What Makes You Happy?

Our lives are full of stuff.  Some of it makes us happy, some makes us sad, some makes us anxious, and some of it just makes us exhausted.  Our homes are overtaken with stuff.  Our minds are boggled down with stuff.  Our relationships are bombarded with stuff.  It's time to clean out the closets (in our homes, in our minds, and in our relationships).  The "stuff" in and of itself is great.  What makes it not so great is when it starts to rule our lives and make us crazy.

In the weekly bible study group I attend, we have been talking about idols.  This has made me really examine my life in an attempt to pinpoint the idols of my heart.  What is it that I can't live without?  Well, if I am honest with myself and with you, I would say that I couldn't live without Brian, Hannah, and the rest of my family.  I also can't live without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is my everything.  But is He enough?  What if, like Job, I lost all my loved ones?  Would I be okay?  The thought is excruciating.  Life without family doesn't sound like life to me.  But where is the line between something you love unconditionally and something that has become an idol? The following are a couple quotes that I think answer this question:

• "Idols are not sinful things, but good and basic things elevated into being ultimate things.  We look to them for meaning in life, for covering our sense of insignificance, for developing a 'righteousness' or worth." - Tim Keller
• "An idol is anything in our lives that occupies the place that should be occupied by God alone." - D.M. Lloyd-Jones

What if you lost all the "stuff" in your life?  Would you still be content?  What have you placed on an 'altar' in your life?  Is God in His rightful place or something else?   Is He enough?