False Gods and the One True King
June 26th, 2023 • by Kristen Hatton
On the outside I may have appeared to be the perfect pastor’s wife and hostess, but inside my heart was full of resentment.
It was summer and, along with my husband (a college minister at the time) and three young children, we also had a recent college graduate living with us. At the time I offered for her to live with us, it sounded fun. She was a student in our ministry who I was close with, and she got along great with our kids. But when the time came, I quickly realized that the quiet early mornings I cherished for myself would not be mine alone. Suddenly—with Mother’s Day Out not in session, my husband off his regular school year routine, and her and I both up before the sun—someone was always around. I missed my space and alone time.
My desire for quiet was not the problem. The problem was my response to not getting what my heart craved, which led to bitterness toward my husband and the life of ministry God had called us to. I was tired of ordering our family’s schedule around the student ministry. I looked at other moms enviously, wishing I too could focus solely on my children and household (as if that is some small task) without accommodating the needs of the college students we served (who I did in fact love). How nice it would be, I thought, if my husband had a regular office job. If our schedule and calendar were our own. If we had never said yes to someone living in our spare bedroom. Things would be different then.
Like a raging fire, comfort, control, and the idealized life I had conjured in my head consumed me. The more I dwelled on what I did not have, the more discontent I grew. These things had become the false gods I functionally trusted in to give me life.
“The more I dwelled on what I did not have the more discontent I grew.”
False Gods
We all do this, albeit maybe not in the same way. Ever since the Fall, all of humanity has bought into the lie that life outside of God is where we will find satisfaction. So time and time again we turn away from God to false sources (idols), looking to them to fill us in a way only God can. We can make idols out of anything—good things, even, like our spouse, children, jobs, or a quiet morning to ourselves. But if we peel back the layers, we find something deeper still: the root sin, or the true idol. This could be a desire for acceptance, validation, love, attention, accolades, reputation, security, or, as it was with me, comfort and control. At this level we see what truly drives our behaviors and what we worship.
If you are unsure if something has become a ruling idol, a good litmus test comes from Paul Tripp’s open palm or closed fist analogy. If we are metaphorically closing our fist tightly around it—whatever the “it” of the moment is—and doing everything in our power to obtain or hang on to it, we can know that the desire has been elevated to idol status. On the other hand, if the desire is held loosely as if in an open palm, then when it goes unmet we might feel sad or discouraged, but we won’t be devastated. Another way to evaluate whether something has become an idol is to examine our emotions. Why did we get so angry? Why are we so sad? Why did we so quickly lose our patience? By examining our response to not getting something we wanted or something not going our way, we may detect a ruling idol.
When our hearts are taken hostage by an idol, we think whatever we’ve set our eyes on will give us what we want. The irony is that idols can’t give; they can only take. And in the process they twist and distort us into their image. As with me that summer, the more consumed I was by what I did not have, the more demanding and self-focused I became. Consequently, rather than reflecting the image of God by revolving my life around others for their good, I reflected the false gods I chased.
“When our hearts are taken hostage by an idol, we think whatever we’ve set our eyes on will give us what we want. The irony is that idols can’t give; they can only take. And in the process they twist and distort us into their image.”
The One True King
As I have come to understand idolatry, I’ve grown in awareness of my sin. Previously I believed generally that I was a sinner, but as a rule-follower with “good” outward behavior, I had never considered that my sin could be my inward motives, desires, and passive aggressive demands as motivated by ruling idols. By God’s grace, the more I became aware of my sin and the many ways I resurrect false gods, the more in awe I became of the One who lived the perfect life for me and paid the penalty my sins deserved. The more I see my tendency toward idolatry, the more I cling to Jesus, knowing that but by his grace my heart is prone to wander and leave the God I love.
In seeing my sin, I’ve become more free. Free to admit my sin without fear of what God or others might think. Free to know that I live under God’s unfading smile. It is this reality—God’s love toward idol-worshippers—that changes our affections and grows our desire to live worthy of him, to battle against the false gods beckoning to us with illusions of where life is found, and to fix our eyes on the one true King—the giver of life.
“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light” (Psalm 36:9).
Kristen Hatton is a counselor and author who is passionate about helping families. She lives with her pastor-husband, Pete, in Dallas, Texas. Together they have three young adult children and a son-in-law. Kristen is the author of Parenting Ahead, Get Your Story Straight, Face Time, and The Gospel-Centered Life in Exodus for Students.
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