Revelation 2:4-5 (NKJV) – “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
There is a fine line between being a responsible steward of the opportunities God has given us and idolizing those opportunities as our sole source of provision, self-worth, security, peace of mind and fulfillment. It can be even more difficult to detect that fine line when we spend about 8+ hours a day at work or school. How do we know when we have stepped away from stewardship and into idolatry?
It is crucial to allow the Lord to examine our hearts daily so that He can expose ways in which we exalt our work over Him. Exalting our work over God can show up in a number of ways: obsessively studying due to an anxious and fearful heart that is convinced rest is a pathway to failure, spending the majority of days at work and never making time for God because responsibilities seem to be more time-sensitive than quiet time, or allowing our work to determine our identity— maybe we deem ourselves a failure because of a failed exam or worthless because a job cannot be obtained.
Brethren, let us be vigilant in recognizing when we are leaning away from stewardship and into idolatry. When we exalt opportunities and blessings above God Himself, we are headed down the wrong path.
PRAYER: Lord, search my heart and reveal any ways in which I have idolized the things you have given me to steward. I repent of these ways. Forgive me and help me to be vigilant in noticing when I am tempted to choose my job, schoolwork, or any other material thing over you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.