iii. now that the world is no longer good enough

This awkward in-between. Because a lack of worldly fulfilment does not force God into a place of prominence. Loving God is not about denying the world. It’s about God being above all else, which is neither meant to be accomplished, nor can it be accomplished, by making everything else less significant. It is about making God more.

I’ve heard it described that to glorify God is not to view Him through a microscope but rather through a telescope. For microscopes attempt to make small things appear bigger than they are. But telescopes seek to see really big things more like the way they actually are. God is not a cell that we must blow up in order to show as worthy. He is a far-away galaxy that we must bring closer.

Succeeding in making the world less is only succeeding in making the world less. The Bible doesn’t teach that we should show such a weak love toward other things that our weak love toward God will be first in our hearts. It teaches that we must love God so much that whatever love we have toward other things is merely a facet of our great love for Him. Defeating the world is one thing. Placing God on His throne is another.