his own life. Juliet does the same when she awakens from her self-induced slumber and sees the body of her lifeless lover – the god of her idolatry – lying by her side.

But what other outcome could we expect from their passionate affair? Both lovers had fully invested in each other the total power to satisfy their respective needs for love and esteem. In their eyes, there was nothing in the world greater than each other. What else did they have to live for? Who would satisfy Juliet’s love once her idol was dead? From where could she have mustered the strength and courage to accept that all of her ideas about Romeo as her god were false?

In the end, it did not matter that their idyll began so enthusiastically and harmlessly (at least in appearance) or that they had such great faith and hope in each other and in their loving intentions. The story of Romeo and Juliet ends in tragedy, and in this ending we find an eerie similarity to another Bible story of love, lust and idols we have already discussed: the story of Oholah and Oholibah. Is this a coincidence? After all, the two sisters also saw what they desired to see in their lovers.

But so it is with every idol that we believe has the power to satisfy our needs and quell our passionate desires, regardless of the nature of these. In the beginning of the affair, everything appears promissory, hopeful and oh, so alluring! We “hear” them whisper, “Come, try me, rest your burdens upon me and experience the happiness that I will bring to your life. Everything will turn out fine, as you expect, if not better!” But in the end, they bring no true happiness, rest, peace or salvation; only dissatisfaction, hunger, futility, emptiness and – if pursed to the end – destruction and death. Our initial ideas about them will always be unambiguously proven wrong.

However, when we love or lust after delusions, we remain far from acknowledging that we are mistaken. We are blinded by our desires. We want to believe that everything is fine, even if we suspect that it is not, usually completely unaware that we are idolizing! We expect our idols to constantly fulfill all of our needs with the same level of urgency and passion as our desires dictate. This is why Juliet wanted Romeo to pledge his steadfast love to her: not fickleness or changeability as it can be perceived in the “inconstant moon.” She sought security in the promise that he would always be there to fulfill her passionate desires. But what human can provide such assurance? Especially someone with a character as flighty as Romeo’s. Did he not have to temporarily flee the city and Juliet’s side as a result of having killed Juliet’s cousin in a rapture of hatred? Did he not, after all, prove to be true to his Montague surname by killing Tybalt, a Capulet? And, unhinged by grief, did he not also kill Paris, Juliet' s former suitor? Were these steadfast deeds of love for Juliet or the result of his passions?

In truth, no absolute certainty will ever come from a human being that is apart from God. No warranted promise of future firmness and invariability in anything. Remember what happened to the apostle Peter, who was less fickle than many, after he promised our Lord Christ that he would never deny Him, even unto death?

The Gospel according to Mark 14:26-31, 66-72 (NASB)

26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ’I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ 28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

66 As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch. 69 The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” 71 But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 72 Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.

At some point in their lives, many people ask others to promise certainty, and we might even feel confident and brave enough to pledge it ourselves. But to believe that a human being can provide unwavering commitment in everything he or she will ever think, say or do is to idolize people. Changeability, in greater or lesser degree, is a hallmark of the weak human condition. Indeed, the Bible provides many examples of unfulfilled promises not only between humans, but also to the Lord. Sadly, this does not deter us from asking for and offering empty promises of certainty.

Yet, even knowing this truth does not deter us from idealizing those we admire and love. We keep on endowing them with so many desirable, yet often non-existent, qualities; coating them with layers upon layers of embellishments that are only “seen” with our blind eyes. In the end, we love them for who we imagine them to be, not for who they are. We readily idealize our parents, children, spouses, friends and everyone else we find desirable for our happiness. To prove it, we shower upon them many adjectives that fall short of describing what we feel and think about them unless we employ them in the superlative form and with global or universal extent (such as, “The best mother in the world!”, “The most beautiful wife in the universe!” and “The greatest friend anyone can have”). These people are very special to us because in and through them we “see” the possibility of fulfilling our desires. So, we carelessly rest our hopes in them and eventually determine that they are the reason for our existence.

While our idols may actually display some of the attributes we idealize such as beauty or kindness, to say that they are the kindest or most beautiful in the whole world only further deludes ourselves. Do we know every person in the world with whom we are comparing them to substantiate such claims? What are the parameters of our comparison? Superlative statements are nothing more than expressions of our idealized views of those we love and admire and a symptom of idolatry. Besides, should we even compare anyone at all? But perhaps we enjoy more the illusory depictions we have of people in our minds than the true persons.

Now, maybe Romeo and Juliet could have lived “happily ever after” like the endings we have grown so fond of in recent times. Ideal, romantic endings allow us to think that the lovers were really “the best” because they managed to maintain mutual happiness forever. But if this had been the case, I suspect this play would not be the literary classic it is today, despite its great poetic style. However, in an age when idolatry is rife, probably like never before, we might still ask ourselves why Romeo and Juliet could not have ended more happily? Why can’t a passionate love such as theirs have a joyful conclusion, even if it is based on delusions?

Well, this story could not end happily because a passionate and devoted idolatry such as theirs must have a fulminating ending. Countless real-life and literary examples confirm this fact. A “happy ever after” ending is merely an attempt to conceal the unavoidable destruction that comes to such passionate and devout idolaters. But I suppose we prefer illusory endings because they present a way to convince ourselves that the warm and fuzzy illusion of idolatry can last for a lifetime. But as we have seen, it cannot; for all idols are temporary and vain, no matter how promising they may always appear.

Does this sound too cold and clear? To ameliorate the impact, allow me to offer two alternate, less disastrous endings and see what would come of them.

Alternate Ending One. After learning of Juliet’s death (not knowing it was feigned), Romeo hurriedly continued with his escape plan from the city of Verona. In exile, I imagine he would have succumbed to sadness for a while, both because of loneliness and, especially, the loss of Juliet. He probably would have been even more distraught than after he broke up with Rosaline. But this temporary sadness would not have been as bad as to drive him to suicide. After a few months, he would have gone out to socialize in an effort to liven up again. Sooner or later, Romeo would have found another beautiful girl to love, just as he did at the Capulets’ party. Hopefully this new person would reciprocate his affection, although the title of the play would certainly have to be changed to simply, Romeo.

Perhaps in this ending, Romeo would have renewed his happiness, at least temporarily. Because, as we have seen, the multiplicity and novelty of idols is what best suits the constant delusion that they provide as a whole. Benvolio knew and illustrated this fact well when he encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet’s party and find another fire to quell his flame for Rosaline (Act 1, Scene 2):

Tut, man, one fire bums out another’s burning,

One pain is lessen’ d by another’s anguish;

Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning;

One desperate grief cures with another’s languish:

Take thou some new infection to thy eye,

And the rank poison of the old will die.

Indeed, “take thou some new infection of thy eye.” New is the key word here, for again we see how the infection remains, even if it is kept active by another agent (idol) or manifested in another form. The unsatisfied needs and passionate desires are far from gone; one pain simply takes the place of another. In an effort to soothe the agony, a new idol rises from the ashes of the former, almost like the mythological Phoenix. We might call it “the next big thing” in our lives, the newest, “truest” and greatest love and passion (this doesn’t always take the form of another person; it can be an activity, place, ideal, etc.) But in essence, every new idol is conceived with the same idolatry, and idolatry is the disease that persists. Apart from the truthful love of the Lord our God, the idolater is never cured.

Alternate Ending Two. For some reason, Romeo waits for Juliet to awaken from her self-induced slumber, and they run away together as planned. Then, I imagine, the story would proceed to tell how their initial passions gradually faded as these became clouded by the anxiety and a new-found urgency to satisfy their other needs and wants (such as food, clothing and a place to live). This is all the more likely since they were children of very affluent families to begin with, and Romeo did not even have the economic means to sustain himself, let alone a wife. In time, their passionate love and obsessive longing would probably recede in the face of frustration, confusion, doubt and worry. Were they too hasty in running away? Surely Romeo would remain fickle, and perhaps Juliet would grow to resent him not only for his fickleness, but because he murdered her cousin.

However, after realizing that they had no one but each other in the world, they would probably strive to keep their love aflame, albeit burning amongst the coals of their newly found frustration, doubt and resentment. In time, their idyll would likely reduce to comfortable familiarity, indifference and/or even a slight mutual annoyance. On the upbeat side, the situations that would result from their dulled love might fit the comedic style of many modern productions. Then Romeo and Juliet would no longer be a tragedy, but a tragicomedy, if only to get a few laughs from the audience through humorous, although basically very sad, events in their lives. Situations that, I suppose, some people tend to laugh at to release the tension that similar events bring to their lives, despite all the passionate love they once professed to their own spouses. “Misery loves company,” so people would at least find momentary comfort in the giggles they would get from witnessing others act what they must live every day. Otherwise, they may begin to consider leaving their spouses for some other idol as some others have done and keep on doing. Because speaking of miserable company, Romeo was not alone in his fickleness. Countless men and women have joined this fictional character in his inability to maintain a steadfast commitment of true love. Ironically, in their passionate desires and delusions, they do remain committed to idolatry.

But I guess an eventual divorce between Romeo and Juliet is something no one would have ever liked to read or see, especially because I do not think there is any enjoyment in reading a story of lovers that begins with, “I can’t live without you!” and ends with, “Leave me alone and let me live!” This is simply too close to the realities that many have built for themselves as a result of their idolatries. It would strike too deep a nerve.

Do I hate you or my idea of you?

There is another aspect that draws the attention of almost everyone who reads Romeo and Juliet as easily and powerfully as the tale of their romance: The sharp contrast between their passionate love and the ardent hatred of their families for one another.

The story never explains the reason of the deep-seated hostility between the Capulets and the Montagues; and had they ever been real people, maybe they also wouldn’t have known themselves. So, we are simply told that they are sworn enemies, keen on destroying each other. Even their servants hated one another! This hatred is rooted so deeply that, for example, the mere sight of Romeo at the Capulet party causes Tybalt to want to murder him. By enormous contrast, the mere sight of Romeo at the same party is enough to stir within Juliet a desire to give herself to [love] him eternally! This is a great illustration of how our feelings for people depend entirely on our ideas about them, and how such feelings help preserve such ideas, no matter how mistaken they are.

Romeo is passionately loved and hated by two cousins of the same family, but why? If both of them see him for who he truly is, shouldn’t they love or loathe him equally? Who is correct in their respective love for or hate of him? Or, are both wrong?

I dare say that neither Juliet nor Tybalt is entirely right in their perceptions about Romeo. Just like Romeo’s feelings are towards her, Juliet’s passionate love for Romeo is founded more upon her charming idea about him – the Romeo she conceives in her heart and mind – than Romeo’s true being. Similarly, Tybalt’s flaming hatred is based on his spiteful idea of Romeo – yet another conception of Romeo that existed solely in Tybalt’s heart and mind – more than Romeo’s true being. Please allow me to elaborate.

As we have already studied, it is easy to idealize the people we find desirable and attractive, but it is usually no harder to idealize those we find undesirable and repulsive. The sole difference resides in that we delusionally tend to imbue the former with positive attributes and the latter with negative ones. Depending on how strong are our desires and how mistaken our ideas, we can end up loving or lusting after those we desire so much that we turn them into idols, angels or gods (man-made gods, that is). Likewise, we can also loath those we do not want to the point that we to turn them into monsters and demons in our very same, blind sight.

Sometimes we even find people attractive or repulsive in the first place simply because of our prejudices (which are also nothing else than deeply rooted ideas in our hearts and minds) about what we should find attractive or repulsive. For example their color of skin, body size, nationality, religion, gender or even their name.

So, depending on how negatively we think and feel about the people we dislike, we can gradually strip them of their positive qualities and, eventually, of their humanity. To our eyes, they resemble a human being less and less and become increasingly something hideous, worthy of all the hatred, derision and at times even violence that we can possibly inflict. At that point of idolization, the complete destruction of such people is the only way to end the dreadful feelings that the mere thought of them cause within us, and this is why most people wish for the death of their enemies.

Therefore, all the idols we conceive in our hearts and minds have a way of becoming the masters of our beings. In the case of the idols we conceive out of the people we love or admire, our actions and thoughts are continuously directed at the attainment of their recognition, approval and attention, very much like Leah did with Jacob. Sometimes we even seek to become like them in appearance, speech or actions. I suppose we hope that by doing so, some of the coveted qualities that we perceive in them will rub off onto us. We also may subconsciously want to see the idols we love flourish in the minds and hearts of others. The more people who love them, the better, because we want our idols to be esteemed forever. We grow that attached to them!

In the case of the idols we conceive out of those we hate, our actions and thoughts constantly seek to contribute to their suffering or destruction, much like the Capulets and the Montagues did. Oftentimes, we spend every thought and effort planning and executing cruel actions to undermine the existence of such “hateful” idols, paradoxically perpetuating many of the truly hateful things named in Romans 1:27-31. We delusionally believe that whatever our dreaded idols lose, we will gain, therefore we want to see them crumble and fall, never to be remembered again and so we can enjoy the “peace of mind” that their obliteration would give us.

In the end, whether we love or hate people, for as long as we are blinded by our delusions and misconceptions and remain exchanging the truth for lies, we are loving or hating idols. And the more strongly our idealized perceptions drive our emotions towards these people, the more we will love or hate them – the idols I mean, not the people because, by idealizing them into gods or demons, we have deprived ourselves from ever knowing who they truly are.

Seeing people beyond our ideas and discerning from their appearances.

Whenever we feel inclined to love or hate someone, it will do us good to stop, reconsider and try to clearly see beyond all physical and character appearances. Nothing should ever be evaluated on appearances alone, least of all human beings.

Regarding physical appearances, no matter how alluring we may find someone’s features, we must always remember that the appearance of a human being is not what a human being is. So, no matter how keen we are on looking at and surrounding ourselves with apparent beauty, strength and magnificence, going for “looks” alone is always unwise. The following example will make this even clearer.

First book of Samuel 16:6-13 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

In the hypothetical case that the choice of ruler had been up to Samuel, he would have chosen Eliab, for in his eyes Eliab had the appearance of a king – probably because he was almost as tall and mighty-looking as Saul. But in the eyes of the Lord, Eliab was unfit to be king, regardless of his stature or any other attractive physical feature to the eyes of men.

Now, it cannot be said that the chosen king of Israel was physically ugly. Even though David lacked a mighty appearance, he was said to be handsome, but that did not influence the Lord our God to crown him king. He looked into his heart. External appearance is of no importance whatsoever to the Lord our God, regardless of how desirable and important it may be to us. This stark contrast between how desirable external beauty is to human beings and how irrelevant it actually is concerning the truth about who someone is at heart and in spirit is emphasized in the following words that foretold the first coming of our Lord Christ.

Isaiah 53:1-6 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Contrary to many of the depictions that have been drawn of our Lord Christ, His physical appearance was nothing special to regard. It had nothing that anyone should covet, yet in Him resided the fullness of the Lord our God. “19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19-20, NRSV). Is this not amazing? Many have imagined that our Lord Christ was terribly good-looking – according to their own ideals of beauty, of course – but Isaiah flatly states that this was not so.

In this sense, to evaluate and define someone based on his or her looks will not yield any good in our love – or hate for that person. Seeking and obsessing on the “attractiveness” or “repulsion” of a physical appearance is to seek and obsess on our own vain and subjective ideas about what is attractive or repulsive, and this deprives us from actually getting the slightest glimpse at the true person we are “seeing”. In other words, no matter how much pleasure we find in gazing upon an attractive human being, we are not truly seeing them.

In our culture, having a “beautiful” face and body is ideal, and we covet beauty so much that our idea of it is usually also an idol. But external beauty, whether true or illusory, has nothing to do with the inner beauty that pleases the Lord. Inner beauty is intimately linked to the purification of our hearts by the Holy Spirit that desires no appearances, lies or delusions, but only our faithful embodiment of the truthful love and justice of the Lord our God.

Evidently, the human heart matters far more than our perishable bodies (flesh) and their fleeting “beauty,” “24for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you” (1 Peter 1:24-25, LEB). And where should the word of the Lord be? Written in the Bible, ancient scrolls or textbooks? If it is anywhere at all, it should emanate from the mouths and hearts of those who faithfully believe in His Truth, just as it is written:

The epistle to the Romans 10:5-13(NASB) [Emphasis added]

5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ’WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ’WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”— that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

This is the very same heart that I have mentioned over and over again in this book, and I will keep doing so because it is of the utmost importance to our lives. Only with our hearts can we believe and, consequently, love. And this we do either in relation to the truthful word of our God or the countless idols we have conceived in our very same hearts, wrongfully assisted by our minds.

Indeed, from the heart (and again, by heart I am not referring solely to the physical organ) flow the springs of life (see Proverbs 4:23). Because of this, the heart must be jealously guarded. However, as we have seen, the heart also produces evil intentions, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander and, of course, idolatry (see Matthew 15:17-20). So, since the heart is our inner being – the seat of all the faculties of both flesh and spirit – for as long as it remains shrouded in the darkness of lies and delusions, and shriveled by fear and pain, it will remain deeply hidden from our very own sight. But what remains hidden to us is plain as daylight to the Lord our God:

First book of Chronicles 28:9-10 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every plan and all thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Look now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it!”

Even though it goes well beyond the scope of this book to elaborate on the meaning and intricacies of our human anatomy – such as the difference between the spirit known in Hebrew as ruach and the one called neshamah, or the relationship between soul, flesh, spirit, mind and heart – I highly recommend that you study this subject because if we fail to attain the truest understanding of ourselves in flesh, heart, spirit, mind and soul, with our weaknesses and strengths, limitations and potential; we will also fall short of truly knowing and understanding any other human being and, thus, we will never love them or ourselves for who we truly are. In the absence of this true knowledge, we will continue to love and lust after – or even envy and hate – the appearances of other people and ourselves. In other words, our lives will continue to revolve around idols.

Therefore, beneath superficial appearances, human beings are complex creatures that may as well be impossible to truly define, regardless of the many attempts that have been made in this regard. If human beings are anything in all our complexity, we are both possibility and weakness, but who other than the Lord our God can truly know the extent of these two? The mere attempt to define a human being results in constraint that limits its possibility or amplifies its weakness. Thus, when we label and typecast another human being, we rob ourselves of the possibility of truly knowing that person. Likewise, the more we believe the lies and delusions by which we have been defined by others – or worse still, by which we have defined ourselves – the fewer possibilities we will have for the development of our beings.

For example, if a man has been repeatedly typecast as ignorant, foolish, naive and vapid and he believes this, then in all likelihood he will behave as such for the whole of his life. Or, alternatively, he will spend a great deal of his life trying to prove wrong those who falsely defined him. In both cases, his development has been limited by the lies others used to define him. And even if this man does display a measure of ignorance, foolishness and naïveté, he has the potential to be far more than that if only he believed this, especially if he comes to understand the truth about himself and his purpose as a creation of the Lord our God.

Now, of all human possibilities and weaknesses, the most essential are two: good and evil. Every other possibility and weakness revolves around these two paths. But because we have shriveled and hardened our hearts by growing accustomed to the countless lies that we habitually act upon, this very simple truth remains largely unknown to us. In our delusion, we actually believe that the realization of our “potential” is independent of and of far greater importance than these two, most essential choices. But every possibility, thought, intention and action are tied to either good or evil, and everything we do results in the progression of good or evil, not just in our individual lives, but for mankind as a whole – no matter how blind we are to this.

However, not even the aforementioned truth is suitable for labeling people as good or evil and, consequently, contributing to the constraining of another human being’s potential. Because while the principle of possibilities towards good and evil is truthful, there is hardly anyone of us who faithfully lives in this truth by wholly abiding in our Lord’s love and light so as to make his or her judgment of other people and of his/herself absolutely just and good. While every human being has a pronounced inclination towards evil “for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth,” there is also a dim light of goodness in mankind thanks to our God-given conscience (Genesis 8:21, NASB).

So, while we are inclined to an evil that is the result of first mistakenly exchanging the truth for a lie and then giving ourselves or lusting after such deceit in all its variants and ramifications, hardly anyone is wholly evil to be aptly called a monster, a fiend or a devil; or wholly good to be aptly called an angel or a saint with the ease that we employ such appellations. I am not saying that there are no really evil or truly good people at all; there are, and we must not misinterpret them. Yet, having idolized people to the extremes that we have, and falling short of truly knowing them, it is doubtful that we can recognize exact examples of good or evil whenever we come across them. Can an idolater perceive anything or anyone for what it truly is? Indeed, our very own Lord Christ was seen as evil by some, and His works were also seen as such by those who idolized the god of their understanding of the law.

The Gospel according to Luke 11:14-23 (NASB)

14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

Think about this: In our idolatry, do we risk calling good “evil” and evil “good”? Could it be that we are not truly gathering but scattering? Could it be that we do not truly know or abide in the love and justice of the Lord our God, yet we vehemently claim to do so, perhaps to the point of killing or dying for our ideas of god, love and justice? Indeed, Jesus Christ our Lord was crucified by those who did not believe in Him as the Christ. However, they believed in a god: the god of their understanding of the law and according to it, Jesus was evil. And no matter how mistaken this belief was or how blind and idolatrous, to them it was real and, worse yet, it was true.

It is always easy to say that others are mistaken and that we are correct in our understanding of the truth and beliefs. But, really? Am I so free of false ideas to truthfully make this claim? Consider this: Even our Lord Christ’s disciples did not see Him for who He truly is. Even with all they had learned from Him, seen Him do and heard Him say, and even after some of them had already acknowledged Him as the Christ and the Son of God, they still did not fully understand the whole truth in and about Him.

The Gospel according to John 14:1-11 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

l “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”6 Jesus said to him,” I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ’show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

But who can blame Philip or any other disciple for not knowing Jesus Christ fully? Who can fully understand the oneness of Christ and His Father amid all the lies and delusions of our hearts and minds? Only someone completely pure of heart could have caught a glimpse of the truthfulness of God in our Lord Christ. That much Jesus stated during His Sermon of the Mount:

The Gospel according to Matthew 5:1-12 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Therefore, who is pure enough of heart to fully see and know all that is good and truthful –which is Christ? And who is pure enough of heart to fully see and know all that is evil and false? Only someone completely devoid of idolatry, having been wholly sanctified by the Spirit of Truth and fully accustomed with Its solid and unchanging love and justice. “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14, NASB).

Thus, in the absence of such maturity, where our fickleness, passionate emotions and deceitful ideas have given full way to seeing and knowing the truth, we must refrain from judging other human beings as monsters, fiends or “evil” people, and from praising them as angels, saints or “good” people as readily as we do. Even if someone habitually displays evil in words and action, we must avoid thinking of and referring to this person in hateful, derogatory terms; we simply do not know what the Lord our God has in store for them or what their potential will be in and through Him.

What would any of us think of Jacob if we were the victims of his deceit and treachery? Would we view him as a good and gentle man? Yet he fathered the twelve tribes of Israel. Did our Lord not find him suitable for such honor and to bestow upon him many more blessings? And what about Saul of Tarsus? A man who at one time was probably considered a monster for his zealously violent persecution of the first disciples of our Lord Christ. Saul probably even shared the same delusions about God as those who demanded Jesus’ death. But did he not, after all of that, become Paul the Apostle by the grace of God?

The first epistle to Timothy 1:12-17 (LEB)

12 I give thanks to the one who strengthens me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful, placing me into ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, but I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord abounded with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and worthy of all acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But because of this I was shown mercy, in order that in me foremost, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his total patience, for an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, to the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

So, who are we to so quickly judge people as evil? For if men like Jacob and Paul had been absolutely evil and without possibility of becoming anything else, our Lord would never have given them such great responsibilities. Moreover, when it comes to judging others, did our Lord Christ not speak the following words?

The Gospel according to Matthew 7:1-5 (NASB)

1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how–can you say to your brother, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

If our judgment were truly just and merciful, then we would have nothing to fear about being judged in the same measure. But what if our judgment is ruthless, passionate, biased, inconsistent, false or deluded? Would we not fear being judged by such ruined criteria? So, how can I think of anyone as despicable and worthless? For even though our Lord Christ also said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6, NASB). Perhaps I need to stop and consider whether I can truly discern a “swine” from myself.

But our desire for pleasant delusions inclines us to judge others as good or important when they say or do something that we value or want, even if it is not truly good for us – let alone truthful – and regardless of whether such people do evil to others. We see a good example of this in 2 Samuel 15, when the men of Israel favored Absolom, who stole their hearts with displays of affection and desirable promises, all the while intending to harm his own father and then King of Israel, David.

Similarly, we are inclined to judge as evil or insignificant those who say or do things that we do not desire to hear or experience, even when their words and deeds are actually good and true. Indeed, the men who believed our Lord Christ to be evil were not pleased with His truthful words and actions, just as many still are not.

So it is that in our delusion, ignorance and covetous desires we simply cannot perceive the truthfulness or deceitfulness of someone else’s heart merely by hearing the words that come out of their mouths. Words are easily susceptible to be employed as mere appearances that convey the alluring messages we want to hear. However, our Lord Christ addressed and emphatically warned us against this disingenuous use of words:

The Gospel according to Matthew 12:33-37 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be Justified, and-by your words you will be condemned.”

Therefore, far from judging others by deceitful or misunderstood appearances, we must ourselves be straightforward, honest and transparent at all times and give no pretense about anything in order to help them avoid deception regarding who we are. It is wrong to harbor evil intentions in our hearts and commit evil acts, but it is even worse to deceive others by pretending to be good, and worse still to judge others as evil! We must cease putting up a facade and stop paying attention to the shows other people put on to deceive us or themselves about who they are – no matter how difficult this may be in a world fully immersed in idolatry and enamored with appearances and illusions. Let our actions match our speech, and our speech our thoughts.

However, beneath all the convolution of human beings and the many appearances we can take, we must learn that hardly anyone is exactly as he or she seems. Without pure hearts and minds, we will never truly know or understand other people for who they truly are, and we will keep on seeing, loving or lusting after our ideas about them. And if we love appearances, we will only experience the appearance of love; never the true, wholesome love of the Lord our God.

The appearance of love is all about illusions, deceit, fickleness, confusion and doubt; never having clear understanding, integrity, honesty and steadfast commitment. This is why, when seeking the opposite of deceit, fickleness, confusion and doubt, there is only One to whom we must first turn the eyes of our minds and hearts, for He is “The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4, NRSV). Therefore, only in the Lord our God is there no shade of variation. Only He is steadfast and faithful enough for us to say, “7How precious is your loyal love, O God, and the children of human kind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They are refreshed with the fullness of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. 10 Prolong your loyal love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart” (Psalm 36:7-10, LEB).

Indeed, because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, NRSV), and “God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind” (Numbers 23:19, NRSV). Only with His Spirit fully indwelling us as a result of our unreserved and sincere faith in Him can we ever aspire to embody His truly faithful and steadfast love. Only to Him can we ask to “create a clean heart for me, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, LEB). And only He can grant such a request so that we may truly know and abide in His love and justice.

However, I want to emphasize that the possibility of knowing God’s love and justice has not been granted to us because we have been pure, perfect, pleasant, righteous or good in our Lord’s sight. “4But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Saviour appeared, 5he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8The saying is sure.” (Titus 3:4-8, fragment, NRSV). “6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7lndeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person— though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8, NRSV).

The love of the Lord our God is, always has been and forever will be without the slightest shadow of idolatry, and it is with His love that we must love our fellow human beings, just as our Lord Christ unequivocally expressed:

The Gospel according to John 13:31-35 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

31 Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; 32 if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ’Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

As we grow in the true, lucid and perfect love that diametrically contrasts any form of idolatry, let us strive to be wise and sober in our affections. Let us not label anyone as the greatest, worst or anything else; or easily typecast people as good and evil, for even if we find their presence, words or actions unpleasant, the following is an expression of the love we must embody:

The Gospel according to Matthew 5:43-48(NASB) [Emphasis added]

43 “You have heard that it was said, ’YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore–you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Now, if you still find yourself tempted to idolize the people you find pleasant and desirable because you still “see” in them the ability to meet all of your needs and wants, I hope you can muster enough soberness to remember the following cautionary words of Walt Whitman in the poem, “Whoever You Are, Holding Me Now in Hand,” from his book, Leaves of Grass:

“Whoever you are, holding me now in hand,

Without one thing, all will be useless,

I give you fair warning, before you attempt me further,

I am not what you supposed, but far different.

Who is he that would become my follower?

Who would sign himself a candidate for my affections?

The way is suspicious — the result uncertain, perhaps destructive;

You would have to give up all else— I alone would expect to be your god, sole and exclusive,

Your novitiate would even then be long and exhausting,

The whole past theory of your life, and all conformity to the lives around you, would have to be abandon’d;

Therefore release me now, before troubling yourself any further— Let go your hand from my shoulders,

Put me down, and depart on your way.”

Otherwise, rest assured, the harm of your idolatry will come sooner or later.

9

I BELIEVE I AM UNIQUE!

“There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself” (Samuel Johnson).

As we learned in the previous chapter, a hallmark symptom of the idolization of other people is to believe that they are the best. Hence, when we idolize our loved ones, we are fond of expressing to them and anyone who will listen how unique, special and amazing they are. Of course, we would rarely think of this as idolatry.

A similar thing happens with things we like very much and perhaps even idolize, such as music, clothing, films, books, food and so on – all of the things we covet or say we love. We believe they are the greatest ever.

Yet, believing that anyone or anything is the best and greatest in the world or of all time is very likely false, and, therefore, another symptom of idolatry. Why? We cannot know everyone and everything in the world to justify such a claim, and even if we did, what would be the truly correct criteria to determine which of our idols is the absolute best?

As it is with every other form of idolatry, attaching superlative adjectives to our object of desire is just another way of unconsciously expressing how blind our ideas about it are and how strong our emotions for it are too. For even if our idol seems great and awesome to our eyes, it is certainly not the best in the whole wide world, or the universe, or of all time.

Nonetheless, our limited perspectives and passionate desires compel us to make such thoughtless claims, and while we may really believe they are true, they are not. Therefore, it is important to remember that while our emotions towards our idols are real; our ideas about them are false. No matter how firmly we blindly believe otherwise, our emotions will never be enough to make our idols true. Thus, loving and lusting after idols will always result in living a very real lie, but a lie nonetheless, that reaches deep into our beings.

I need to be significant and have some worth!

Amid all the deceitful appearances and lies we believe to the point of growing fond of and becoming deeply immersed in them, the fallacy of our beliefs has also been directed into our very own selves. The blind and delusional ideas we conceive about everything and everyone in our “sight” are paralleled by the equally false ideas about the person we “see” in the mirror. Sadly, these are the flawed ideas we use to conceive a persona for ourselves that is far from our true self.

As I briefly mentioned in the previous chapter, it is impossible for one human being to define another. It is also terribly difficult to define a human’s personality, especially our own. Since people are essentially the coexistence of possibility and weakness, our personalities can be as contrasting as day and night and as paradoxical as vitality and decay put together. However, we should not be surprised at this conflict within our nature, for such is the human character, just as the following words illustrate:

The epistle to the Romans 7:14-25 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Even those who have seemingly stable personalities are not absolutely coherent or conflict-free at all times. They can be quite contradictory and unpredictable in the face of some circumstances, especially critical ones. Indeed, all humans tend to be at odds with themselves.

Now, along with the conflicting and changeable nature of human beings comes our marked inclination to misinterpret everything and everyone we “see.” This blindness and confusion of heart and mind also make it impossible to see and understand ourselves for who we truly are, for even though we may believe that we know and understand ourselves, we do not see ourselves with clarity.

But in our State of Delusion, none of the previous stops us from defining ourselves according to a set of pre-defined and socially shared notions that have been construed as a function of how people desire to “see” themselves, especially in comparison to others. And no matter how false they are, these notions help us “see” ourselves mostly according to how we want to be seen by others in order for them to respect and/or love us – that is, according to our delusional understanding of love.

Therefore, no matter how unskilled we actually are at assessing a personality – including our own – because of emotional biases and fickleness, cognitive prejudices and inconsistencies, and overall idolatry; an important part of those deluded notions are the adjectives that we use to assess the personality of someone who stirs our emotions in a pleasant way in comparison to everyone else: special, unique, great, awesome and so on. Words we are usually eager to hear others use to describe ourselves because if we are biased and idolatrous about anyone first and foremost, it is about the person we “see” in the mirror. We want to see our reflection in the brightest of lights, whether in a mirror, in our minds or in the “eyes” of others. The paradox of this is that what we commonly believe to be light is nothing but darkness.

Our desire to “see” ourselves and to be “seen” by others as special, unique and great is produced by as much a deep misunderstanding of ourselves as it is about the people we employ such adjectives to describe. Nonetheless, this is one of the inevitable results of attempting to satisfy our natural esteem and love/belonging needs apart from the Lord our God. Living with these needs unsatisfied has thus made it terribly important for us to somehow get as much recognition from others and from our own selves as we possibly can. As a result, our fervent quest for affirmation is as prominent in human history as our search for food and water. To feel well-esteemed, recognized and desirable is so important, that people from all corners of the world have invented numerous ways to garner the praise and honor they need and want to feel “good” about themselves and “know” that they are not worthless in relation to others and, as a result, insignificant and unlovable.

But satisfying these needs through the thoughts, words and actions of those we do not truly see or understand – including ourselves – is very foolish, for our deluded hearts and minds either place our entire sense of self-worth upon such thoughts, words and actions, or no value at all. This has contributed to our disproportionate sense of self-worth in relation to others, which is always either too high or too low, never right.

Consequently, our quest to fulfill our esteem needs has been as disastrous and avid as our pursuits to meet all of our other needs apart from the Lord our God and His truthful Word. No matter how much attention we may receive, we rarely feel as esteemed and recognized by others as we desire, remaining thirsty for more or better praise. So, we suffer from a pleonexia in this regard as well, though in different degrees depending on the individual. Nonetheless, this pleonexia compels all of us to covet accolades and distinctions of ever-increasing “importance” and magnitude so that we may continue to feed the belief that we are unique and the best. But these relative compliments only serve to sustain the inherently unsatisfying delusion, for upon their essential worthlessness we establish our sense of achievement and, thus, our worth and significance in comparison to everyone else!

So, the quest that begins with the need to be recognized easily turns into the desire to be praised. In time, praise is no longer enough, and we begin to want to be highly esteemed in our social groups. Eventually, social relevance may not suffice either, and the desire to be the progenitor and archetypical ideal of an even larger group – such as a town, city, nation or even the world – can take hold of a person’s heart and mind. Ideally (or idolatrously, I should say), individuals will also want their archetypical legacy to last for generations to come because decay and death are not part of this delusion, even though they are true to every human. Hence, the longer the “lovely” memory of that “great” human being lasts, the better; and this is how a human hero is conceived.

But the road to becoming a human ideal or a hero is long, arduous and not for most people. The struggle to get there can be so relentless and difficult that only an extremely passionate desire would compel someone to fight through it. Consequently, most of us have had to settle for the many halfway schemes and idols that humanity has created to garner the distinction we crave to feel good about ourselves. Among these we again find money and material possessions because, as we have studied, these things earn considerable admiration in the eyes of those who idolize them. Thus they clothe people with an “aura” of desirability and importance.

But as we might know very well by now, the end result of trying to satisfy our esteem needs with material possessions is that we construct excessive, complex idols in place of what should be simple, beneficial things to be employed as such with all the humble gratitude due to our dear God for allowing us to take healthy delight in their use and enjoyment. It is also very easy to lose more than one night’s sleep worrying about whether one of these idols has been scratched, torn or otherwise damaged. They have become integral to us because we have built the value of our identities upon and around them, and any damage to them might be felt as damage to our own persons and sense of well-being. Sadly, with this belief it becomes easier to care more about our own possessions than about other people. Indeed, idolatry usually compels us to care more about inanimate objects than about living beings!

In conjunction with the material possessions that humans have idolized for centuries as a means of defining our worth and significance in comparison to others, we have also enacted many schemes aimed at bestowing upon ourselves the honor we passionately crave. Their types and categories are and have been many: orders of merit, trophies, medals, diplomas, titles, group memberships and many more. The individual names of these prizes and accolades are even more varied, while the magnitude of the recognition they give can also encompass a wide spectrum. From local store employee or family member of the month to Olympian and world champion. Illusory prizes that sometimes are even purported to have universal validity, such as those that exist for physical female beauty. And when being the “best” of this untruthfully understood world is not enough or attainable, then some people immerse themselves in an alternate life of virtual reality in which they can become a champion of the fantasy realm. Perplexing, isn’t it? But maybe not so much once we realize that these fantasies are no more illusory than our beliefs about our prized idols, and that the feelings one experiences from “achieving” something in never-ever-land can be as exciting as when we “fulfill” the same need through a more tangible idol.

Sometimes we do not desire a championship title, but prefixes and suffixes on our names like Dr., MA, MBA, Ph.D., Professor, all the way up to pompous appellatives such as “His Honor” or “Excellency.” We know that there is an idol for every need, want and inclination, and in the case of our love/belonging and esteem needs, our idol of choice just depends on how painfully we suffer the dissatisfaction of them and how valuable and unique we believe a given idol can allow us to be. Rest assured, there is one for each and every one of us.

Competing for the top spot of recognition and esteem.

Now, by definition, not everyone in the world can be special, unique and amazing; otherwise, no one would be, and we would all be ordinary. Thus, in our quest for an ever greater feeling of respectability, desirability and grandeur in comparison to others, perhaps the most favored scheme of all is competition. Why? Simply because the logic of every competition goes like this: Only one person, group or entity among all the competitors can be the winner, and everyone who enters the competition desires not only the honor of being recognized as the best, but also all the delights and prizes that accompany victory. For this reason, all the competitors try to give their top performance and obtain the honor, praise and privileges they so passionately covet.

Therefore, the overpowering desire to climb to the highest echelon of approval to prove our worth also drives us to constantly hone our skills. This aspect is often regarded as the greatest virtue of competition because no matter who wins, it is believed that the competition process has already driven each competitor to give his or her best effort. In turn, this improves not only the results of the competition but also the skills of everyone involved. Thus, the unrelenting desire to break previous records and overcome the accomplishments of others drives the improvement of each individual, group and, potentially, mankind. But is this the positive outcome of every competition? Does breaking and surpassing previous records and triumphs truly improve individuals and mankind as a whole?

To believe that competition is the best mechanism of human motivation because it channels our aspiration for self-affirmation into fostering individual and collective improvement is to misunderstand what really causes competitive desire and, therefore, it is to idealize it. More often than not, competition paves the road to the further degradation and corruption of the competitors, their teams and even the spectators due to the rivalries that are inherent to all competitions as a result of our one-sided search for fulfillment.

But because of our deluded beliefs and constant desire to satisfy our needs even at the expense of others, we have established competitions for every conceivable human activity: sports, cooking, collecting, wearing, singing, dancing, talking, riding, reading, eating and many more. Even the simplest activities have suffered this fate, and as a result, all of these activities have gradually been transformed into idols. The degree of transformation is proportionate to the loss of the activity’s true purpose and the level at which it is instead done as an attempt to satisfy our love/belonging, esteem and even self-actualization needs.

Regarding the prize awarded to the victor, there are also many options. The sought-after distinction ranges from a private nod in recognition of our skills to an elaborate award ceremony in which medals, statues or trophies are conceded amid a show of lights and music and the cheers of a multitude. The nature of the prize we seek depends on how strongly we suffer from our unsatisfied needs and from whom we desire to receive such distinction. For example, a few loving words from Jacob would have meant much more to Leah than any other prize she could have received. But regardless of the nature of the distinction or title we receive, these thoughts feed our desire to compete: “Do you see me? I am here!” “Look at how wonderful I am and what I can do!” “I exist, and I am great!”

Although official competitions enforce rules to ensure fairness to all competitors, the burning human desire for recognition can easily persuade us to do whatever it takes to win the prize. Anything at all. If you doubt this and hold to the belief that competition can be virtuous, perhaps a study of its history and world events will reveal how much it breeds misdeeds, fraud and abuse. But in particular, let’s turn to the Bible to see how it deals with this subject.

We find the first biblical instance of competition early on, in the story of Cain and Abel. Mankind’s need for respect and recognition goes back that far, and it is no great wonder in light of everything we have studied so far. This competition, however, was not acknowledged as such, because after all it was not an officially sanctioned event or anything similar to it. In fact, it is very worth noting the Old Testament contains no mention of formal competitive events. Among the many mistakes of those ancient people as a result of their idolatry, sanctioning any activity as a “valid or good” competition was not one. Nonetheless, the Old Testament does record many instances of the envy and self-serving covetousness that give birth to competition, such as the mutual jealousy of Leah and Rachel, or the rivalries between Jacob and Esau since their birth (Genesis 24-31), between Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37-50) and even between Saul and David (1 Samuel 18-24), among many others.

What happened between Cain and Abel began with the same thing that is the origin for every competition: the desire to satisfy one’s needs and wants above anyone else’s. This was a rivalry between brothers – a sibling rivalry – that had its roots in the desire for recognition and esteem, like many rivalries do. Interestingly, though, this rivalry was not reciprocal; only Cain saw Abel as his rival. And Cain did not seek affirmation from Adam, Eve or the approval of any other person. He engaged in competition to gain the acceptance of the Lord his God.

Genesis 4:1-16 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of Yahweh.” 2 Then she bore his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the course of time Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground to Yahweh, 4 and Abel also brought an offering from the choicest firstlings of his flock. And Yahweh looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, 5 but to Cain and to his offering he did not look with favor. And Cain became very angry, and his face fell. 6 And Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? 7 If you do well will I not accept you? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it”

8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out into the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand. 12 When you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.” 13 And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Look, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and from your face I must hide. I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then Yahweh said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” Then Yahweh put a sign on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh, and he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

No part of this story states that the Lord required an offering from either Cain or Abel. Both willingly sacrificed from what they had, with the sole difference that Abel gave the choicest of what he had, while his brother did not. Thus, Abel’s sacrifice earned him the favor of our dear God. But Cain desired the Lord’s recognition Abel had received, so he became angry and jealous.

In his anger, Cain did not stop to consider that, while his offering did not receive God’s approval, the Lord had not forgotten about him. Not for an instant. Actually, our dear God was so mindful of Cain that He not only noticed his anger and discouragement, He also spoke to him with words of encouragement and warning meant to show Cain the paths of action open to him:

Encouragement: “If you do well will I not accept you?” Cain had the opportunity to amend his actions and gain acceptance!

Warning: “But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Having done wrong, Cain had to be very mindful of mastering his evil desires.

Our God’s loving words contained all the truth Cain needed to do what was right and receive the recognition and acceptance he desired from the Lord. Sadly, Cain did not heed them. He chose to submit to his sinful desire, convinced that his way was better, faster and easier for the satisfaction of his own needs than the Lord’s way; as most of us believe at some point in our lives.

So, instead of mastering his envy for his brother and learning how to love him, Cain allowed anger to fuel his envy. He then plotted how to nullify his “competition” in order to attain the recognition he wanted. And He achieved this foul objective by murdering the brother he had come to regard as his rival.

When the Lord asked Cain the whereabouts of his brother, Cain lied, “I do not know,” and callously added, “am I my brother’s keeper?” Well, he should have been. But then again, how could he be, when his desire to satisfy his need for esteem was stronger than his love for both God and his brother?

Alas, this is the common result of every competition: the hardening of our hearts towards our fellow human beings, at least while the competition lasts. If you doubt the universality of this truth, reconsider the results of the rivalries between Leah and Rachel, Jacob and Essau, Joseph and his brothers, and Saul and David. Then reflect on your own experiences with rivalry, whether you competed to acquire things you “needed” for your physiological survival and well-being or to achieve recognition and esteem. Did your actions and words (or those of others) result in hard feelings or sorrow between you and your competitor(s)? On some of those occasions, were you competing with your very own friends and family? Maybe even your spouse and children?

Of course, not every competition results in something as extreme as murder, though it is quite common for competitors to resort to various degrees of “character assassination” in order to demoralize and ridicule their perceived opponents. In other rivalries, the sabotage of the competitors’ efforts and resources is quite common as well. After all, winning is what matters the most in every competition, regardless of how often we tell ourselves that it’s truly about participation. The desire to win burns so fervently within most competitors that even if modern competitions are strictly governed by fair regulations (and this is a big if), spectators eagerly watch to see the winners explode with joy and the losers cope with disappointment. But isn’t it “not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game?”

Disappointment and heartache will never be absent from competition because almost all competitors contend to win the accolades that will bestow upon them an “aura” of noteworthiness and desirability. How can any loser feel happy or even content when he is deprived of the high feelings of victory? Will an award for participation hearten those who cannot bask in the splendor that winning is believed to bestow? Consolation prizes are so named because their purpose is to console the sadness of losing (a usually feared and dreadful condition that is unavoidable in competition). A loser must face the simple fact that he is not the best, and thus he may actually feel like a lesser human being in comparison to the winners – probably very much like Cain felt next to Abel, even though Abel was not competing with him.

However, I wrote that “almost all competitors compete to win” because, thanks to the Lord our God, we have also witnessed a few competitors assisting one another in times of distress. By doing so, they forget about winning because such acts of kindness do not belong to competition, but to collaboration. Therefore, these inspiring yet sparse situations are not the result of competition, but of the God-given consciences that stirred those people to act in humility, compassion and brotherly responsibility.

Now, in the New Testament, the word “competition” does happen to be mentioned in the apostle Paul’s association between the Christian life and a struggle. But is he just exemplifying a Christian’s struggle, or is he referring to a competitive effort to best others and swell with pride at the expense of their defeat? Let’s see.

The first epistle to the Corinthians 9:19-27 (LEB) [Emphasis added]

19 For although I am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more. 20 I have become like a Jew to the Jews, in order that I may gain the Jews. To those under the law I became as under the law (although I myself am not under the law) in order that I may gain those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as outside the law (although I am not outside the law of God, but subject to the law of Christ) in order that I may gain those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that by all means I may save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.

24 Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.26 Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.

The goal of this struggle or competition is not a gold medal or any other title or prize of this world, regardless of its name and magnitude, because such things are perishable. Paul draws his analogy on the basis of the great patience, endurance and discipline it takes to reach the finish line and win the race of a holy life. Thus, existence is a struggle for an imperishable and holy prize, although not against any other human being, for we do not struggle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-18). Certainly, our foremost struggle is the one that we must persistently face due to our contradictory nature.

Therefore, if we are called to prevail over any rivals in this contest, they are the idolatry, fear, weakness and evil that reside within and around us and that make our nature so conflicting and fickle. These are the true opponents. “17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:17-25, NASB, emphasis added).

Therefore, the competition the apostle Paul wrote about has no relation to those events we have schemed in our hearts and minds and put into practice to achieve glory and a sense of worth. In truth, the goal of man-made competition is the complete opposite of the purpose of the holy race. The struggle to which Paul referred has no place for the pride, strife, envy, resentment or division that most competitions feed on and foster (even if they are advertised as events of unity). Hence, the apostle Paul encourages:

The epistle to the Philippians 2:1-11 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Paul calls us to a corporate unity of mind – to have the same love of God and share the same Spirit – not to compete for selfish desires! Therefore, any activity that serves to even remotely heighten our pride at the expense of a fellow human being can only be the result of our idolatry and, as such, is worthless. It does not matter if we believe that God is the source of recognition in our deluded endeavor, because His very own Son, “although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Thus our Lord Christ humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death on a cross so that we can live! But concerning those who seek greatness, He spoke this to His apostles:

The Gospel according to Mark 10:35-45 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

What rebuking words for those who seek their own promotion! “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.” How distant these truthful words are from our deluded desires of the glory that supposedly result from winning! Also, please note how James’ and John’s request to be nearly as glorious as Christ is so disregarding of the other ten disciples, that it offends them. Thus, our Lord Christ clearly spoke against the desire to seek and accept self-serving praise. Instead, He encouraged them and us to sincerely accept the burden of responsibility that comes with serving the Lord our God with true humility and absolutely no conceit. Therefore, the desire to seek honor and privileges for oneself from (and also for) the people and things we idolize (family, friends, church, nation, ideas, activities, places and so on) testifies not only of how distant we remain from abiding in our Lord’s truthful word, but also of our lack of His love within us. Regretfully, we have once again placed our worthless idols before the truth of God, and we dedicate to them the love that is solely due to Him. The following words make this clearer:

The Gospel according to John 5:31-47 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

31 “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for-a while in his light. 36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

37 And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Therefore, with every bit of certainty, we can assert that our Lord Christ did not come to this world to break records or receive applause from any frantic crowd that hailed Him as a hero. In fact, even though He was accepted and believed in by some, He was despised, spat upon, insulted, mocked, beaten and shunned by many more.

Now, here’s a thought: Can you try to imagine what hope we would have if our Lord Christ had been a glory-seeker like most of humanity, or even like many who claim to serve Him and walk in His footsteps? What would have become of the Kingdom of God if Jesus bad proudly struggled against the Pharisees to show them Who He truly was? These are repulsive thoughts, are they not? Why, then, are we so keen on competing to earn glory and fame? I guess it should be clear by now that the answer to this last question is none other than idolatry – particularly the delusional ideas about who we are or desire to be in comparison to those we also idolize. No matter how false these ideas are, we lust after and passionately give ourselves to them with the vain hope of finding our sense of worth.

The absolute futility of all competition.

Like every other form of idolatry, competition is very attractive; if it were not, no one would compete. There is considerable fun and excitement in pitting our wits and abilities against one another to “see” who is better at any given activity. The prizes can be quite attractive, too, and even more so if we have idolized their use and value. But no matter how alluring a competition may be or how virtuous we have believed the competitive process to be, we must ask ourselves: Why should we keep on doing something that our Lord Christ did not do? Out of human pride? Out of the fear of discovering how unlike our “great” ideals we truly are? Or out of our deluded yet uncontrollable desires? Perhaps all of these are the fundamental reasons, but they do not justify our glory-seeking actions.

Or maybe we thrive on competition because it is the best way to gain greater access to the idol of money and wealth. After all, in our pyramid-like social structures, there is only room for a few at the top, so one must fight with every possible artifice and in every feasible way to get the pleasures reserved for those “privileged” few. In the case of sports, perhaps we compete because without a struggle that results in a winner, sports would be terribly boring. It is difficult to imagine playing a game of anything without a contender or a record to break because the thought of it is not very attractive, is it? Or is it that we enjoy rivalries because we actually take pleasure in diminishing the worth of other people for personal elevation? Or perhaps, worst of all, our only way of finding purpose and significance is by comparing ourselves to others and striving to be better than them.

No matter how we justify our continuous endeavors to break records, beat rivals and become the center of attention, there is one thing of which we should never lose sight: It was out of true love that our Lord Jesus Christ came to serve mankind and give His life in ransom for everyone who would faithfully believe in Him. The Word of Truth lived and died in the flesh in order to open the eyes of our hard hearts and darkened minds and deliver us from every delusion and deceit we have keenly believed in and desired. He intends to take away the burden and destructiveness of our idolatry by graciously giving us the possibility to know and faithfully abide in His truthful love and justice.

Among the essential characteristics of His true love that we must struggle to deeply understand – to the limit of our abilities – is that it does not compete against anyone or desire glory for oneself, but it is as follows:

The first epistle to the Corinthians 13:1-8 (NRSV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

Yes, “love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” However, without this love, the love of our Lord, we are all the opposite of it. We are as envious as Cain and as arrogant as Samson. We insist on our own way and become irritable just like Saul. Far from becoming Christ-like, we contend with one another, compelled by jealousy, haughtiness, boastfulness, irritation and resentment. Over and over again, all of the hateful things that Paul named in Romans 1:28-32 are exemplified in our lives, for we have given ourselves to lies instead of the truth in which love rejoices.

So, no matter how intently we believe to satisfy our esteem and love/belonging needs with coveted prizes, accolades and titles, we will find no satiation in them, just emptiness and more desire. There is no true purpose in our activities or professions if they are aimed at feeling accepted or important, just passionate vocation. And we will find no true love in any of this, just the delusion of it.

Would a truly humble man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells compete in order to be exalted above others? Would such a person desire success at the expense of others in competition? Would a true disciple of our Lord Christ not encourage unity and communion between his brethren? Does a true disciple of Christ not seek to give his or her life for the edification of others by sharing all of the Lord’s blessings, instead of contending with others for worldly gain? Is a disciple of Christ not convinced of the truthfulness of the following words?

The epistle to the Galatians 6:1-10 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For each one will bear his own load.

6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Therefore, it is necessary to underline once again that the struggle/race the apostle Paul wrote about does not seek to attract attention to our own merits, abilities or works. It does not seek any glory or prize of this world, nor is it intended to show off our worth or shine in the light of our own glory, for we truly have none. Instead, Paul referred to a race of faithfulness and endurance rooted in and nourished by the love of God – a race in the hope of deeply knowing and sharing His truthful love, without which we would be utterly hopeless. Thus, His love is what nourishes the faith that enables us to prevail over every obstacle in this struggle, gradually transforming us into disciplined and obedient soldiers of Christ Jesus, just as the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

The second epistle to Timothy 2:1-13 (NRSV)

1 You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; 2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. 3 Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. 5 And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. 6 It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David— that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

It was this race of steadfast love, justice and truth that the apostle Paul finished, and upon its end, he received the imperishable prize, as we will if we faithfully endure in this holy race to the very end of our days. To do this, we must devotedly exercise the joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness that only the truthful love of the Lord our God allows us to maintain without drifting to doctrines that better suit our selfish, passionate and prideful desires.

The second epistle to Timothy 4:1-8 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

6As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Indeed, the apostle Paul kept the faith that allowed him to fully love our dear God and be empowered by His steadfast love to carry out an amazing service in His name for the benefit of many generations. In this exemplary manner, a disciple of Christ can find the true satisfaction of his or her need for esteem, for amidst all the suffering and rejection in this world, what greater evidence of esteem and, above all, caring love is there than to find our names written in the Book of Life?

So, with all this in mind, and in case there is any lingering doubt caused by reticent idolatry, let us ask ourselves: Did the apostle Paul do anything at all to boast about what the Lord empowered him to do? Did he consider himself to be a benefactor of humanity or an especially great man? Did he serve our dear God to receive awards or titles or to have his name written in the annals of mankind? Can a human being truly be of service to the Lord when he does “good works” with the intention of attracting the limelight to himself? Can anyone serve God or do anything in His glorious name with the remote intention of garnering recognition and respect from others? The answer lies in these words spoken by our Lord Christ:

The Gospel according to Matthew 6:1-18 (NASB)

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you-give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 ‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

A disciple of Christ does not boast about anything he does, nor does he do anything to attract attention to his person or skills or to validate his beliefs in the sight of others. He puts on no mask of spirituality or righteousness to cause others to tell him, “How great you are! What great faith you hold! You are truly amazing!” He seeks no reward or title from this world; all that matters to him is to hear, understand and keep the word of Christ within his heart so that he may carry out the will of the Lord our God and bring honor to His glorious name. This requires us to let go of the illusion that we are worthy of glory and praise. It requires us to truly know ourselves for what we are and are not, because once we see ourselves in truth, without any trace of the idealization that has paved the way to our idolization of mankind and ourselves, we will have plenty of reasons to humble ourselves before our fellow men and, above all, before Him who, in His amazing love, has allowed us to be reconciled to Him and walk on His path. “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7, NIV).

It is with such humility that the apostle Paul, far from doing anything to attract attention to himself, flatly rejected any boasting about good works:

The epistle to the Ephesians 2:8-10 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Not only that, the apostle Paul also rejected the classification, measurement and any other form of comparison between himself or his works and others’ – especially those who bragged about themselves – for he found no reason to boast. However, he did boast, to a point, about the authority the Lord gave him, concluding that we are not to commend ourselves because the One who has authority to approve our faith and actions is no human at all, but the Lord Himself!

The second epistle to the Corinthians 10:7-18 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. 8Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters. 10For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.’ 11Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when present.

12We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense. 13We, however, will not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us, to reach out even as far as you. 14For we were not overstepping our limits when we reached you; we were the first to come all the way to you with the good news of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limits, that is, in the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith increases, our sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged, 16so that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in someone else’s sphere of action. 17‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ 18For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.

So, what truly valid reason is there to compare ourselves to others? By now, it is plain to see that any comparison of ourselves to others will, on one hand, foster the desire to compete and exalt ourselves above them in order to “prove our worth.” On the other hand, comparison will constantly tempt us to overestimate or underestimate our true worth not only in our own eyes, but also in the sight of the Lord our God. Comparison only leads us to be confused about what He can empower us to do in His service for the benefit of our fellow men and women.

Therefore, once again, I stress that instead of competing with one another to find out who is “better and unique,” we must seek the wisdom to understand who we are as creatures of God and clearly – truly – identify the abilities He has granted us as such. His blessings are gifts not intended for us to gloat in our pride of them or to tout before others; but to serve them kindly and justly according to the empowering love that the Lord our God grants those who are faithful to Him.

Let us, then, serve our dear Lord with all the gratitude and humility that is due to the One without whom we are nothing, fully knowing that only by abiding in Him can we become someone – this someone being His servant and soldier and son or daughter. Now, a faithful servant of the Lord carefully guards His name above everything, caring not about his or her own name. Moreover, a servant of our Lord does not presume to have earned their unmerited position because it truly is unmerited, and thus we should know better than to vaunt about this. Indeed, the apostle Paul wrote the following words concerning those who have been grafted into the olive tree:

The epistle to the Romans 11:17-24, 34-36 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

None of us supports the root, which is the Lord our God; it is He who supports us, “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things!” So, what glory is left for us to claim, having been undeservingly delivered from our trespasses and reconciled to the Lord our God through Jesus Christ? Absolutely none, for to people like us the following words are also addressed:

The epistle to the Colossians 1:21-23 (NASB)

21 And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds, 22 but now you have been reconciled by his physical body through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Therefore, let us strive to be truly humble in everything, not doing anything with the expectation of receiving a reward from the Lord or anyone else, because even though no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him; we should be very careful not to become tempted to enter into economies of exchange or bargaining with the Lord our God, who owes us nothing, yet we owe everything to Him (see 1 Corinthians 2:9)! Not only did He give His Son to reconcile us to Him, but He also empowers us to do everything in His name through His boundless love. What, then, can we now expect in exchange? Only the true privilege and honor He grants us to tirelessly serve our fellow human beings in His name and for His glory should be enough, as our Lord Christ said:

The Gospel according to Luke 17:7-10 (NASB)

7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly–clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

In the meantime, until the exact time that the Lord our God has established as the end of our service to Him in this world, let us keep ever-present in our minds that all glory is only due Him, the One who saved us and enabled to live as His servants, soldiers and adopted sons and daughters. As such, He will continue to confide great responsibilities in us, and there is no way we will be able to fruitfully accomplish a single one of them without humility, just as it is written:

The first epistle of Peter 5:1-7 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’

6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.

Yet if, as soldiers of the Lord, we still desire to boast about His authority, let us do it only in the vigorous and dutiful deeds that speak for themselves of our faith in the Lord who saved us as an expression of unrequited love and compassion for our weakness and folly. Let us seek to glorify His name through actions that are not aimed at showing off our own “extraordinary” abilities or uniqueness, but must testify of the glory of the Lord our God who empowers us in everything as His servants to heal human souls – according to His truth – from the diseases that oppress them, including pride, envy and every other passionate desire and delusion.

And may we never compare our words or actions to those of our fellow servants or anyone else, although we may perhaps contrast them to help us see anything we do in error or pride and rivalry. Let us always remember that our only reason to feel honored is the Lord we serve, for we serve a Lord like no other – the greatest and truest Lord of all!

10

MISERY AND INJUSTICE ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF IDOLATRY

Despite everything I have written in the previous chapters about the destructive nature of idolatry (which is simply the result of the delusion of love or delusional love), I must carry on with this topic simply because our idolatrous nature is so exceedingly stubborn that its consequences continue to be far-reaching in their perversion of every aspect of our lives as individuals who are important, contributing members of the human race; and especially because justice is one of the things that our idolatry has perverted the most.

By now, we have seen how persistent and pervasive the delusions of wealth and every other thing we own or invent are when we “see” in them the promise of satisfaction of our needs. We have also seen how unsuspected yet tireless our idolatry of other people is, especially of those who deeply affect us either positively or negatively. But perhaps the most dogged and difficult idolatry to see is that of our very own selves – the mistaken ideas we construe in our hearts and minds about who we are as individuals in relation to mankind.

The deluded human quest for validation in relation and comparison to others, along with the discovery of purpose in relation to who we believe we are, usually ends disastrously; for such endeavors are nothing more than the expression of an inherently anguishing conflict. Albert Schweitzer summed this up quite nicely when he wrote, “the struggle for existence is a double one: man has to assert himself in nature and against nature, and similarly also among his fellow men and against them.” But for the moment, I will leave aside our struggle against nature and focus on our struggle with each other.

Mankind experiences apparently conflicting desires from the universal need to fit into a social group in order to satisfy several other needs. On one hand, we desire to relate to something within that group (its people, values, ideals or objectives) in order to be part of it; on the other, we desire to validate our worth in comparison to other members of the group in order to have a highly regarded place among them and enjoy the privileges that come with it. So, generally speaking, in our State of Delusion about ourselves and every other person in this world, we individually seek to escape our State of Agony caused by our unsatisfied needs and wants by simultaneously desiring to belong to mankind and compete against it. This is why humans often wish to be friends with one another, but we more easily become adversaries, and this, more than diminishing our State of Agony, perpetuates it with the lasting conflict of our inner and outer lives. Let’s examine this in a little more detail.

Relation and competition.

As we saw in Chapters 7 and 8, human beings were not created to live in isolation. We need the companionship of our fellow men and women, thus living among other people is necessary for our wellbeing. Establishing relationships with other people gives us the greatest access to all the things, thoughts and feelings that we need for physical and emotional survival. For example, hunting or farming in a group is more effective and expeditious than doing so alone. And having someone to share our joys and worries, and help us carry our burdens also allow us to live fuller, more joyful lives than having no one to speak but our own shadow.

Most importantly, we need fellowship because only in community will we find true life and purpose in this existence, and the opportunities for achieving our fullest possibilities. For, as we will clearly see in this chapter, true life begins with communion with our dear God and Lord and it is manifested through communion with one another in Christ.

But even though living within a society is what best facilitates us to have food for our bellies and nourishment for our minds and feelings, our idolatry simultaneously compels and exposes us to the mutual abuse and exploitation of our beings through competition and struggle against one another for “superiority” and the privileges that come with it.

As we have seen in the previous chapter, competition is simply incompatible with the true love of our dear Lord, which happens to be the sole power upon which a healthy community between humans can be built. Yet we are obstinate in our blindness to this truth or our refusal to understand it. We remain all too keen to struggle between ourselves (at the individual and collective levels) just to prove who is “better” than the rest and/or get the largest possible share of physical resources. In victory over others we gain easier access to all the comforting material and emotional sustenance that we need and want, most of which we use to further show off our “value” to others and gain further advantage over them. Thus, in the deluded reality we have built for ourselves (deeply anchored in our hearts and minds by our overpowering emotions such as fear and covetousness) we have also decided that it is better to use than to be used, and to prevail than to fail; even if we truly end up losing our souls in these struggles.

To win these competitions and gain that highly coveted sustenance, on one hand, we have armed ourselves with every possible idea and emotion (the primary tools with which we have transformed every object into an idol) that can help us safeguard our sense of self-worth. For example, we use our knowledge and deeply held beliefs, no matter how false, as combat weapons by discussing with others what we believe is right and wrong, how things are and should be and even what it all means. This we mostly do not with the objective of gaining greater insight by sharing and reviewing our thoughts in humility, but of proving who is right and who is wrong, resulting in the respective feelings of pride and shame these two positions make us experience. Thus, every type of knowledge can be acquired as a means of increasing our sense of self-worth in terms of how correct, educated, wise, reasonable or pious others may think us and/or we believe ourselves to be. It also serves to gradually impose our world-view. But by doing this, we have idolized not only knowledge itself, but also its purpose, along with its vast array of learning processes. In our idolatry we exemplify the puffing part of the following words expressed by the apostle Paul: “We know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (Fragment of 1 Corinthians 8:1, NRSV). Because even though the apostle Paul wrote this in reference to matters of food sacrificed to idols, his rebuke is aimed at the argument in favor of using any so-called knowledge to “justify” idolatry. Additionally, acquiring and employing knowledge as an idol is just another way of “feeding” our idolatry.

But with such a false understanding of ourselves and everything around us, we also compete to buy, use and wear every possible thing, hoping to prove to others how special and awesome we are and how they are not. Naturally, we believe that the one wearing the newest and most desired knick-knack is also the most special. Sometimes, even human beings are idolized and used as articles for display in order to attract attention to their user (such as “trophy wives” and “trophy children”). Their beauty, good manners and achievements are believed to reflect on their spouse or parents. In our idolatry, we use everything and everyone as a function of how proud, glorious and great they can make us feel.

On the other hand, we have also armed ourselves by associating with those we believe to be important and special. By association, we can think of ourselves in the same terms as opposed to those we believe to be inferior (and with whom we do not want to associate), according to a collection of artificial and shallow standards that we nonetheless accept as true as members of the social group we belong or aspire to belong to. These standards of measurement – which, again, are nothing more than ideas – are as false and vain as our idols because they are almost always based on our assessment of wealth, beauty, power, influence, intellect, strength, athleticism, piety and so on. Yet, for all their relative value and mistaken understanding, we often hope and pray to have more of these “qualities” in order to prove our worth to ourselves and others.

It is remarkable, though, that to gain and retain membership in any of such “important” and “special” groups, one must often compete with others to prove his or her worth and climb its echelons of importance. We must contend with one another under the same artificial – and ludicrous – parameters to prove that we deserve a place among its members. Then we employ the same delusional ideas to affirm our worth by discrediting and degrading those who “do not belong.” But the struggle – which can be quite violent - of human against human is never over. We tirelessly strive to belong to a social group, climb the rankings within the social group and move onto “better” social groups – all thanks to our idolatry.

But these are just a few very brief explanations of the many self-worth-enhancing mechanisms we use to “satisfy” our desires through our relationships with other people, but to the harm of most of them. The total number of these schemes is amazing, and it comprises a range of fairly plain actions to very complex and convoluted systems in which various types of idolatry are intertwined. The more complex and convoluted the system, the worse for us because their underlying falsity and worthlessness is more difficult to perceive. But even with all their complexity and subtlety, all of the most habitual activities for extracting our self-worth have this in common: Through them, we subtract from the respect and recognition that we should give to all human beings so that we can gloat in our personal sense of self-worth and that of our so-called peers; which are truly nothing yet to our deluded eyes seem terribly important. This will forever result in inequality and, consequently, in very painful social injustice.

Idolatry will never allow for equality among human beings.

The overall result of our passionate desire to attain self-worth by comparing ourselves to one another is dreadful without a doubt and deeply damaging to any true expression of love between human beings. Nonetheless, we are inclined to constantly construe that “there is no one else like me” through the erroneous ideas and blatant lies that allow us to believe that we and our delusionally loved ones are especially valuable and more important than anyone else.

Completely lost in lies and delusions, I can only feel “special” by exalting myself and those who are important to me while bringing down everyone I do not care about. The superiority of some can come only with the inferiority of others; otherwise, everyone would be equal and no one would be of “special” worth, and this is something that the idolatrous human being cannot live with. Our idolatry compels us to establish the type of master-slave relationship that the German philosopher Hegel so accurately described as a constant between human beings. But if this sounds too cruel – which indeed is – and any of us has trouble believing how someone’s sense of self-worth is extracted at the detriment of someone else’s worth, then consider carefully the issue of bullying not only in schools but in the workplace and even in many homes. Recently there has been tremendous media coverage on this issue, though, wretchedly, it is far from a new phenomenon. Kids and their friends have been denigrating one another into submission and servitude for decades, if not centuries, simply to feel more valuable themselves.

Think also about the horrendous human tendency to demean and deject anyone and anything that does not fit in with our ideals, prejudices and life-views (that is, our idols). Think of the anger or even violence with which we react when we perceive the slightest threat to our sense of self-worth and the deluded beliefs upon which it is built. Our reaction in thought or action is aimed at bringing down those who have “attacked” or humiliated us, whether inadvertently or intentionally (“You say I’m what? What about you?! You are worse than me!”). Think about how easy it is to refer to anyone we dislike with derogatory adjectives that we would never seriously apply to ourselves unless we truly loathed our own beings. Think about all the TV shows, news articles, blog comments and social media postings that ridicule others as if the authors were truly better than the people they scorn. (To avoid such scorn and humiliation, it is no accident that a very popular online social media site has no “unlike” button. People like to use such sites to gloat about themselves and their delusionally loved ones, not to attract criticism.)

But we believe to gain so much of our miserable sense of self-worth at the expense of others that to preserve and augment it, hardly anything or anyone can stop us from our evil actions; not even the people we have claimed to love and care about. In this regard, consider the issue of psychological violence between spouses and kin. Spouses scorn one another. Parents humiliate their children to maintain a sense of authority. They employ hateful words and cruel punishments to pound children into submission instead of help them gain discipline. Consider also how siblings call each other demeaning names to bolster their own senses of worth. Children compete with one another to find out who is “better” and fight to attract the attention and affection of their parents and friends who ignorantly foster such behavior. I could provide many more examples, but what for? You probably know them all too well from experience.

Now, with all of this in mind, what do you think fills our hearts and minds when we insult and denigrate one another (whether family, friends, acquaintances or strangers)? Surely, there is no true love in anyone who tries to validate his or her worth by degrading others. Therefore, in this absence of true love, consider the exceedingly divisive results of the idolatry of our own selves, for the sake of which we are fittingly disposed to disregard the value of our fellow human beings. Think especially about the oppression and injustice this has led us to act upon. If we constantly need to feel greater or more special than the rest, what equality can there be among us? What fairness can exist in our attitudes, reasonings and actions?

How long will we continue to insult and demean one another? How long will we disingenuously pursue ideals such as “liberty, equality and justice for all” while deeply believing that we are better than the rest? The answer is simple: For as long as we remain in our idolatry and hypocrisy. In contrast of which, the following words were spoken by our Lord Christ.

The Gospel according to Matthew 5:21-26 (NASB)

21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

These beautiful words exemplify the possibility for humility, compassion, friendship, unity and justice of those who seek to abide in the love of the Lord our God; unlike those who justify themselves and “validate” their exalted worth in comparison to others, as the next parable clearly illustrates:

The Gospel according to Luke 18:9-14 (NASB)

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’14I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Pharisee believed that he fulfilled every requisite of righteousness according to his idolized understanding of the Law. Other Pharisees probably also complimented his “uprightness,” and in this he found reason to consider himself a better man than others, including the tax collector who stood somewhat away, acknowledging his own sinfulness. However, the Pharisee deluded himself in his self-righteousness and reason for pride. In our Lord’s true sight, the tax collector was the one justified through his humility, while the Pharisee’s arrogance condemned him.

But as different as we would like to think we are, we very often believe and behave just like the Pharisee. It is easy to demean others in order to protect our frail sense of self-worth and defend what we believe are its accompanying prerogatives. If someone cuts in front of me while I am peacefully and correctly driving my vehicle (because I am correct in practically everything I do), it is justifiable for me to think or even vocalize derogatory remarks about that driver.

In addition, when we do not find enough persuasion in our self-righteous arguments and supporting reasoning, we seek the company of those we deem worthy to be our peers and “friends” so that they can help us convince ourselves and others of how mistaken they were in doing something we did not like. In our delusion, we fail to realize that our “friends” are just as deceived as we are. And if we cannot convince that person of their error, at least our “friends” can console us with words of reassurance and praise that can keep alive the illusion of our grandiose and virtuous identities. After all, that is why we call them our “friends,” for we like to believe that “a friend is someone who always has my back, no matter what” – even when I humiliate or attack someone else.

In reciprocity, we express similar words of reassurance and praise to our “friends,” and in this manner, we have established relationships based on elated mutual appraisal and triumphant complicity instead of true love. Self-interest feigned as brotherly concern takes the place of generous mutual care and responsibility, and so we share partiality, favoritism and passions instead of justice, loyalty and selflessness. These relationships, of course, are just as frail as our illusory sense of self-worth that is so easily threatened by the slightest adverse adjective. And perhaps they are even frailer because, in self-idolatry, everyone secretly believes that they are somehow superior to their peers, and this belief usually compels them to step over their “friends” to take hold of a desired position in their social group. These are sad and empty friendships to say the least, but with them as an example, do you now see more clearly all the injustice and inequality that are bred by idolatry? As long as anyone desires to be greater than the rest, he or she will also desire to be treated better than the rest (unlike our Lord Christ, who came not to rule and be showered with privileges, but to serve mankind). This, by definition, is the opposite of justice. How simple and evident, is it not? And yet in our passionately pursued delusions, we cannot seem to take notice of this simple truth.

Still, upon such shaky grounds of mutual and temporary self-interest, many families, groups, gangs, teams, corporations, towns and even nations have been established. But even if these unstable social constructions last for many generations, they ultimately crumble beneath the pressure of the delusional conceit and corruption of their members: Once some of the members’ needs and desires are threatened by those of other members of their formerly beloved “community,” all of their evil – which was all the while disguised as brotherly concern, self-righteousness and honor – openly overflows against each other.

No doubt, there is a fundamentally lonely existence for every human being who relies on “communities” that share common idols but lack true unity, for communion based on our collective covetousness for idols and related passions is not true unity at all. At best, it is a sort of weak, sticky attachment – rather repulsive in fact. But this makes it easy to understand why once-thought “strong” marriages, families, teams, communities or nations become divided and eventually fall apart once their members pursue their individual needs/wants above brotherly or communal success. People largely prefer to pursue money, power, fame, glory, honor, comfort, sexual gratification and any other idol instead of the truthful love of God. So, amid a sea of family, “friends,” colleagues and fellow citizens, everyone is essentially lonely, for the elements they mostly have in common are their self-interest and idolatry, which in truth only divide them and destroy the faintest resemblance of true love.

In the end, by not abiding in the truthful love of the Lord our God – which is the tight bond of perfect unity (Colossians 3:14) – and building our relationships upon it, we are condemned to experience the ongoing hunger of our unsatisfied needs and the burning stoke of their corresponding desires. Because of this, we remain afraid of, suspicious of and confused about one another, no matter how physically close and apparently friendly we are. Unable to see, understand and value other human beings for who they truly are, just as we cannot truly know ourselves. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how everything that revolves around idolatry becomes worthless.

Undeniably, there is little truth in what we have believed and done in order to find our individual and collective sense of self-worth. However, let’s move on in our study of this deluded quest for validation because to some it still has plenty of space to move on and, consequently, occasions to commit further injustices.

Of tyrants, false saviors and delusionally erected gods.

The fervent quest for self-affirmation does not end with the things we devise/wear/have/use to express and reflect our “greatness,” or with the competitions of skill and attributes we like to get into to “see” who is the “best” among us, or even with the great bulk of knowledge and ideals that we have gathered and/or shaped to prove our superiority and shape our identities. No, the burning desire for self-worth has compelled many people to seek even more. This pursuit has not necessarily followed any given order, for when we seek our own self-worth, we travel different paths. Yet, the quest for self-affirmation reaches its pinnacle when people form man-made gods out of their very own selves – something for which there is also a competition, but one that is not for everyone because it is the most grueling and ruthless of all.

Of this type of people, there is one very famous example in the Bible, and it is that of the king of Tyre, whose description we fittingly find in the book of Ezekiel, the book of the Bible that most profusely discusses the subject of idols:

Ezekiel 28:1-19 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:

Because your heart is proud and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas’, yet you are but a mortal, and no god, though you compare your mind with the mind of a god. 3 You are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; 4 by your wisdom and your understanding you have amassed wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.

5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth. 6 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you compare your mind with the mind of a god, 7 therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. 8They shall thrust you down to the Pit, and you shall die a violent death in the heart of the seas. 9 Will you still say, ‘I am a god’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a mortal, and no god, in the hands of those who wound you?10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, says the Lord God

11Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:

You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire.

15 You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. 18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought out fire from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.

These verses show that when we idolize ourselves above anything else and as a consequence of our burning desires to fully control our well-being and to be respected, recognized, feared and even loved, we can turn ourselves into our very own gods. Certainly, many people have done this in their hearts and minds, but in reality they do not amount to anything close to their illusions, except maybe over their families or a relatively small social group. They are family, team or work place tyrants, for example. But a select few others have actually become man-made gods not only in their own darkened hearts and minds, but also in the deceived hearts and minds of thousands, if not millions, of people who have believed in them and over whom they have ruled as if they were truly superior in every sense. These individuals have reached such heights with their propitious personal skills, knowledge and characteristics (like the king of Tyre who was skilled in trade, extremely wise and very good-looking). They thrive as members of social groups that faithfully adore the same ideals they appear to embody, and they benefit from just the right amount of “fortune,” for “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all” (fragment of Ecclesiastes 9:11, NRSV). Although they do not thank anyone or anything for their progress, at least not sincerely. According to their conceited beliefs, they are self-made men (or gods).

These “kings of Tyre” have made extremely “valuable” idols of themselves and pathetically “insignificant” abstractions of almost everyone else – except, perhaps, their families and “friends.” And they have done so in such hubris that the crudest and most contemptuous expressions for other human beings have come from them. But what else can be expected from someone who is compelled to consider himself greater than everyone else? Under the delusional idea that one is superior to the rest, it is easy to be dismissive of people and have no qualms about hurting them. Thus, anything is permissible to these individuals in their quest to secure an abundant supply of everything they desire to satisfy their needs/wants and protect their “grandiose” self-image – an image that rests on nothing else than a deluded sense of honor. Indeed, many men and women have willingly died and killed to preserve this sense of honor, ignorant and blind to their last breath of the fact that “all honor’s wounds are self-inflicted” (Andrew Carnegie). But our stubborn vanity and delusional arrogance blinds us to the truth and corrupts us to the core.

However, when we face tyrants who have no second thoughts about degrading human life (how much they do this depends on how intently they idolize themselves and their ideals above others and how little conscience they have left in their hearts), the struggle for greatness and dominance among humans makes a little sense and serves to somewhat alleviate the pains and hardships imposed by the individuals who believe themselves to be gods and masters of the life and fate of the population they rule.

Paradoxically, it is because of this dreadful human tendency to validate oneself by degrading others that the competition for power and privileges ameliorates the destruction caused by the greed, lust and megalomania of a single individual or a relatively small group bound by the same deluded, self-serving beliefs. Then, the competition for the “superiority” of idols – which takes the shape of ideologies, doctrines and every other sort of belief usually “personified” by notable individuals – serves mankind for a while. This struggle for prominence is not truly good, but rather a lesser evil that “buys” us additional time (months, years, decades and even centuries) so that the world’s population is not swiftly decimated at the hands of brazen tyrants who wish to rule over everything according to their deluded beliefs. These men and women have become so deeply immersed in idolatry that they wish to shape the world according to the image of their adored idols, thus “validating” themselves and hoping to secure the eternity of their memory. The empires of Alexander the Great (it is no wonder he was called “the Great” now, is it?) Attila the Hun, Napoleon and Hitler are clear examples of this.

Sometimes the additional time that this competition of idols “buys” humanity becomes rather bearable for those of us who are under the civil authority of people who allow their God-given consciences to guide them in the enactment of laws and public policies. We should be grateful – as in everything – for this because there is also the sad possibility that people of authority will enact laws merely to preserve their power, exemplifying once more how divergent justice and equality are from any activity, emotion and idea related to idolatry.

But no matter how bearable or unbearable such additional time may be, hopefully every day, hour and minute will serve to rectify our misguided ways in and through the love and justice of the one, true Lord, and never as a function of the people in authority who are believed to “wisely” lead us to everything we keenly desire in our idolatry. We must not forget that almost every one of these leaders (whether they are corporate, political or religious authorities) care mostly about their deluded ideas of the world, themselves and their friends and consorts. (Please read 1 Samuel 8 for a prime example of why God assigned priests, not kings, to govern Israel, even though the priests were also susceptible to corruption. Sadly, the Israelites eventually asked God for a king instead, so they could be like the nations around them, whose idolatrous ways they were never intended to emulate).

So, even if a tyrant or leader is overthrown or succeeded by another power-hungry group led by yet another man or woman enamored of his or her own self-image and ideas, there is no reason for us to relax and say, “Now salvation and freedom have come to our lives. All will finally be well!” In truth, these people seek to validate their deluded ideals and self-importance above all. They are not people servants who dwell in and exemplify the love and justice of God, but lords according to this world’s deceived understanding. As such, they will seize every opportunity to construct a reality based upon their idols and secure a “glorious” legacy for themselves, no matter how destructive their actions; completely unmindful to the truth that only “love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure” (Proverbs 20:28, NIV).

In other words, for as long as there are idolized rulers in power, there is no true hope of a just society – even if the idols in turn exercise their authority differently, perhaps not as brazenly as those before them, or under a different title that seems to bear no resemblance to despotism. There is no reason for hope even if the incumbent in power relates to the general population, interest groups, the armed forces and their bureaucracy differently more openly and amiably. These are naught but deceptive strategies of the “baby-kissing” type aimed at enlisting as many people as possible for their votes and support in exchange for “satisfaction” of their deluded desires. After all, to succeed the previous idol in power, the incumbent must have promised a change for the “better;” he or she would have had no other choice. But change is the constant promise and the constant failure. For even while things often change in appearance, they remain fundamentally the same. Our idols may look and sound different, but the same idolatries and their corresponding horrible consequences remain for as long as we do not faithfully abide in the truthful love of our dear God and Lord.

Consequently, behind all our delusions about how great and capable someone (perhaps including ourselves) is to enact the great change we so desire in the world (or at least in everything that somehow affects us), there exists no single powerful person who can perform such a task by himself. And as a proof of this, it is evident to see how in spite of the millions of leaders that have existed and the various government forms they have employed throughout human history, the essential evils and lies that have plagued mankind since the fall of Adam and Eve remain to this very day, even if they are expressed through different ideologies, creeds, social systems, technologies and/or art forms. Thus, there are no human saviors in this world. What exists are deeply held ideas and powerful emotions, which together form beliefs that motivate or compel people to converge behind a set of related objectives; regardless of whether they are truthful and good or false and evil. This is important to underline because collective support is what empowers a belief – when people commit themselves to it by lusting after it or loving it enough to bring it into fruition/ Truly, as our Lord Christ spoke concerning faith:

The Gospel according to Matthew 17:14-21 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

The more people converge behind a common belief (the more faith they have in something or someone), the more real and relevant that thing or person will become in their lives and the more they will devout their vitality to enliven and keep such belief alive. However, the reality and importance of our beliefs cannot necessarily be equated with truthfulness. In spite of the accuracy with which mankind has grasped the mechanics of the material world (which is immeasurably far from complete!), when it comes to our spiritual and mental lives, we are very likely living amid an enormous lie with a myriad of guises. For all its craftiness and deception, we have believed it to be true, and all the more because almost everyone keeps it alive by delusionally loving and lusting after it. But that is it. The lie only feels real because our emotions for it are real as I’ve stated before. Wretchedly, we tend to equate perceived reality with truth, yet we should know that while we do not perceive the devil, he is real, although he is not truthful. Similarly, idols are very real and tangible in our lives, but they are not truthful, no matter how commonly shared. These are no science-fiction reasonings, even if they may seem so to our deluded hearts and minds that cannot clearly discern between truth and fiction or between the delusion of love and true love. But perhaps we are so confused that we keep having difficulties believing in the existence of truthful love.

But notwithstanding our confusions and delusions, please consider this concerning any and all of our beliefs: If we do not know the truthful love of our dear Lord so as to faithfully abide in it, what good is all of our knowledge and faith? Certainly,“lif I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-2, NRSV, emphasis added).

Justice is only restored when we end all our idolatry so that we can entirely abide in the truthful love of our Lord.

If I “do not have love, I am nothing,” no matter what else I may have. In this passage, the apostle Paul referred to the love of God in its purest form, the one that rejoices in the truth(1 Corinthians 13:6), and not to our delusion of love, nor the delusional love with which we fuse ourselves to idols. So why is it that without abiding in the love of God, mankind still believes to be “something?”

Obviously enough, then, the truth of who we are as human beings is very far from our misconceptions and quite distinct from the guises we have crafted in our hearts and minds to “cover” ourselves with. Hence, our true selves have little to do with the idols we have conceived of ourselves. But I still wonder: Why is mankind so keen on hiding behind its delusions? What makes us so afraid of truly knowing and understanding ourselves in relation to one another that we cannot shake off the obsession of scrambling for any idea that helps us believe that we are unique and great in comparison to everyone else? Or is it that being human is just not “good enough,” so most desire to be something else and even god-like? And does our desire to be “someone” apart from God the reason we keep feeding the idols that have perverted and corrupted everything that we were meant to be by humbly abiding in our dear God? We need to answer these questions because beneath all the appearances of ourselves one thing is certain: Once we take off all our disguises, the terribly sad condition of mankind is profoundly unrecognizable because “we are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves” (François Duc de La Rochefoucauld).

But then again the human desire to hide is neither new nor recent. We can actually trace its origin to Adam and Eve, almost immediately after they ate the forbidden fruit:

Genesis 3:1-13 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 2The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’4But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that if was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’10He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ 11 He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ 12 The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’ 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’

This episode in the lives of Adam and Eve contains a great deal of teachings for us, but to answer the recent questions, let us focus on some of the lessons that show how deluded we have become about who we are in our desire to be “someone.” This will allow us to better understand the truth about ourselves.

First of all, please notice how, despite the serpent’s doubt-casting question, Eve knew very well that she should refrain from eating the fruit of the tree [of the knowledge of good and evil] in the middle of the garden because doing so would cause her to die. Of that much our Lord had warned Adam, and one may presume that Adam had informed Eve. I actually think Eve took this warning so seriously that she added the “nor you shall touch it” part to it because the Lord had succinctly stated to Adam: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (fragment of Genesis 2:16-17, NRSV). But regardless of how she came to know this warning, what matters is that Eve was warned.

Now, please stop for a moment to consider how Adam and Eve were at liberty to eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except this one. What wonderful freedom and abundance they must have enjoyed! However, the serpent crafted its quizzing words to cast doubt in Eve’s heart and mind about her ability to eat from every fruit in the garden. With doubt in Eve’s heart, the serpent’s next words were aimed at giving her faith to the contrary of what she knew: “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

After hearing and giving credence to those last words, it seems that the amazing freedom and abundance that God had conceded to Adam and Eve were no longer sufficient for Eve. In this lack of contentedness, we find the prime example of pleonexia – that passionate desire to have more than one needs which we have seen turn into idolatry again and again. Here we see it once more, given that Eve certainly did not need to eat that fruit amid all the abundance in Eden! However, after believing the serpent’s deceiving words, she wanted to do so for the possibility of becoming something greater than she was – someone like God, knowing good and evil and being able to eat from every tree in the garden without consequences – became desirable!

Now, imagine how it must have been for Eve in those instants when the possibility of becoming like God appeared to be open to her – how she probably fixed her eyes intently on the tree and its fruit that could allegedly give her what she now desired; when she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.”

It is sometimes said, “love enters through the eyes,” hence the common saying: “Love at first sight.” But what enters through our eyes is not love, but the delight that our hearts and minds desire to “see,” with the hope of feeding our needs and wants. And it was this delight that captivated Eve’s desire and attention, rendering her completely oblivious to the prohibition she once knew about the fruit of that tree. Naturally, she then became unable to resist the temptation of eating from it, and in this we can appreciate a prime example of something we studied in Chapter 7: “one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it” (fragment of James 1:14, NRSV).

So, whereas Eve had been minding her own affairs a few moments earlier, everything changed the instant she paid attention and gave credence to the serpent’s words. And life-changing words these turned out to be, for within a few moments of hearing them she began to earnestly covet something she had never desired before. With that new longing within her, Eve suddenly noticed how delightful that forbidden fruit looked and desirable its effects, to make her as wise as God. With such covetousness and delight gripping Eve’s heart and mind, it only took another moment for her to fully give in to her desire by committing a deed that would bring her disastrous consequences (not to mention her descendants!).

But let us not lose sight of the fact that what ended in a disastrous action started with just a few words. Therefore, please note again that desires are enticed and captivated by images and words that essentially represent ideas that can be either true or false. Thus, we must always be very careful of the words and images we attentively hear, read and see, and how we interpret them. For thoughts/ideas, words and images not only have an intimate relationship with each other, but also with faith and, consequently, with the love we choose to bring forth either to idols (false ideas) or to the Lord our God who is The Truth.

Now, after eating the fruit, Eve proceeded to share it with Adam who also ate it, even though he, too, should have known better. (Then again, so should we all on many accounts!) Adam and Eve did not expect what happened next. The eyes of their consciences (hearts) and consciousness (minds) were immediately opened, but not in the way Eve had been led to believe. Yes, the serpent had spoken the truth: “your eyes will be opened. . . knowing good and evil”. But it had mixed this truth with these two lies: “you will not die” and “you will be like God.”

Without a doubt, the most effective deceptions always contain a measure of truth. Let us never forget this, for in this fact we find one of the reasons idols can still have an enormous effect on those who are searching for truth. Many of our present idols – especially those about our God and His Word – carry some element of His truth. But once it got mixed with the lies, this element of truth could not stop our beliefs from becoming wholly false and potential facilitators of idolatry. Then, all it takes is a small push for us to fall at the feet of idols – a swift thrust we receive from our desire for the very alluring lie that our idols are potential agents of comfort for our needs and wants.

So, far from becoming wise and immortal like God as Eve had hoped, the first result of having their consciences and consciousness activated was a feeling neither of them had ever experienced in their nakedness: shame (see Genesis 2:25). In response to this horrifying sense, Adam and Eve took the most common action that we continue to take when exposed in some way: They meagerly and inadequately covered themselves. The question now is, what exactly is shame, and why did they suddenly feel it?

Using four dictionaries as reference I find that shame is a strong feeling caused by becoming aware of something disconcerting, unworthy, disgraceful and dishonoring in or done by oneself or someone else. It can be so painful that it is capable of causing guilt and regret. Shame is a synonym of humiliation, mortification and chagrin and an antonym of pride. Etymologically speaking[*], the Proto Indo-European term from which shame is believed to derive is skem, which means “to cover.”

With this definition of shame in mind, we can see that their naked bodies were not in and of themselves a reason to feel ashamed. If this was so, Adam and Even would have always felt ashamed of themselves and of each other. Therefore, their shame came not from seeing their physical nakedness but from becoming conscious of their transgression (through their newly-activated consciences) and aware of their essential bareness as human beings (through their newly-activated consciousness). Far from matching the indescribable magnificence of God, they realized how meager and unworthy they truly were – something that must have been quite disconcerting, given what they had believed they would become after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Sadly, as descendants of Adam and Eve, we usually remain far from dealing openly and justly with the shame that our God-given consciences and consciousness make us feel. Instead of accepting the guilt of each and every one of our delusional and proud desires and actions and honestly repenting of them, we frequently choose to hide behind the myriad of idols and schemes we have come up with to prove our “great” worth and virtuousness – we are so hidden in them that oftentimes we do not even know from what we should repent! Thus, we think it best to keep covering the shame that so terribly burdens us because it contains the full weight of how guilty, unworthy, limited and disgraced we truly are apart from God.

Now, just how deeply have we “covered” our shame? Well, unlike Adam and Eve, we cover our shame not only with clothes that conceal our naked bodies and are believed to make us appear attractive and great, but also with every type of man-made idol that makes us feel better about ourselves and more at ease with our disgrace: idols of things, people, events, places and knowledge. Idols that, like Adam and Eve’s loincloths, are fundamentally worthless and incapable of truly removing our shame. However, we are far from acknowledging them as completely inadequate for two reasons: 1) We have grown extremely habituated to our idols and the delusions they represent; hence, it is very difficult for us to tell them apart from the truth . 2) Without knowing the truth about the Lord our God and His word and having an unreservedly faithful love for Him, what other pleasures and reasons to live do we have than our idols?

Therefore, mankind feels much more at ease when shrouded by the darkness of lies and delusions than when exposed by the shining truth of the Word of God. In fact, one of our greatest hindrances to correctly understanding the truth of God’s Word is caused by the painful shame that such truth can cause us to experience when it begins to expose our deluded beliefs and evil actions. Thus, it is almost always easier and more comfortable to continue our delusional pursuit of idols – no matter how destructive they ultimately are to us – to find in them a measure of security, well-being and control over our lives, than to face the truth about their falseness, vanity and worthlessness with all the initial pain and confusion this would bring to us.

Consequently, in our stubborn avoidance of shame, we have dug ourselves deeper into a dark pit where little or no truth shines. How far down each one of us has gone is just a matter of how afraid we are of the light and how comfortable we are with darkness, but we have all gone down into it. “How so?” you may ask. It is quite simple actually: By doing something all of us have done in some measure: hardening our hearts.

Given that shame originates in our hearts and minds, the most common scheme to avoid it is to increasingly harden our hearts in order to resist most – if not all – painful pangs from our God– given consciences. “And what about the mind?” you may ask. Well, our delusions have already taken care of that, probably even before our hearts began to harden, for that is what happened to Adam and Eve and their first descendants. First, Adam and Eve became oblivious of our Lord’s truth by heeding and giving themselves to the serpent’s lie. Some years later, as we studied in the previous chapter, Cain hardened his heart not only to his conscience of sin but also to God’s caring words and to any sense of true love towards his brother. From then on, it has mostly been a downward spiral for humanity.

So, just how hard can our hearts become? I cannot even describe it! But, to illustrate, do you remember the king of Tyre? He and those like him in their delusions and complete insensitivity to God’s truth, not only aspired to be like God as Eve did, they actually believed themselves to be gods! They assumed to be so superior that they considered themselves worthy of human worship. This unspeakable hubris and unquenchable desire to be greater than any human being can ever be also expresses itself in the violence such people have committed against others. This callousness is caused not only by their false ideas about themselves in comparison to their fellow human beings, but also by their inability to distinguish good from evil with their incredibly hard hearts. They simply become completely blind to any glimmer of light.

Then again, every one of us is susceptible to such callousness by neglecting to faithfully abide in the truthful love and justice of God and instead allowing ourselves to slide down into that insensitive, blind condition in which we begin “seeing” other human beings as objects through which we can attain pleasure and satisfy our desires (or become capable of witnessing exploitation and violence without doing anything to prevent it). Thus we become increasingly insensitive to others’ needs and pains to the point that we become direct or indirect participants in the perversion, corruption and destruction of other beings as if they were created for no other purpose than to feed our greed, lust and pride. Sadly, this hardheartedness is sometimes viewed as a desirable character trait by those who require people willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of them and their idols. They keenly try to find such “tough” people and even turn them into heroes, especially if their “heroism” comes at the expense of the blood of their adversaries.

There are countless examples of people like these throughout human history, and perhaps we have even been among them – people who are nevertheless as temporary and futile as the so– called knowledge, power, beauty, wealth and ideals they seek to protect and believe to exemplify, if not more-so. But these people, like all of us, will one day discover that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18, NASB).

Therefore, no matter how hard our hearts may have become and notwithstanding how tightly we may have knitted one, ten or a thousand idols into “loincloths” to “cover” our shameful shortcomings, the truth is that we are nothing more than men and women – feeble, dependent creatures who live a frail and fleeting existence. Truly, our lives in this world are not much more than a breath, just as it is written:

Ecclesiastes 3:16-20 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there. 18 I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

These are hard words to swallow for anyone who is deeply infected with pride, but they are so very true nonetheless! Yet, for as long as there are people who are ignorant of their insignificance apart from God, people will strive all their lives to be something more, spending all their energy creating a legacy and building a name for themselves that will somehow merit their remembrance. It was with beliefs akin to these that the Tower of Babel was built, when the construction of an enormous pile of stone and mortar was expected to bring its builders glory, for “they said, ’Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:4, LEB, emphasis added).

But despite all the efforts of the people of Babel, their tower did not stop the Lord our God from dispersing them over the face of the Earth. Indeed, no man-made work or legacy can last forever because, no matter how strong and undefeatable the works of an individual or group are believed to be or how capable they believe they are of making their names last forever, not a single one of their abilities or achievements will be eternally remembered, for it is written:

Ecclesiastes 1:3-11 (LEB)

3 What does a person gain in all his toil with which he toils under the sun?

4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth stands forever.

5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down; to its place it hurries, and there it rises again.

6 The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north; around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.

7 All the streams flow to the sea, but the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

8 All things toil continuously; no one can ever finish describing this. The eye is never satisfied with seeing, and the ear is never filled with hearing.

9 What has been— it is what will be; what has been done— it is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!” But it already existed in ages past before us.

11 There is neither remembrance of former generations, nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

In dramatic contrast to all human hubris and the so-called great deeds that have been done in sake of it, we find the next words spoken by our Lord Christ about Himself: “I can do nothing of my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me” (John 5:30, NRSV). A very sobering truth, is it not? Indeed, what hope is there for anyone who believes to be important yet does not know or have the love of God and, therefore, cannot seek or do His will?

As great as any deed that is done apart from God may appear be, in truth it is futile. Who will remember it in the ages to come? Who will truly know the man or woman who did it? Even if the names of the “great men and benefactors of humanity” are written in books or etched in stone, only a blurry image of their identities will remain, and no living person will recognize them for who they truly were. The significance of their names and memories may even be completely altered to suit the desires of those who promote them for their own gain. So, in truth, what does it matter to build a name in this world? What is the point of making an idol out of it? Concerning this life in this idol-infested world, none of us should forget that “5the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. 6Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, NRSV).

Sadly, mankind’s history of hiding our shame behind idols continues, just as the story of Adam and Eve continued. Right after shame, the next feeling Adam and Eve experienced was fear – a feeling for which there is no indication that they had ever felt it before.

Adam and Eve first experienced fear as soon as they perceived the presence of God approaching them, and this fear had a lot in common with the shame they had just experienced upon seeing each other’s nakedness.

For all their inadequacy, their loincloths may have been meager enough to cover their respective shame from each other’s sight, but was this clothing enough to cover them from the presence of the Lord their God? In truth, as this story clearly shows, there is absolutely nothing that can cover us from God’s sight, since, “Sheol and Abbadon lie open before the LORD, how much more human hearts!” (Proverbs 15:11, NRSV). And “‘Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ says the Lord. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24, NRSV). However, this truth did not stop Adam and Eve from trying to hide from Him, just like many truths have not deterred us from pursuing our delusions. As we have seen, this is because we are afraid of seeing past our beloved lies and the apparent comfort and security they provide. So, Adam and Eve ran for cover amid the trees of the Garden of Eden, the very same trees that our God had created and placed there, although not for the purpose of hiding His children.

Therefore, the shame of Adam and Eve compelled them to fear God’s presence for the first time ever. The awareness of their guilt and insufficiency (through their newly-activated consciences and consciousness) made them feel utterly separate, strangely and horribly distant from God. Indeed, the frail and needy human condition has been abundantly clear to us since that moment – a condition that is completely distinct from the once-held delusional notion of becoming like Him, gods of our very own. Knowing this, how can we bear the weight of such terrible truths? How can we face the Lord our God without fear and shame, knowing that we have tried to be something apart from Him?

We simply cannot without true humility and genuine repentance of all the coveted delusions that have distanced us from Him since the transgression of Adam and Eve. But, compelled by the fear of facing our shame, it has been easier for us to run away from Him just like Adam and Eve did. Instead of humbly accepting His gracious forgiveness and help, it has seemed easier to hide within His creation without understanding its true purpose. The whole history of mankind is a testimony of how much easier it is to seek refuge in God’s creation than in God Himself. (After all, the loincloths were simply leaves sewn together from a fig tree that God created.) In so-doing, we turn it all – including ourselves – into ill-conceived idols of our own invention or, worse yet, of our own supposed “creation.” Indeed, mankind has hidden from God’s presence so deeply and for so long in the material aspects of life, that many have even managed to forget His existence altogether in order to feel “free” to shamelessly live for themselves and their idols rather than for Him, the one true God to whom we owe everything.

So, in feverishly trying to conceal our shame and suppress our fear, it has been easier for us people to harden our hearts and dim every remaining light of veracity in order to deny God and His Truthful Word – who are the same – and corrupt our whole beings with lies in the hope that we can continue fooling ourselves about the true purpose of everything He has created, including mankind. Once we delusionally took our Creator out of the equation of life, we believed ourselves to be free to shift the focus and purpose of everything in existence to our ill-understood beings and/or some other mysterious force (such as chance, evolution and Mother Nature, among many other man-made idols). Although we do not truly understand these idols, we worship and proudly proclaim them as the origin and purpose of existence.

To what appalling results our shame and fear have taken us! Seeking to escape from them, we entered into a State of Delusion, not knowing that this delusion would lead us into a State of Agony, from which we keep trying to escape by furthering our State of Delusion! And still, the shame and the fear remain deep within us. How foolhardy we are! Sadly, we have not yet seen the end results of our escapist endeavors. To see what is missing, let us go back to the story of Adam and Eve.

After Adam and Eve unsuccessfully hid from the Lord, their story moves on to describe yet another attempt to conceal their shame by shrugging off their individual and mutual responsibilities. When confronted by God about his disobedience, Adam immediately pointed his finger to Eve and indirectly at God by expressing the following words: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” And when God confronted Eve about what she had done, she in turn pointed her finger at the serpent: “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Now, it is important to realize that the serpent did not force Eve to eat the fruit. Yes, it tricked her with cunning words, but this account does not suggest that the serpent forced the fruit upon her in any way. Regarding Adam, we simply do not know what compelled him to eat the fruit, and even though we can speculate all we want that it was his love for Eve, his carelessness or something else, all the story tells us is that he heeded Eve’s words (just like she heeded the serpent’s) and ate from the fruit.

No matter what they may have wanted to believe about their motives or who they desired to blame for their actions, the fact is that both Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit, knowing very well that it was forbidden. Notwithstanding this, when our Lord confronted them they obstinately persisted in their already considerable efforts to conceal their shame by transforming their fear into brazen selfish concern. They hid within themselves. How paradoxical, don’t you think? While each one turned a blind eye to their respective guilt, neither did the same regarding the responsibility of one another. By that moment, the symptoms of their hardening hearts had become very obvious, for in that instant they became not only separated from God, but also from each other.

The fall of Adam and Eve is a terribly sad story, but even sadder is that centuries upon centuries have passed, and we continue to repeat their pattern of behavior. In a manner of speaking, their story has been relived billions of times because, in our shame and fear, we have not only distanced ourselves from our God to cover ourselves with idols, but also turned our backs on each other and pointed our fingers at one another.

Living under the blind vanity and arrogance of the false ideas we delusionally love has made it unspeakably difficult to see ourselves and each other for who we truly are, but ironically easy to point our fingers at each other’s mistakes, proudly remaining oblivious to our own. In this terrible blindness and pride, we frequently demand apologies from others when we perceive an offence to our bloated sense of self, while we resist apologizing for our own misdeeds, let alone coming close to repenting from our evil desires and actions. This disfigured sense of self-importance also causes us to resist forgiving those who have offended us, and instead we prefer to make them feel how “inferior” they are to us, as if our wrongs were somehow less blameworthy than theirs. Yet, the following words disprove this notion to any who may harbor such self-righteousness:

The Gospel according to Luke 16:14-17 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God

16“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

It is painful to appreciate just how inclined we are to be self-righteous and keenly (and exclusively) disposed to justify ourselves because of our “special” circumstances (“No one has suffered what I have!” “No one feels as I feel!” “If you knew what is like to walk in my shoes!”). But when someone asks us for the same deference, privilege or even compassion that we swiftly apply to ourselves with so-called justice, we flatly resist because – and this is the truth – in our shame and fear, we do not want to acknowledge that much more often than not, we truly are no better than those who harm us; and they are rarely more guilty, limited, flawed or needy than we are. In this callousness, we desperately prefer to hide behind our self-righteous standards so that no one can see our “nakedness.” At the same time, we fasten heavy burdens of “justice” to the shoulders of others so that we can pronounce severe judgments upon them whenever they err in the slightest. But we ourselves are unwilling to carry the same weighty burdens (and even less willing to help others carry theirs), just as our Lord Christ said of the scribes and Pharisees of His time:

The Gospel according to Matthew 23:1-15 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Naturally, in the same proportion that we have been self-righteous and biased in the understanding and application of justice and ethics as individuals, we have also been prone to favoritism in the conception and application of justice and ethics as whole societies, which, obviously enough, are far from fair and egalitarian. But with this in mind, it is no wonder that the members of the formal systems of justice (legislative and judiciary) in most societies enjoy such great privileges, very much like the scribes and Pharisees described in the previous verses.

Moreover, mankind has preferred its own “humane ideals” of justice and ethics to any profound knowledge of the Word of God. This is very regrettable, but what else could have happened? Most of us have immersed ourselves in idolatry and its resulting foolhardiness and irresponsibility so deeply that it is only natural that we have come to doubt the truthful love and justice of God, entertaining thoughts like: “How unjust God is for having done such things to His people of Israel!” “What a cruel God who seems to be waiting for every opportunity to punish!” “How can God punish a person so harshly when He claims to love us?” “Why is there evil in this world if God is supposed to be good?” “Why do I have to bear so much grief?” “Isn’t God supposed to be good, kind and loving to me?” “How does He allow any of these painful things to happen?!” “Why did He create me to be as sinful as I am?!” “Why did God give me such wretched creature for a spouse/child/parent/friend?” And, of course, “How can a just God have created an unjust world?”

With childish questions like these (of which there are many more), it then became even easier for humanity to “progress” down its own wretched path, further inventing desirable idols of itself and its “ideals” of humane justice, love, morals and purpose that, for all their “greatness,” constantly display partiality and deficiency. Because as childish as our questions are concerning the truthful justice and love of the Lord our God, so are our views on justice. “I did not deserve this! Why is this happening to me? ” We are quick to complain when something turns out opposite of what we hoped for, just like little children when they do not get the toys, candies and fun they expected; as if fairness had anything to do with their blithe enjoyment.

Possibly worse still are our atrocious and reckless demands for explanations from God, which make it easier to “conceive” Him according to our deluded perspectives and misguided desires of justice, love, peace, purpose, morality and prosperity. But such is merely the god of our understanding, because by conceiving our own ideals of a god that suit our desires and wishful thinking, we have fallen further away from the one, true God and closer to the worship of idols in His place. And even if we refer to them as “God” and fight to the death or even kill for them, they have nothing in common with our true Creator. In fact, the multiplicity of irreconcilable doctrines ascribed to God and Christ and all the conflicts that have arisen between their adherents should be a clear indicator of how deluded we can be regarding our ideas about Him. But about this the apostle Paul wrote in very clear terms:

The second epistle to Timothy 4:1-5 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

Alas, “nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self; for what we wish, we readily believe” (Demosthenes).

However, hopefully we can now see not only how our delusions about ourselves have increased and become more convoluted throughout human history, but how our knowledge and understanding of God and His creation have also become increasingly darkened and mistaken. Just as the people of Israel asked Aaron to cast a god of gold according to their desires, and just like the Pharisees believed to serve God according to their ideals of righteousness and their understanding of the Law (but neglecting its true core of justice, mercy and faithfulness – see Matthew 23:13-36), or just as Micah’s mother “consecrated” to God eleven hundred pieces of silver to be made into an idol of cast metal so Micah could be prospered (see Judges 17 and 18), so we have also held fast to our idols of God according to our own desires and beliefs. These idols only appear to resemble Him because, even though they are conceived from some element of His truth (remember that the most effective deceptions always contain a degree of truth), as a whole they are false; and their worship is correspondingly mistaken, disastrous and self-serving.

If we could only realize that “most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them” (François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld). But it may be that in our fear and shame we are still quite unable to do this, despite how great and special we believe ourselves to be. How ironic.

Consequently, to have a less burdensome and reprehensible life, it has always been easier and more convenient to adopt a set of standards whose capricious fulfillment allows us to live a more or less tranquil life in our family and society. This is certainly easier than wholeheartedly committing to love one another – including those who harm us – with the true love of God. Naturally, we feel more at ease and also quite “good” about ourselves when we vaguely meet our own standards, salted and peppered with our own self-serving criteria of when and how to follow them, than we do when we faithfully abide in the true justice the Lord, our God.

But more convenient than anything in hiding our shame and suppressing our fear behind “just” ideals, is the belief that by taking actions that will satisfy our greed, lust and envy, we also serve the needs and interests of our fellow human beings and communities. In fact, this justification of greed and every other type of selfish desire has been so easy and attractive that it has spawned very elaborate and quite appealing ideologies, among which we find Objectivism, Individualism, Utilitarianism, Ethical Egoism and, of course, Capitalism, with its worship of material profit and individual advancement as a means of societal progress.

So, in light of everything we have seen in this chapter, I think it is important that we stop to seriously consider these questions: Can we truly serve the Lord our God with our deluded beliefs of justice, love and truth? Where will we be taken by such beliefs that mostly serve to cover our shame and soothe our fear so that we can feel good about ourselves and better than those we condemn because they do not share the same set of deluded standards of justice and ethics? To what sort of deeds will these idolatries drive us? When we behave like this, will “we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth” (Isaiah 64:6, NRSV)? In idolizing ourselves, our “loved” ones and our ideals of justice, love, truth and faith, have we not come to embody the blind people our Lord Christ refers to in the following words?

The Gospel according to Luke 6:37-42 (NASB)

37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure— pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this— not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way” (Romans 14:13, NASB). But if any of us still feels competent and mature enough to judge: “do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24, NASB). Not judging according to appearance means not judging by any idolized (misunderstood, deluded and altogether false) standard of anything, including those we use to compare ourselves to others because, for as long as we remain deceived about who we truly are in relation to the Lord our God and every other human being, our judgment will be inescapably clouded.

Or do we steadfastly abide by the truth by which we can judge rightly? If so, I hope that in all judgment we leave every vain and prideful argument aside, for there is no reason to boast insofar that any righteousness that may be found in us is not evidence of high moral, ethical or judicial standards, or of so-called deeds of redemption and exalted kindness. Nor is it evidence that we possess superior faith or have been forgiven in greater measure than others. Our righteousness testifies that we have been granted access to the true justice that comes from God through faith in Christ, who is the only standard by which we must earnestly live, leaving everything else behind – especially our idols – so we may conform ourselves to Him, just as the apostle Paul wrote about himself:

The epistle to the Philippians 3:7-16 (NASB)

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

But, then, who is the person staring back at me in the mirror?

In truth, only the Lord our God can provide the means to adequately and justly cover our shame, just as He did for Adam and Eve when He made garments of animal skin and clothed them to replace their precariously mended loincloths (Genesis 3:21). Only in our Lord Christ can we find justification and the restoration of everything we have wronged through our idolatry. So let us cease to stubbornly persist in our attempt to conceal our shame and suppress our fear, and instead be reconciled to God and at peace with our consciences, as these words illustrate:

The first epistle of Peter 3:18-22 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you— not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience— through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

However, in the absence of God in our lives, and inasmuch as we continue to grasp for our idols – including those of God and Christ – the truth is that everything we do to prove our individual or collective honor and justify our pride will only serve to inflate our sense of self-worth with empty air. Obviously, this will forever leave us starving for more, forever in want. All we ever accomplish when we “fill” ourselves with such thoughts and deeds is the feeding of our idols (or more precisely, our delusions) because the image we have of ourselves as magnificent humans beings is just that – an image that is a mere product of our imagination without any substance. As Benjamin Whichcote stated, there is “none so empty, as those who are full of themselves.”

Therefore, whether we have felt compelled to find our identities by imitating the people we revere as our idols or by turning ourselves into idols of our own “original creation,” it will do us good to remember these words of Paul Valery: “‘To be oneself’ you say, is the essential. But, is it that being oneself merits the effort?"

Indeed, what does “being oneself” mean? Where does our identity reside? Who looks back at me in the mirror? Is he/she simply the sum of skin-color, height, weight and every other physical feature? Is he/she only his/her sex gender? Is he/she the appraised beauty or ugliness of his/her appearance? Is he/she the style of clothes and jewelry that he or she wears? Is he/she the house he/she inhabits and the car he/she drives? Is he/she the profession or occupation he/she exercises or his/her job title? Is he/she the culture and ideals that have been sown into him/her by his/her parents, family, church, social group, town or nation? Is he/she only an expression of his/her temperament, fears and desires? Or is he/she the collection of his/her thoughts, experiences and decisions? Does he/she resemble a “data bank” that takes continuous pleasure in acquiring and reliving good reminiscences, but becomes enraged or melancholic when he/she encounters painful memories? On what has he/she built his/her identity and image of self?

While we may have used some or all of these elements, among others, to conceive the idea of ourselves in our hearts and minds, what will become of us when any or all of these elements fade away or come to pass? Will we be reduced to nothing?

Refusing to believe that someday we may become nothing, perhaps this self is a fearful coward who hides behind arrogance, prejudice and belligerence towards anyone that challenges his/her murky identity? Or is it the shameful person who hardens his/her heart into a diamond-like pebble, barely tolerating an existence in which he/she must struggle against everyone that competes against him/her? Or is this self a frail being who constantly feels confused, insecure and gloomy about who he/she is? Or is it a needy being who attaches its identity to every conceivable idea and object in which it sees the promise of deliverance from its feeble condition and fear, along with the possibility for obliviousness of its dependent and wretched existence? Who is he/she that looks back at me in the mirror? Can you think of more meanings about being “yourself?” Do any of them merit the effort? Is there anything honorable or truthful about them?

I ask because, for as long as I have investigated, I can only conclude that apart from the Lord our God, a human being can only aspire to live an existence of endless fear, shame, need and confusion that will necessarily have to be quieted (or “covered”) with a myriad of hopeless ideas that, no matter how satisfying they may seem and even feel for a while, are nothing but ingeniously varied manifestations of suffocating arrogance, wanton despise and stiff indifference towards others and, paradoxically, towards our own selves. For beneath all of those mistaken ideas that we delusionally love so much lurks the deepest-held deception of all and the gravest consequence of mankind’s broken communion with our Creator: the belief that each and every one of us is a realm of its own. Under this belief, we think and feel that everything, including God, rotates around us as if each one of us was the center of a universe with no needs more important than our very own; where there is no more painful suffering than ours; where there is nothing more important to think, believe or desire than what we individually want; where everything and everyone is ultimately reduced to what we think, feel, believe about and want from them; and where we call “love” whatever we do with the purpose of satisfying our needs and desires through someone or something we ultimately do not truly care about but simply use. This belief is what keeps us in the dark pit I previously mentioned, which has become the Prison of Self.

Within the minuscule confines of this prison, where everything is subjectively reduced to what we make of it in our deluded hearts and minds, we see things that we do not understand but desire and wish to possess or become, if only to cope with and delusionally escape from our harrowing imprisonment. We also see other beings pass us by, and in some of them we even notice a vague resemblance to us, but we do not know any of them and we only care for their presence to the degree that they stop to notice our solitude. They become important to us mostly in the proportion that they physically and/or emotionally sustain us, and we only do things for them in the measure that our actions make us feel good about ourselves, whether this is by being kind to them or destructive and malicious, for we are capable of finding enjoyment in these deeply contrasting actions.

Hence, we can have no communion with anyone who dwells outside the boundaries of our prison, for we are too afraid of them, usually forbidding others from crossing such limits. This is “our domain,” our hiding place and refuge; we want it to be respected because by the inertia of habit it has become comfortable to us and we are too afraid of coming outside of it. Still, we yearn for someone who can truly allow us to feel that we are not alone, that there is something that can unify us. But when we extend our arms and grab hold of another’s hand in a silent plea for help, we find that we cannot hold each other for long because we are all prisoners of our deluded selves, and the years of numbing imprisonment have made us even more weak and fearful. Within this prison, there is no alternative for survival than to “toughen-up” our hearts to a harder-than-diamond pebble so that we can survive on our own as we continue disguising ourselves in the darkness of our idols.

This is certainly a tragic existence to the one who actually pays attention to its emptiness and in consequence fully experiences its enormous solitude and futility. Because up to an extent, this existence can still be quite fun, passionate and carefree for those who have come to revel in their idols; blind to the darkness of their respective prisons. But fun is not the same as joy; passionate is not the same as purposeful; and carefree is not the same as peaceful.

As Walter Benjamin said, “to be happy means to be able to look into oneself without being frightened,” and this happiness is only possible for the people who no longer flee from their Creator and true God despite all their shame, fear and guilt; who do not desire to hide in shadows behind idols and who, as a result, seek Him above anyone and anything else so they may be fully reconciled to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ and find fellowship [communion] with their brethren by faithfully dwelling in His truthful love and light until the end of their lives in this world. For, “6If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:6-10, NRSV).

Let us then begin to take the necessary steps to find ourselves by first being truly humble enough to accept and fully acknowledge our weak, limited and needy nature so that we can wholeheartedly seek the One who has the true power to strengthen us and enable our truest possibilities. Let us withdraw for good from the endless and inherently unsatisfying rat race (in whatever form we prefer it) that we compulsively run against our own imaginary selves and against our deluded notions of one another in a misled pursuit of glory and self-affirmation. What is the point of it? To exalt ourselves by degrading others? To pervert justice and deprive ourselves of the true love of the Lord our God? Isn’t this is too high a price just to keep comparing ourselves to each other to see who is less weak, limited and needy, when we all are?

If we run this race to somehow earn praise and honor that will make us feel valuable, we have missed the mark by a great deal! Indeed, life itself is of incalculable value, for it comes from God. The gifts that our dear Lord has bestowed upon us are also of great worth, just not in the manner in which we habitually employ them to prove to our worth, because truly, only “he who pursues righteousness and love, finds life, prosperity and honor” (Proverbs 21:21, NIV).

So, to come just a bit closer to discovering our true value and purpose, it is necessary to first become humble enough to accept all of our individual guilt for having wrongly believed ourselves to be something other than who we truly are and for having sought the satisfaction of our needs in anything or anyone other than our Lord and Creator, despite our apparent piousness and so-called faith in Him.

Then we must turn our eyes away from ourselves and steadfastly set them on the truth of our dear God, so that its unspeakably bright contrast to the darkness that still dwells in us may begin to cleanse our beings of the many layers of delusions remaining within our hearts and minds as a consequence of our habitual and deeply held idolatry. And we must faithfully seek to elucidate His truthful will for our lives so that we may peacefully submit to it and never forget that “turning attention to oneself in the earnest endeavor to improve oneself may only increase obsession with oneself, which is the root of mischief...To be whole persons we must get ourselves off our hands” (Harry Emerson Fosdick). Off of our hands and into the hands of our Lord!

Only by growing in our Lord’s will can we discover the truth about ourselves and others; and once this truth has been taken to heart in place of the many lies that remain in us, it is what will finally set us free from the power of our passions (including fear) and the compulsive desires that constraint our will. Be certain of this, for this much our Lord Christ assures us: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Fragment of John 8:31-32, NASB).

Now, while I will not attempt to define the self of a human being – not only because I do not know this, but also because doing so would subtract from the possibility that humans are above all definitions – I would still like to share the following words with you, for they elucidate very well the grave danger of building our notions of self upon idols.

Soren Kierkegaard wrote something very interesting in his book, Sickness unto Death: “The human self is...a derived-established relation; a relation that relates itself to itself and in relating itself to itself relates itself to another.”In more comprehensive terms (I hope), this simply means that the human self cannot be conceived without an awareness of itself. I cannot conceive any notion of myself without first being aware of myself. However, this awareness is always construed in relation to someone or something else by which I can conceive myself. I simply cannot conceive myself on my own, for this would require the conception of an idea about myself to which I can relate. But because I cannot conceive any idea on my own out of nothing, I must necessarily understand myself in relation to another.

Therefore, to whom or what other than myself can I relate and thus conceive myself? There are only two possibilities, no more. The most commonly pursued option is all the idols (false ideas) we erect in our hearts and minds. We become aware of ourselves based on our interpretation of our idols’ significance in relation to our beings, and we build our identities upon them – just as Romeo and Juliet markedly did with each other, as Leah did with Jacob and her sons, and as we are apt to do with our idolized notions of people, appearance, personality, wealth, family, nationality, culture, profession and so on. This is the false and despairing position in life. It is the broad but very alluring path that leads to perdition which, as it turns out, will bring death to our souls, for it turns us into nothing, just as it is written:

Isaiah 44:9 (LEB)

All those who form an idol are nothing and their delightful things do not profit. And their witnesses do not see or know, so they will be ashamed.

Because idols are nothing, deriving our sense of self from them reduces us to nothing, no matter how many people applaud us; they do not know what they see either. Moreover, the shame from which we have tried to escape by conceiving such idols of ourselves will remain – perhaps not as painfully in this existence thanks to out hardened hearts, but it will be made abundantly clear to us on the Day of Judgment. On that day, all of our delusional love for self-idols will prove to have been equal to self-loathing, for it brought us to nothingness.

The other and less commonly pursued possibility to whom we can relate to conceive ourselves is the person of our Lord Christ. This is the true and peaceful position in life. It is the narrow path, and as it turns out, it is the only one that will lead us to true life. It is the possibility that does away with our constrained self-will and brings forth true free will in the Lord our God. It is the possibility that does away with the old self that was conceived in lies and deceits so that our true self emerges in the fullest knowledge and steadfast faith in the Lord our God and we may, as Soren Kierkegaard wrote, “rest transparently on God.”

Indeed, this last possibility makes true life possible, and it is where true freedom resides, but for this possibility to become real and true in our lives, we must put our Lord Christ above any previously held notion of our selves so that we can confidently express, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” just as John the Baptist said of himself (John 3:30, NASB). The enormous value of this simple statement can be further understood in the following, short poem by Edgar Cayce.

“Let the knowledge of the Lord

So permeate my being that

There is less and less of self,

More and more of God,

In my dealings with my fellow man:

That the Christ may be in all,

Through all, in His Name”

Only by wholly loving the Lord our God and coming to know His Truth so that we may faithfully dwell in His Word can we ever aspire to genuinely relate to our fellow human beings and to our own true self. But to wholly love our dear Lord, we must empty ourselves of any belief that we are inherently powerful, self-sufficient or great so that we may accept our true weakness, through which the power of our Lord can be perfected, and our truest possibilities may come forth, as the apostle Paul also wrote about himself:

The second epistle to the Corinthians 12:7-10 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

7Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me— to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

What an amazing privilege and an unspeakable blessing our dear Lord has extended to us through His Son Jesus Christ. What glorious potential of being made anew He grants to those who sincerely and courageously seek Him! How astonishing it is that what began with the pain of having clearly seen ourselves in the solitary, weak, dependent and overall awful condition of every human being removed from God, no longer should be covered with delusions and darkness. For by being perfected in His love, the time will come when those things, along with every other shame or fear will finally leave our lives for good – a time when we will no longer be prisoners of our deluded, lonely selves, but finally be able to clearly see and value others for who they truly are beneath the appearances we once solely cared about. We will finally understand that true love, His love, is the sole power that enables true justice among us, and not only justice, but also true communion in full responsibility for and mutual care of one another, without a trace of favoritism or prejudice for “love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real” (Iris Murdoch).

The following words make this even clearer.

The first epistle of John 4:7-12 (NRSV) [Emphasis added]

7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10ln this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Therefore, being a disciple of Christ does not mean merely living according to a “Christian” lifestyle, nor it does imply merely acting upon the various elements of an ethical, “Christian” ideal. Being a disciple of Christ denotes the possibility of becoming a complete, mature soul in Him, lacking nothing, for we have been fully reconciled to the Lord our God in and according to His Truthful Word. Being a disciple of Christ means becoming purified from any and every deceit in the aspiration of being one with one another through and in the Son who is true and has no deceit, just as the Son is one with the Father who is true and has no deceit. This is the greatest and most genuine of all possibilities, a possibility that can and will become a reality only in and through Him, for that is what our Lord Christ prayed to His Father, our Father, on behalf of all His disciples:

The Gospel according to John 17:6-25 (NASB)

6I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

20I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25 “0 righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

This true possibility for our lives and beings is, however, absolutely incompatible with the other, false one. One cannot be double-minded or indecisive, as if one wanted to be healed yet wished to stay forever at the hospital to enjoy comfort and medical attention. Indeed, one cannot use any part of this new, divinely granted possibility to become one with our Lord and one another to “patch” their old, cowardly and idolatrous self, for against this our Lord Christ spoke:

The Gospel according to Mark 2:21-22 (NASB)

21 ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’

So, the old, imprisoned, idolatrous and idolized self who has been conceived according to so many deluded human standards and ideas must be fully discarded (It must be put to death! – Matthew 16:25) for the sake of the new, unbound, truthful self who rests in faithful love for the Lord our God. And we must find the courage to do so! For the new self has been conceived in truth and purity as Christ renews our beings to the very heart, so that we might live for God through Him in increasing measure as the manifestation of His truthful love and justice; and less and less for ourselves, just as the apostle Paul wrote:

The second epistle to the Corinthians 5:11-21 (NASB)

11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

16Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Thus, being a disciple of Christ is the aspiration for the regeneration of the most essential core of our beings in and through Him. Not just in appearances, not just according to a style or by assuming roles; but in keeping a truly clean conscience in the Holy Spirit and a purified heart by His truth, so as to be what humans once were before we believed the lies that pollute our world and existence to this very day.

It is, therefore, in this recreation of our beings by the power of the Lord our God that we will find our true salvation and deliverance from all the ailments that result from believing in, coveting and giving ourselves to lies. It is through this regeneration that we will become who we once were in the Garden of Eden and the human kind that was predestined to be by the Lord our God. For, after all I have come to understand thanks to my Lord, I can also express that “this only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29, NSRV).

And so, I have become abundantly convinced that only by loving the Lord our God with every element of our beings and with all our energy, will we know who we are in the intimate relationship between what life is and truly living. Then, in the true, experiential knowledge of His love and justice, we will understand the incalculable value and amazing significance of the redeemed human existence. Our existence.

Is this what you are desire?

FINAL WORDS AND CONCLUSION

All idols are lies and as such are far removed from the Truth of God, so it does not matter if we believe in them as a result of mistakes, ignorance and/or deceit. This does not render them less false. What matters is that we stop passionately loving or coveting them. After all, the subject of this book is not idols but the delusion of love which is so akin to idolatry that all idol-worship is either the result of giving ourselves to lies or lusting for them.

Sadly, our idolatry can be very exciting, comforting and pleasant because we believe to “see” in our idols the promise of the satisfaction of our human needs and wants. We believe that in them we can find wellbeing, security and power for our lives, and thus we enjoy believing such sweet lies. But clearly this is a mistake too; even when we desire apparently praiseworthy virtues that could better our lives. Certainly, the human being can love friends (1 Samuel 18:1-3), knowledge and discipline (Proverbs 12:1), wisdom (Proverbs 29:3), good (Amos 5:15) and many other commendable things. Yet all of them are worthless when sought without the truthful love of the Lord our God.

When we do something good for the sake of looking “good,” quelling our pangs of conscience, proving our moral worth or feeling generally well about ourselves, we only immerse ourselves deeper in the delusions that shape the walls of the Prison of Self we inhabit. Regardless of how beneficial such actions can really be to others, they are of no benefit to us, for anything done apart from the Word of Truth is worthless, as our Lord Christ clearly expressed:

The Gospel according to John 15:1-11 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Far from seeking exciting, comforting and pleasant feelings from idols and “world-reforming” ideals, we must seek the gladness and peace that comes from Christ. Only His truth and peace will enable us to give ourselves to [love] God wholly and without doubt, confusion or ulterior intentions, and instead do so with a pure heart, a clean conscience and a faith without hypocrisy that will allow us to love one another as He loves us. This, I might add, will hardly allow for a pain-free existence in this greatly corrupted world. Yet, painlessness is not what we are here for.

Precisely because we live in a profoundly idolatrous world, all of us have been idolaters of some kind and have thus caused great grievances to one another and to ourselves. We have taken for granted many of the world’s deceitful beliefs about love, honor, knowledge, money, family, nation, success, profession, personal identity and many more things, including God. And we have done so because these delusions have been construed for the purpose of satisfying our desires, especially our evil ones, and worst of all, quieting our fears and anesthetizing our pains. They are lies by which we may still lead our lives even though they have proved to be, over and over again, a thorn in our sides and a trap along our paths. They are the things we have “bought” even though we may have later come to regret our “purchase.” But our disturbing desires so continuously tempt us to find security and satisfy our needs and wants apart from God that we are frequently tested on whether we will remain on the straight and narrow path of truth or wander into the wide road to perdition that comes from believing in and bowing down to false ideas. Indeed, in this world and especially in its civilized cultures, the path of a disciple of Christ is beset by a myriad of idols, and we must constantly choose between them and the one true God. Let us then choose wisely and faithfully from now on because thanks to our Lord’s everlasting love, there is reason for hope!

Let us not become disheartened over the consequences of our innate waywardness. Because while there is reason to fear if we persevere in our idolatrous beliefs; thanks to our Lord’s graceful patience we still have the opportunity to acknowledge, confess and repent from our mistakes so we may steadily rectify our ways, just as the following words encourage us to do.

Psalm 32 (NASB) [Emphasis added]

1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my Iniquity I did not hide;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;

And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

6Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when

You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;

You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,

Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,

Otherwise they will not come near to you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.

11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

So I encourage you to earnestly desire, above all else, the fullest knowledge and liberating experience of the truthful love and justice of the Lord our God, regardless of what other “soothing” objects and beliefs you must leave behind. There is nothing to look forward to in this world without abiding in our Lord’s lovingkindness – nothing at all but agony disguised as numbing comfort, futile distraction and empty entertainment; no matter how desirable these may be to our still deceiving hearts and darkened minds. Once all idols are inspected closely in the shining light of truth, we will clearly see all the fallacy, inanity and vapidity of what we once desired – as I hope this book has helped you to do.

Now, it remains in us to provide the devout effort, discipline and sincere prayer to renounce them for good, so that together we may cease our delusion of love and delusional love and come to know better the truth about the love of God, about which Part II of this title will be written so we may increasingly learn of and give ourselves to it. Until then and God willing, let us not forget for a moment that a fulfilled life and true self can only be seeded and preserved by the Truth of God. Hence, His Truth should be our first and foremost need and desire, for of what worth is temporary comfort for our human wants if our souls are lost in darkness?

Remain alert, wise and discerning at all times; be always clothed by the armor of God, and always rejoice in His Truth. May we be of honor to our Lord’s eternally glorious name. Amen.

…….

Psalm 100 (NASB)

1Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

3 Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations

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[*] From the Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com)

[*] From the Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com)

[*] From the Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com)

[1] Eshleman, Doug. Men view half-naked women as objects, study finds. The Daily Princetonian, February 17, 2009. <http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/02/17/22773/>

[*] From the Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com)