In December of last year, Ben Sasse, former U.S. Senator from Nebraska, revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As a Christian long outspoken about his faith, Sasse has reflected his convictions in bestselling books such as The Vanishing American Adult (2017) and Why Most People Are Rationally Ignorant (2018), the latter addressing political tribalism.

In an interview on Sola Media Sasse recalled conversations with his friend Timothy Keller, who was dying of pancreatic cancer at the time, and this before Ben’s own diagnosis. Keller had said something that struck him deeply: “I hate this, but I would never want to go back to the prayer life I had before pancreatic cancer.”

Sasse admitted that when he first heard the remark, it seemed “pretty weird.” But after receiving his own diagnosis, he began to understand. Facing death, he explained, has a way of stripping life down to its essentials. “Facing death shatters idols,” he said. “The dumb stuff we care too much about.”

As I watched the interview (linked here), I felt both touched and convicted. How much room do I allow in my life for trivial concerns? How much energy is spent on things that will not matter five minutes into eternity?

What Sasse described as a “death sentence” clarified his vision. It sharpened his sense of what truly matters. Reflecting on his diagnosis, he said: “One of the things that has become clear to me since my diagnosis is, man, I wish I had taken the Lord’s Day more seriously. It’s a really good antidote to all those idolatries. God smashing idols for us is a blessing. And having a death sentence is a really good way of focusing the mind, knowing that you’re not going to live very long.”

The irony is this: all of us are terminal. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The sooner that reality shapes the way we live, the wiser we become.

Our calendars reveal our true priorities. The way we spend our time often exposes attachments we would never openly confess. If we are honest, we may find that certain idols- respectable ones, even socially applauded ones- quietly compete for our devotion.

If we want to discern which idols may be crowding our walk with God, here are several areas worth prayerfully examining:

1. Social Media

I removed myself from social media years ago and have never missed it. How much time do you spend scrolling, reacting, and absorbing content that does little—or nothing—to nourish your soul?

2. Television Viewing

What difference might it make if you spent as much time in the Word of God and prayer as you do watching television? As much as I enjoy sports, I know how easily they can dominate my schedule—especially during football season.

3. Hobbies and Leisure

There is nothing inherently wrong with hobbies or recreation. Rest is a gift. But over years of ministry, I have seen many people slowly elevate a sport, hobby, or pastime into a ruling priority. What begins as leisure can quietly become lord.

4. Career

For many American men, career becomes identity. When work defines us, it becomes easy to sacrifice family, worship, and spiritual health in the pursuit of advancement. Yet ambition untethered from eternal perspective often yields a bitter harvest of regret.

I encourage you to examine your life carefully. Are there idols that need to be smashed? Ask God to reveal them. And may it not take a terminal diagnosis to awaken us to what truly matters.