Podcast Summary: "A Faith That Puts God Second"
Podcast: Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Episode: Christian-ish | Part 3
Date: January 19, 2025
Host: Pastor Craig Groeschel
Episode Overview
In this third installment of the "Christian-ish" series, Pastor Craig Groeschel tackles the tough reality of living a faith that claims to put God first, yet often treats God as an afterthought. The central message urges listeners to confront "Christian-ish" tendencies—a half-hearted faith characterized by divided loyalties—and challenges them to truly place God at the center of their lives. Through biblical teaching, personal transparency, and practical self-examination, the episode explores idolatry, God's "jealous" love, and the call to realign priorities with God's.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
What Should Be First? The "Chairs" Illustration
- God as Priority: Christians are called to put God first ("Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..." - 00:29).
- Life's Priorities: Other important priorities include family, marriage, career, money, and hobbies (01:50).
- Chairs Metaphor: Life's priorities are depicted as a row of chairs, with God's place meant for Chair #1. Yet, in practice, career, family, or hobbies often take that seat, pushing God further down (04:50).
Diagnosing the Problem: Living a "Christian-ish" Life
- Definition: "A faith that puts God second reflects a divided heart, where God is first in words but not in your life." (07:03)
- Idolatry: Any time something is prioritized over God—even good things—it becomes an idol (08:20).
- Memorable quote:
"Idolatry isn't just bowing to golden statues. It's putting anything before God. It's anything, even a good thing that we put before God." — Pastor Craig Groeschel (09:08)
Why Does God Demand First Place? Understanding God's "Jealousy"
- God's Jealousy: Groeschel addresses discomfort with the term, explaining that "God is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14), but this jealousy is righteous, rooted in covenantal love (13:30).
- Hebrew Word ‘Kanah’:
- Human jealousy (kanah) vs. divine jealousy (kan-nah—intensified, reserved for God's perfect love) (15:45).
- Quote:
"God's jealousy is rooted in his covenantal love for us... a righteous, holy, consuming jealousy from a God who gave it all for you and wants you to give it all back to Him." — Pastor Craig Groeschel (16:38)
- Why it matters: God seeks our whole-hearted devotion because He knows anything less ultimately harms us (18:18).
The Consequences of Idolatry: Spiritual and Practical Tolls
- Symptoms: Idolatry manifests as persistent dissatisfaction, anxiety, overwork, loneliness, compulsions, or destructive habits (21:00).
- Root Problem: These issues are often not the root of our struggle, but symptoms of misplaced priorities (22:30).
- Memorable moment:
"Whatever that is, is not likely your problem. That is likely a symptom of your problem. And the real problem is very likely idolatry." — Pastor Craig Groeschel (23:02)
Diagnosing Our Own Idols: Three Reflective Questions
- Craig invites listeners to assess their lives with three questions (32:38):
- Does this interest lead me closer to God or distract me from Him?
- Do I rely on this more than God for my comfort, identity, or worth?
- If God asked me to give this up, would I do it without hesitation?
- Quote:
"Even good things become idols when they take God's place in your heart." — Pastor Craig Groeschel (28:40)
Personal Transparency: Pastor Craig's Own Struggle
- Example: Craig admits his ongoing temptation toward people-pleasing as a form of idolatry (36:40).
- Quote:
"People pleasing is idolatry... I occasionally am trying to get my comfort or my meaning from what people think instead of from what you think. And so I tell myself over and over again, okay, Craig, you cannot please everyone, but you can please God." — Craig Groeschel (37:01)
- Quote:
The Path Forward: Repentance and Realignment
- Repentance: Recognize and confess idols; shift focus back to God (41:00).
- Don’t Just Remove—Replace: Remove the idol, but also replace it with deeper pursuit of God (44:27).
- Barriers: The main reason we don’t put God first is lack of real desire—rooted in not understanding how good God truly is (45:10).
- Quote:
"The only way to know how good He is is to put Him first... Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness above anything else." — Pastor Craig Groeschel (47:44)
The Invitation: Practical Next Steps
- Self-examination: Ask what has taken God's place in your life (50:00).
- Church-wide Call: Collective repentance, prayer for strength to put God first in every area (50:40).
- Salvation Appeal: Those who've never put God first are invited to do so, recognizing that salvation is by grace—not effort—and begins by prioritizing Jesus above all (53:00).
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- "A faith that puts God second reflects a divided heart where God is first in your words, but not in your life." (07:03)
- "You don't want your stuff to own you, but you want to have a good life." (03:00)
- "God is a jealous God...not a petty, human kind of jealousy, but a righteous, covenantal jealousy that relentlessly pursues and protects his relationship with people." (14:37)
- "Even good things become idols when they take God's place in your heart." (28:40)
- "People pleasing is idolatry...I can't please everyone, but I can please God." (37:01)
- "The only way to know how good He is is to put Him first." (47:44)
- "What you resist the hardest often reveals what controls you the most." (43:00)
- "We don't just remove the idol; we replace it with God." (44:27)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00 — Opening question: What comes first in the life of a Christian?
- 04:50 — Chairs illustration: God vs. career, family, hobbies, etc.
- 07:03 — Defining "Christian-ish" and the divided heart
- 08:20 — Introduction to idolatry
- 13:30 — Biblical exploration of God's jealousy
- 15:45 — Hebrew word study: "kanah" and God’s unique jealousy
- 21:00 — Real life consequences of idolatry
- 23:02 — Identifying symptoms vs. root causes
- 28:40 — When good things become idols
- 32:38 — Reflective questions to diagnose idolatry
- 36:40 — Craig’s personal struggle with people-pleasing
- 41:00 — Steps toward repentance and realignment
- 44:27 — Don’t just remove, replace with God
- 47:44 — Knowing God’s goodness through putting Him first
- 50:00 — Personal and collective self-examination
- 53:00 — Salvation invitation
Conclusion & Takeaway
Pastor Craig Groeschel issues a direct, practical challenge: examine your heart for anything—good or bad—that takes the place only God deserves. Recognize the subtlety of "Christian-ish" faith, where God is professed as a priority but not practiced as one. Through insight into God's holy, covenantal jealousy and the invitation to honest self-audit, listeners are called to reorder their lives—not by merely removing distractions, but by actively putting God back into the first chair.
The episode closes with collective repentance, a call to courageously put God first, and an encouragement to experience the full goodness of God by truly seeking Him above everything.