In his book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller writes, "Idols generate false beliefs such as 'If I cannot achieve X, then my life won't be valid' or, 'Since I have lost or failed at Y, now I can never be happy or forgiven.'" Then he illustrates this point with the following illustration:
A young woman named Mary was an accomplished musician who once
attended my church. For many years she had battled mental illness and had
checked in and out of psychiatric institutions. She gave me permission as her
pastor to speak to her therapist …. "Mary virtually worships her parents'
approval of her," her counsellor told me, "and they always wanted her
to be a world-class artist. She is quite good, but she's never reached the top
of her profession, and she cannot live with the idea that she has disappointed
her parents."
Medications helped to manage her depression, but they could not get to
the root of it. Her problem was a false belief, driven by an idol. She told
herself, "If I cannot be a well-known violinist, I have let down my
parents, and my life is a failure." She was distressed and guilty enough
to die. When Mary began to believe the gospel, that she was saved by grace, not
by musicianship, and that, "though my father and mother forsake me, the
Lord shall take me in" (Psalm 27:10), she began to get relief from her
idolatrous need for her parents' approval. In time her depression and anxiety
began to lift, and she was able to re-enter her life and musical career.
Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (Dutton, 2009),
pp. 148-149
No comments:
Post a Comment