Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

Giving Glory to God (continued)

6. You many not worship the god of work. 7. Do not bow down to the god of possessions 8. The god of Religion 9. Illustrations a. We as a society are more psyched over Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson than the Lord Jesus. b. The four C’s: people are more committed to country, color, culture, and clan than Christ. c. What John Lennon said about the Beatles C. Third, we can rob God of the glory that is due him by being indifferent to his praise —not really caring about it one way or another. 1. We can be unconcerned and even nonchalant about what we give to God , Mal. 1.7. 2. We can find giving glory to God contemptible (this is a fault and a problem of many young people who feel forced to believe in God because of their parent’s faith), Mal. 1.7. C.S. Lewis, the author of The Screwtape Letters, suggests that it is to keep you indifferent to the things of God. In this book the devil counsels his nephew, Wormwood, on the subtleties and techniques of tempting people. The goal, he counsels, is not wickedness but indifference. Satan cautions his nephew to keep us, his prospect and patient, comfortable at all costs. If he should become concerned about anything of importance, encourage him to think about other little plans; not to worry, it could induce indigestion. Then the devil counsels his nephew to this eery job description: “I, the devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with the people who do not care.” See Philippians 2.21 in the New King James Version and The Living Bible. What do you suppose is the central task of one of the devil’s tempters of human beings, what do they seek to do most?