adjustments and the abandonment of idol worship

as i adjust to living in community and practicing living more simply, i am finding that when i remove myself from "normal" life - consumer culture, wealth, pursuit of "happiness"- i am suprised at how much resistance i encounter from within. parts of me that did not wish to participate in these things suddenly cry out for me to partake. with no income coming in, i worry about money, even though i say i have faith God will provide. i start to realize that i can no longer enjoy some of the pleasures i have afforded myself so often (or at least not nearly as often), and within me there is a voice begging for those pleasures. my imagination even joins in on the resistance as i worry about my future and how my decisions now may affect my ability to marry, raise a family, get a job, etc. i worry about these things even thought i know those things are still possible in community, and that following the way of Christ is far more important of a task for me in the present moment.

when breaking free of the trap of a self-centered, self-seeking way of life, there are voices within us that will cry out. these may just be the idols we have to abandon and serve no longer: money, security, comfort, and most of all, ourselves.