Loosing my cool

On Sunday I went to church.

I’m getting good at my beginnings, aren’t I? That is one good sentence; it’s nicely composed and yet it’s very simple; it conveys meaning without too much confusion; it's really rather elegant. Picture me patting myself on the back.

Anyway, Pastor Justin is about to start a Proverbs series, but he has taken the past two weeks to talk about the gospel. Last night was about idols that get in the way of the gospel. He gave a long list of things that are common idols and after much soul searching I believe I have identified my major idols. So, I thought I would share some of the things I idolize.

But first some of the other contestants.

Competitiveness – being first or better than other people

Not lonely – being with a boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife, and not being single

Feeling good – drinking, drugs, or sex that fills this need inappropriately

Money – not being poor

Fame – everyone knowing your name

Power – being able to tell people what to do

These are not where my struggles typically lie. There are three main areas that I generally place too much of an emphasis on.

I idolize being right. I don’t like people to think I’m wrong, because I never am. Ever.

I idolize my appearance. I strive to be attractive and work really hard to stay in shape and dress well.

I idolize knowledge. Being smarter than everyone else, knowing something about everything is extremely important to me and knowing more than other people

The really bad news is that I am turning 24 soon. Which means that I will no longer be cool. Which means that I can’t rely on my coolness to mask my character flaws any more.  Which means that I am going to have to start praying harder. Well, actually, I guess that’s really not that bad after all.