You can’t take that Gucci bag to heaven…

One thing about me is I love the brand name stuff. If you watch my TikTok hauls or see my OOTDs, then you know I’m no stranger to a brand name item. I’m better about it now, but at one point in my life, I liked these things so much that I made them an idol…

Before you continue reading, I want you to ask yourself, “Do I automatically like a post because it has an expensive brand in it? Do I envy others who have designer items I don’t own?” If you do own designer items, “Would I be okay with it if I had to give it away? Do I feel ‘cooler’ or ‘more liked’ on social media or in friendships with my designer items?” I wanted you to ask yourself these questions because I actually journaled these questions about 4 years ago, and I can say my answers showed me that I was idolizing the things of this world… If this is you today, don’t worry, I TOTALLY understand you. We’re gonna tackle this topic together!

There are quite a few Bible stories I could use to explain this topic. My first thought was to talk about the man who would not give up his riches to follow Jesus, but I wanted to look into this topic a little further. So, today we’re gonna talk about Judas.

Most of us know Judas’ name because He is the one who betrayed Jesus, but do you know what he betrayed Jesus for? Money. 30 pieces of silver to be exact. In Matthew 26, Judas allowed his love of money and greed to hold a higher value than his love for Jesus. He chose to sell Jesus out to the religious leaders by giving them a sign to indicate which person was Jesus. Judas was so overcome with remorse and grief that he couldn’t take it… What Judas never realized is that Jesus would have offered him forgiveness. All he had to do was turn to Him.

This story is one you all probably have heard a million times, but what you might not know is that the 30 pieces of silver did fulfill a prophecy from Psalm 41:9. Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him. Honestly, when He spoke at the Last Supper telling the disciples, “One of you will betray me tonight,” I don’t think Jesus was giving Judas a chance to change his mind. He knew it had to happen. I think what He was trying to do was tell Judas that even though he was going to betray Him, Jesus still loved Judas. Of course, we will never truly know as it wasn’t written!

My reasoning for telling this story is that so many of us are just like Judas, selling Jesus out for our idols. We don’t mean to. Truly. Most of us don’t even realize we’re idolizing that thing to begin with. Are you currently thinking of those idols now? Are you still stuck? Do you even know what an idol is?

An idol can be defined as anything that you place above God! So, that could be your phone before your Bible, a new outfit over a Bible, a relationship over God, a friendship over God, etc. It’s anything you would consider wanting more than God or fearing to lose more than God. Once we fall into this pattern of idolization, it’s pretty hard to stop, but I’m going to give you a few tools to break that cycle!

First, be honest with yourself and God. Write down everything you currently place over Him. Next, you’re going to pray over those things. Ask Him to change your heart around those idols. Then, you’re going to get into His word EVERY DAY. A true heart change can only come from His pruning. Allow God to work! Finally, you’re going to implement small changes that help you remove this idol. If it’s your phone, get into the habit of opening your Bible first thing in the morning instead, or maybe leave it behind on a walk or a hang out with friends.

Giving up your idols takes time, so give yourself grace!! God is so proud of you for taking the steps to move away from those idols and look to Him!

The next time you see someone post their new designer or expensive thing or something you’re jealous they have, remember, you can’t take that Gucci bag to heaven. The things of this world mean absolutely nothing. What truly matters is your relationship with Christ. Focus on God and living out His word!

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:21-23