Winning!

“More than other idols, personal success and achievement lead to a sense that we ourselves are god, that our security and value rest in our own wisdom, strength, and performance.”
Timothy Keller – Counterfeit Gods

A particular Hollywood actor has created a bit of a stir over the last couple of weeks and while his antics are hardly of any importance compared to the events going on in the real world, his description of “winning” provides one of the great contrasts to God’s view of winning.

While few – hopefully none – of us can identify with the actor’s distorted view of winning, most of us are susceptible to the cultural idol of success defined by winning.  Winning on our own so that we trust in our own abilities means that we serve the god of success.

Winning by losing.

God defined success differently. The cross stood for shame.  The cross was a cursed way to die.  But, Christ’s death on the cross means that the world’s view of what is power and success is exposed for the counterfeit it is.  On the Cross Christ wins through losing.

In our world the idol of success is very real.  How can you escape the attraction of the idol of success? First, recognize that success can’t deliver on its promises to make your life worthwhile. Then you must replace your world view with God’s view of what matters.

Why?

One of the top “news” stories of the week focuses on the sexual indiscretions of Tiger Woods.

Why?

Why do the people in our society seem surprised? Why do they even care? Why is it that a relativistic culture is judgmental in the least? Let’s face it. We’ve looked the other way as political leaders, celebrities and even leaders in the church have failed to keep up with expectations.

Is is like a traffic accident where traffic is slow because of the temptation to take a look at the scene? Is it really because of concern for the wife and children?

Why would a man at the top of his career with a beautiful wife and children risk it all for illicit sex?

I’ve been reading a book by Tim Keller called Counterfeit Gods. In it, Keller gives a clear look into the many areas we all fail. Love, Sex, Money, and Success are all attempts to find satisfaction. How many of us are slaving for a Counterfeit God?

Here is an excerpt:

“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.” Thus anything can be an idol and, really, everything has been an idol to one person or another. The great deception of idols is we are prone to think that idols are only bad things. But evil is far more subtle than this. “We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life.”

In all of humanity’s search for meaning, I am reminded of how Pascal is paraphrased as saying that there is a “God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man”.

Tiger is not alone.