Hey y’all! Today we are going to learn about how comfort can become an idol. Open your Bibles and let’s read Luke 9:57-62 and 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.
I think we all fall into idolizing comfort. Whether it be having nice clothes, a new car, or a nice house, we can idolize what we have or want. It can even go into having water, electric, or internet. We take for granted all that we have because it seems like a common necessity. When in reality, we don’t need any of it- only Jesus. We believe that these comforts will give us peace, but it won’t. These comforts will fail us every time, but God never will.
We tell ourselves we need a vacation and that will give us comfort. Sure, sometimes we need to take a break, but ultimately that’s not what will give us peace. What about when you’re studying and you tell yourself that you need to be in a cute little coffee shop with plants and a calm environment, it might help with distraction but it will not give you the comfort you are looking for. These things can be relaxing, and sometimes we need to take a break, but only God can give you true comfort.
God makes it very clear that the cost of faithfulness is high. Jesus tells His disciples that is anyone wants to follow Him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and Follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Denying ourselves means denying our earthly comforts and possessions, denying our easy way of life, and denying acceptance from the ways of the world. If we cannot give those up, we grow in a conditional means of following Jesus. Basically, we are saying “I will follow you, as long as I can still (fill in the blank).” When our comforts are leveraged, our affections become less directed towards Jesus and more towards what we want. If we aren’t willing to give our comforts up then they have become an idol. If we are unwilling to follow Jesus in order to keep our comforts, then they have become above the Lord.
Let’s discuss what we just read. I have some questions that I want you to think about, write them down, and if you’d like to comment below we can discuss them together!
- In what ways are you tempted to idolize the comforts of this world? Have you ever held so tightly to being comfortable that it led you to disobey God?
- What are things that may tempt you to turn back as you follow Jesus? Are you ever tempted to say “I will follow Jesus, as long as I can still (fill in the blank)?” What do you fill in the blank with?
- How does Godly comfort differ from worldly comfort? Where does our true hope for comfort lie?
- Meditate on Psalm 23. Pray and ask God to turn to Him as our true comforter.
All these comforts that we hold onto so dearly will never bring us the comfort that comes from Jesus. They will fade away and then we will look for something else to bring us happiness. When we are faced with fear, trials, suffering, and grief, our comforts will not bring us the hope that we crave. Jesus will.
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.” Romans 1:25.
Well, ladies, we are finished our first week of More Than Anything together! As we wrap this study up I want you to answer a few more questions. Make sure you’re comfortable, get your coffee, your blanket, and let’s reflect on this week.
- What passages stood out to you the most this week?
- What did you observe from this week’s text about God and His character?
- What do these passages teach about the condition of mankind?
- How do these passages point to the gospel?
- How should you respond to these passages? What is the personal application?
- What specific actions steps can you take this week to apply these passages?
I hope you enjoy this study and decide to come back. Next week we’ll start with Self-Sufficiency and see how we make that into an idol. I hope you enjoy the beautiful sunset that was made by our loving Father and y’all have a wonderful night.