The Church of Self
[ 24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 12:24-26 When I first became a Christian, I was intrigued by the concept of idolatry. I had been to enough Sunday school classes with flannel board pictures to know that worshiping idols, a prohibition by God in the moral law [1] , had to do with gold statues. In my childlike faith I never imagined that I was in fact breaking this same commandment—I didn’t bow down to precious metal objects! I was surprised to learn that I was in fact worshiping idols because they aren’t only concrete item. An idol is anything you worship, honor, or eleva...