Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Jan 29th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Book: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
Author: Timothy Keller
If you are a follower of Christian blogdom, you would know just how far behind the ball I am on saying something about Timothy Keller’s latest work, Counterfeit Gods. Right at the turn of the decade, many Christian authors presented their “Top Books of 2009,” and Keller’s book was on virtually every list that I viewed. Therefore, I knew that it was at least worth a read.
Now, the Leadership Library’s purpose is not to review the latest and greatest, but arm you with resources that can be of use throughout your years of leadership in the home, church, and community. Nevertheless, Keller’s resource is one that will offer a healthy challenge to your own soul whenever you read it.
I think that it fits into a category along with Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins (coming soon) or, in a way, C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. In each of these works, the authors expose us to the subtle ways in which we rebel against God. Whether it is Lewis’ Uncle Screwtape’s advice on how to lead a Christian astray, Bridges’ attack against the more “acceptable” offenses against God’s rule, or Keller’s refusal to let our priorities escape the worthy title of idolatry, the point remains the same: Is God our all? Do we truly wish to serve Him and Him above all else?
Keller’s books offers two great advantages to young men in their pursuit of God-honoring manhood. First, he describes how the pursuits of today, most of them legitimate pursuits to some degree, become the idols of our hearts. They become our gods. As he says, “A counterfeit God is anything so central and essential to your life, that should you lose it, your life would hardly feel worth living” (p. xviii). These gods can be success (the one that led me to repentance), money, romantic love, relationships, power, and so many others. I doubt that you will escape his list of social idols or the private ones we shelter in our hearts.
All of us are tempted to pursue our own interests and the sooner we recognize the idolatry that saturates such pursuits the sooner we will be fit for Yahweh’s service.
Second, Keller utilizes various examples in Scripture of how these counterfeit gods fought for supremacy in the hearts of men and women in Scripture. Though I’m still working through the results of his studies, there is wisdom to be gained in wrestling with the fruit of his studies. For me, he brought to light the life and testimony of Naaman, who completely misunderstood the sovereignty and the grace of God until he was given a dose of humility himself.
I am glad that I read Counterfeit Gods and I have plans to reread it a few years in the future. The message never diminishes because God’s desire for exclusive glory never diminishes. Yet, I know that I can become distracted by my own pursuits and rarely have the courage to call them what they truly are, idols. You and I must guard our hearts from idols, and Keller’s test for idolatry is one worth pondering.
Oh, and if you don’t like to read, the book is short.