In this week’s episode Dan considers the question of worship and devotion, as well as offering reflections on the California wildfires and the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

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Songs used in this episode:

• “Inverted Mean” from the album Disorganized Fun
• “Minimal MC” from the album Disorganized Fun

SHOW NOTES

Key Terms

• Worship – The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. [Oxford Dictionary]
• Perceived Hell – A situation in life that causes pain, suffering, anxiety, frustration, etc.
• Perceived Heaven – An ideal situation that would make life better, easier, more enjoyable, etc.
• Functional Savior – The vector by which someone seeks to move from their perceived hell to their perceived heaven (i.e. NOT Jesus)
• True Savior – Jesus.
• Accept/Reject/Redeem – A rubric by which Christians may evaluate things or activities that, on their face, appear to be worldly and to be avoided. Is it biblically acceptable to accept those things?  Must we reject them as sin?  Are we able to redeem them to the glory of God?

Reflection Questions

1. Ask yourself these questions:
   1. What do I give my time to?
      1. My money?
      2. My emotional investment?
   2. Is it Jesus, or is it something else?
2. What are false gods in American culture?
3. What do I perceive to be a “hell” in my life? (NOT the actual hell)
   1. What kinds of things do people I know perceive to be “hell”?
4. What do I perceive as “heaven” in my life? (NOT the actual heaven)
   1. What kinds of things do people I know perceive to be “heaven”?
5. What is it in your life that you pursue to deal with the pains, frustrations, and hard parts of life? Or that you have run to in the past? (i.e. functional saviors)

Verses Referenced

• “Where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.” – Matthew 6:21
• “You shall have no other gods before me.” – Exodus 20:3