Our New Trinity

A new trinity? That's right. We've created a new Trinity. Not that we completely discarded the old one -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Rather, we moved the traditional Trinity down the list in favor of our new one -- Needs, Wants, and Feelings.

On Sundays or church-days, we dress up our new Trinity as Holy Wants, Holy Needs, and Holy Feelings.

We've replaced the Three-In-One God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- with our three-in-one god: My Holy Wants, My Holy Needs, and My Holy Feelings.

The replacement doesn't shock you does it? It shouldn't because from birth we've been trained to choose for what is best for us. We rumble through our lives choosing what breakfast food we'll eat, what clothes we'll wear, what schools we'll attend, what sports we'll play, what hobbies we'll develop, what careers we'll pursue, what cars we'll drive, what image we want to present, what kind of people we want to associate with, who we'll date, who we'll marry, and what church we'll join. Life is our choice.

It doesn't take long for our self-choosing lifestyle to lead us to assume that whatever we need, want, and feel forms the core of who we are. We live self-driven lives. And the more we practice it, the better we become at it. I quickly convince myself that my needs are non-negotiable; my wants determine the size of my kingdom; my feelings express who I am. Needs, wants, and feelings form the New Trinity of my sovereign-self.

Don't get me wrong. I drag out the Old Trinity when I need God to do something for me. The Old Trinity comes in handy in church when I want others to know just how committed I am. It also helps when I pray for God to meet my needs, make me successful, and keep me happy.

But no matter what I'm doing, I'm never too far away from supporting the sovereignty of self. The lure of installing self at the center of my life is too attractive to pass up. Of course, the danger is that in so doing I miss God altogether.

No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). I cannot worship two gods at once. There can only be one Trinity in my life. It's my choice. What will I choose? Needs, wants, feelings or Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?