#idols

We must overturn so many idols, the idol of self first of all, so that we can be humble, and only from our humility can learn to be redeemers, can learn to work together in the way the world really needs. Liberation that raises a cry against others is no true liberation. Liberation that means revolutions of hate and violence and takes away lives of others or abases the dignity of others cannot be true liberty. True liberty does violence to self and, like Christ, who disregarded that he was sovereign becomes a slave to serve others. ↗

— Oscar A. Romero

#idols #liberation #revolution #violence #love

The denigration of those we love always detaches us from them in some degree. Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers. ↗

— Gustave Flaubert

#idolatry #idols #love-disappointment #love

Idolatry is really not good for anyone. Not even the idols. ↗

— John Bach

#even #good #idolatry #idols #really

My idols are Janis Joplin and Annie Lennox, who are neither of them from the typical pop culture. ↗

— Natalie Cole

#culture #idols #janis #janis joplin #joplin

Lastly, literature and philosophy both allow past idols to be resurrected with a frequency which would be truly distressing to a sober scientist. ↗

— Morris Raphael Cohen

#both #distressing #frequency #idols #lastly

My idols are Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Keaton, John Goodman. Maybe that's what I want for me. ↗

— Breckin Meyer

#i #idols #john #keaton #maybe

The youngest, aged twelve, could not conceal her disappointment, and turned away, feeling as so many of us have felt when we discover that our idols are very extraordinary men and women. ↗

— Louisa May Alcott

#jo-s-boys #louisa-may-alcott #age

While the Christian faith clearly teaches that believers are to be involved as good citizens in the state, nevertheless, it is obvious why so many secularists are addicted to politics because political power is a surrogate for a Higher Power. ↗

— J.P. Moreland

#government #idols #politics #faith

When human beings give their heartfelt allegiance to and worship that which is not God, they progressively cease to reflect the image of God. One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only to the object itself but also outward to the world around. Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms of it and increasingly treat other people as creditors, debtors, partners, or customers rather than as human beings. Those who worship sex define themselves in terms of it (their preferences, their practices, their past histories) and increasingly treat other people as actual or potential sex objects. Those who worship power define themselves in terms of it and treat other people as either collaborators, competitors, or pawns. These and many other forms of idolatry combine in a thousand ways, all of them damaging to the image-bearing quality of the people concerned and of those whose lives they touch. ↗

— N.T. Wright

#idolatry #idols #image-of-god #money #power

Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him. ↗

— Oswald Chambers

#ministry #freedom