The Difference between Love and Manipulation

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.1 Thessalonians 1:9You were made for a God-centred life. You were made to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. “Turning from idols” means that you let God be God. It means that you worship God and love Him for who He is, and not as a means to some other end. John Piper makes this point well: I cannot say to my wife, “I feel a strong delight in you so that you will make me a nice meal.” That is not the way that delight works. It terminates on her, it does not have a nice meal in view. I cannot say to my son, “I love playing ball with you so that you will cut the grass.” If my heart really delights in playing ball with him, that delight cannot be performed as a means of getting him to do something. If you say, “I love you,” to your wife or to your son because you want a nice meal or the grass cut, that’s not love at all—it is manipulation. When something you want from God becomes more important than God Himself, that’s idolatry. If you have come to see God as the provider of your wish list, you have fallen into idolatry. It’s time to turn from your idols.Where do you see evidence that you may be trying to manipulate God?