Your first job makes you think.

That’s right. After 9 months and multiple whinging blog posts, I’ll be starting my first postgrad job in mid-October.

About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about being single. It’s been a long journey to acceptance that I’ll be single for the foreseeable future. But one of the things that helped me along that journey was the realization I was too fixated on the idea of a relationship. I had to stop and ask myself, If I ever do get into a relationship, will it live up to the standards I’m currently holding it to? And I honestly answered, no.

I was idolizing being in a romantic relationship.

And, as I’ve come to realize when I got a ‘yes’ from my future job, I’ve been idolizing work too.

Merriam-Webster defines the word “idolize” as “to worship as a god” or “to love or admire to excess.” The word is biblical in origin, and the idea of idolatry comes up frequently throughout the Bible. Perhaps the most famous verse about idolatry comes from the Book of Colossians:

Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5, emphasis mine

Like most sins, idolatry is a perversion of a natural human inclination. In the case of idolizing humans, we naturally look up to people, be they authority figures like parents and teachers, activists like Martin Luther King, theologians like C.S. Lewis, celebrities like Taylor Swift, or businessmen like Elon Musk. To idolize things–activities, work, financial status–is human psychology. There’s a sense of ambition inherent in the human spirit. Our desire to move forward in life is so strong a slang word, NEET, short for not engaged in employment, education, or training, has sprung up to describe people who lack this ambition.

There’s a myriad of dangers that come from idolization. First, there’s simple disappointment. I’ve mentioned incels before. A few years ago, they made the news for reasons that didn’t end with someone dead: plastic surgery. Several self-identified incels paid top dollar for plastic surgeries to chisel their jawline, give them a few inches of height, or even enlarge their testicles, all in the name of becoming the mythical “Chad.” The problem is these surgeries are external answers to an internal problem. A better-looking exterior doesn’t change the self-loathing, entitlement and resentment that makes up the psychology of an incel, as these men found out the hard way. All their idolizing of an ideal male figure got them was disappointment, a cold bed, and an embarrassing medical bill.

Second is moral decay. Morals are the reason the Bible comes down so hard on idolatry. In the context of Biblical times, many pagan religions practiced their faith in manners we find morally repugnant even today: child sacrifices, ritualistic mutilation, orgies. Numerous times the Israelites embraced paganism and numerous times they suffered the consequences. And consequences from worshipping a false god haven’t stopped because the false god is no longer a little statue or a totem pole. How many relationships have ended because of workaholism (worshipping work) or infidelity (worshipping your sex drive)? How many economic crises have happened because of corporate greed (worshipping capital)? How many people have been hurt, abused or killed by people who worshipped power?

Third, and the one I’m currently dealing with: setting up unrealistic expectations. There are a lot of perks to having a job, any job. Making money, obviously. You can make friends or use a job as a stepping stone to a higher-paying or more enjoyable job. Some jobs let you travel. But, as past jobs have taught me, the best relationship to have is a balanced one. Putting your job on a pedestal, even if the job is hypothetical…isn’t balanced.

So, I come full circle. I start my first job in a few weeks. I won’t idolize it. Neither should you. Topple your idols.