Leo Tolstoy had nearly everything people associate with a successful life: literary genius, wealth, family, fame, influence, and security. Yet by his own account, he found himself deeply restless and despairing.

In this episode, Scott Sauls reflects on Tolstoy’s crisis and the three false gospels that still steal joy today: comfort, control, and approval. Each one begins as a good desire. Each one becomes destructive when we ask it to do what only Christ can do.

Comfort promises peace but often delivers numbness. Control promises safety but often delivers exhaustion. Approval promises worth but often delivers the slow disappearance of the self.

The first commandment is not merely a rule. It is a diagnosis. We were made for God, and when we build our lives on anything less than him, even the best things eventually break under the weight.

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