What do you think about most often? What do you daydream about? What preoccupies or obsesses you? In the morning, to what does your mind drift instinctively?
What would bring you the greatest pleasure, happiness, and delight? The greatest pain or misery?
What makes you say, “I couldn’t live without that…”?
How do you spend your time? What are your priorities?
What makes you say, “I’d give anything to have (or not have) that…”?
What are your plans, agendas, strategies, and intentions designed to accomplish?
On your deathbed, what would sum up your life as worthwhile? What gives your life meaning?
Where do you find your identity? How do you define who you are?
Some (or most) of these questions may be difficult to answer. If you’re a wife and mom, you may find that if you are truly honest with yourself the answers to many of these questions in some way revolve around your husband, children, or home.
We live in a world full of soccer moms, snack moms, pageant moms, creative moms, dance moms, cool moms, and flat out super moms. Where does the godly mom fit into all this?
These questions (in addition to others) were a part of my husband’s sermon on Sunday that was a part of a series called “Knowing and Fighting our Idols.” (The questions were adapted from David Powlison's "X-Ray Questions" in Seeing With New Eyes, pp.129-143) Idols aren’t something that we think of being major struggles in our life (let alone specifically in our homes). We’re not worshipping golden calves or anything! So how do you know when something is becoming an idol? There’s no set of rules or indicators. There’s no amount of time that you can spend or not spend. There’s no set number of activities. It comes down to your heart.
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
For he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
Be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
Lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty-
he is the King of glory.
Psalm 24
Being a mom is wonderful. Allowing the desire to be a mom or the duties of being a mom to overshadow the worship that my God – who is the Creator of “the world, and all who live in it” – is due is an idol. My prayer is that in all that I do each day what people see when they look at me is not a mom, wife, cook, maid, or decorator. My prayer is that they see my hope that is in Christ. I may be Jadon’s mom, and I may be Andy’s wife, but first and foremost I am a child of God. I want to live my life in a way that makes this statement loud and clear. My love, trust, and obedience rest in Him.
~ Carrie ~
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