False Lovers!


False Lovers

It was St Augustine who wrote these words:  “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." 

Prior to salvation we were filling our lives with false loves—trying desperately to be happy, fulfilled—in love!   Solomon writes: He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiates 3:11).  Because God, in His design, places eternity in our hearts—Augustine is correct—we are restless until we find rest in God.   

After salvation, we find ourselves seeking false lovers still.  Let me list a few of them:

1.  We seek People:
When we seek people, as false lovers—this is how we do it.  We want people’s approval.  We care more about being accepted by others than by God.  We want love and acceptance from people.  Is that wrong you ask?  Well yes—it is.  First, IF you love God—and seek ONLY HIS approval, His nod, and His applause—you will—actually receive the same from people.  Huh?  It’s a matter of focus and priority.  A false love is wanting other people’s love and approval more than God’s.  Finding our self-worth or value based on other’s opinion of us—that’s a false love.  If; however, our sole ambition and focus is to love God and receive our self  worth from God—God in His mercy will allow others into our lives who will put ‘flesh’ on His love for us.

2.  We seek Possessions:
We love stuff—that’s a false lover.  I just read Steve Macchia who wrote these words:  The tighter the grip we have on (things, finances, titles, degrees, positions) the firmer the hold they have one us.  We love our stuff—we find comfort in our stuff.  That’s a false lover!

3.  We seek Positions
We love our positions—especially the more significant they are (in our culture).  That love of position is a false lover.

4.  We seek Power:
We love the power we have over situations, circumstances, people, organizations, etc—that is a false lover.  God gives us power to serve.  The higher the power the greater the level of serving.  


If we ‘catch’ ourselves saying:

  • Oh, I love my________________ (you fill in the blank)
  • Then maybe we have a false-lover!


A Prayer of Relational Repentance: My Spiritual Relationship to God
“Father, I come home to You. I confess as sin my false lovers. I confess as sin living like the old person that I used to be. I confess as sin my spiritual adultery. I acknowledge to You and to myself that my false lovers are horrible lovers and that my pursuit of them is ugly and putrid. How foolish of me to ever believe that anyone but You could ever satisfy the longings of my soul. How shameful. How disrespectful. Forgive me my relational sin. I acknowledge that You alone are my Supreme Good. I acknowledge that You alone are gracious and compassionate. I return to You as my Forgiving Father. I return to Your Son as my Worthy Groom. I return to Your Holy Spirit as my Inspiring Mentor. I love You, Lord. Renew my vision of You as a totally competent and totally good God—boundless in holy love.”

Prayer See:  


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