Exploring Hope: What’s your “god?”

Posted by Will Stern on August 18, 2019

My wife is a professional modern dancer who works with a company in Philadelphia called KYL/D. A few years ago, they did a piece called the “Faith Project,” which looked at the connection between religion and movement. As part of their process, they hosted “story circles” where the dancers could discuss their diverse religious views (from Christian to atheist). But they also heard from faith leaders of different religions.

One of these leaders shared three diagnostic questions: What do you fear the most? What do you love the most? And where do you find the most joy? But you must have the same answer to all three questions. And the answer is really your “god.” In other words, it’s what you worship as ultimate in your life.

Now as an evangelical Christian pastor, I think these questions are fascinating and helpful. The Bible teaches that no one is truly irreligious (Romans 1). Everyone worships and serves something as their “god” — as ultimate in their lives. So the question isn’t, “Will you worship something?” The question is this: “What will you worship?”

For example, some people worship the opinions of others. They fear the opinions of others, love the opinions of others, and derive great joy from the opinions of others. Therefore, their lives are directed toward that goal with religious passion. On the other hand, some of the dancers in KYL/D said they feared, loved, and derived the most joy from themselves. So they really worshiped a god of self.

But what do you love, fear, and derive the most joy from? If it’s anything but the God of the Bible, it may seem to offer hope and life for a while. But it can never truly satisfy the deepest longings of your heart. In contrast, if you love, fear, and derive joy from the God of the Bible, the God who created the world and sent his Son to die for sin and rise again from the dead, then you can experience true joy and peace that is inexpressible.

About Will Stern

Originally from Colorado, Will Stern is the pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Garnet Valley. He majored in violin performance for his undergrad and taught violin for a number of years before being called into ministry. He studied theology at Duke University and Westminster Theological Seminary.