God was saying that the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them.

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

Making an idol out of love may mean allowing the lover to exploit and abuse you, or it may cause terrible blindness to the pathologies in the relationship. An idolatrous attachment can lead you to break any promise, rationalize any indiscretion, or betray any other allegiance, in order to hold on to it. It may drive you to violate all good and

Sometimes God seems to be killing us when he’s actually saving us.

Our patterns of spending reveal our idols.

We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.

and the freedom from counterfeit gods—to follow the call of God when times seem at their darkest and most difficult.

“Trusters of money” feel they have control of their lives and are safe and secure because of their wealth.

Sorrow is pain for which there are sources of consolation.